Farafra Oasis

The Farafra Oasis (Arabic: الفرافرة) is the smallest oasis located in Western Egypt near latitude 27.06° North and longitude 27.97° East. It is located in the Libyan Desert, approximately mid-way between Dakhla and Bahariya. Farafra has 5,000 inhabitants (2002) in its single village and is mostly inhabited by Bedouins. Located near Farafra are the hot springs at Bir Setta and the El-Mufid lake.

A main attraction of Farafra is its White Desert (Sahara el Beyda). The White Desert of Egypt is located 45 km north of Farafra. The desert has a white, cream color and has massive chalk rock formations that have been created as a result of sandstorms. The Farafra desert is a typical place visited by schools in Egypt for camping trips.

Farafra, known as Ta-iht or the Land of the Cow in pharaonic times, is a single village. The most isolated of the New Valley Oases it is renowned for its strong traditions and piety. According to folklore, the villagers once lost track of time and had to send a rider to Dakhla so they could hold the Friday prayers on the right day. The oldest part of the village, on a hillside, is next to peaceful walled palm groves; a short ride away there are hot sulphur springs at Bir Setta and swimming at El-Mufid Lake.

Mostly inhabited by Bedouins, the small mud-brick houses all have wooden doorways with medieval peg locks. As in other oases, many of Farafra's houses are painted blue (to ward off the Evil Eye) but here some are also decorated with landscapes, birds and animals, the handiwork of local artist, Badr. A combination house, museum and studio exhibiting his paintings and ceramics is situated in a garden full of sculptures made from objects found in the surrounding desert. Another local, known as Mr. Socks, sells beautiful hand-knitted camel-hair sweaters, socks and scarves. Day trips by jeep and camel treks from here to the White Desert, Bahariya, Dakhla and Siwa can be arranged through Saad's Restaurant.

In ancient times, we believe that the Farafra experienced three specific wet phases, in about 9000 BC, 6000 BC and 4500 BC. In other words, for significant stretches of time, the desert was not the desert. This has opened up considerable chasms in our early history of the entire Egyptian civilization. In her book, Geoarchaeology of Farafra and the Orgin of Agriculture in the Sahara and the Nile Valley, Barbara E. Barich seems to believe that 10,000 years ago during the early Holocene the region experienced violent rain storms and that "Epipaleolithic groups moved along a rather extended circuit, connecting the various oases of the Western Desert with excursions toward the Saharan plains". Recent archaeological missions to the Oasis by the University of Rome have unearthed a large number of sites evidencing a relatively dense population in the Wadi Obeiyd (Ain Dalla) area during the mid to late Holocene period (7000-5000 BC). The people there kept sheep, goats, probably cattle, and perhaps ostriches. They built houses with stone foundations and hearths, and they were starting to cultivate the sorghum and millet that grew wild along the lake. These rudiments of agriculture put them well ahead of people then living in the Nile Valley.

There is actually very little known of the Farafra Oasis prior to the Roman period, and even of that period only a few remains have been found. While the oasis offers a stunning desert landscape, there is little in the way of antiquities to see. According to a statue of the 5th Dynasty, Farafra, as well as the Bahariya Oasis were probably a part of the Egyptian empire during the Old Kingdom. It was known as the Trinitheos, Ta-ihw, and the Land of the Cow (in reference to Hathor). It was often invaded whenever the Libyans decided to attack Egypt, being on their way to the Nile Valley. Though we have little idea what the reference refers to, the text known as the Eloquent Peasant refers to the "rods of Farafra" in relationship to produce, giving us at least a citation to the oasis during the First Intermediate Period.

During the New Kingdom there is somewhat more evidence that comes to us from the Farafra Oasis. A stela was discovered in the Oasis dating to the 18th Dynasty, but it provides little information. However, we find documentary records from the reign of Ramesses II in the Temple of Luxor that he received precious stones form Farafra that were used in some of his extensive building works along the Nile Valley. However, the references does not provide information on the type of stones, and no evidence of ancient mining activities have so far been unearthed in the oasis. What is known is that during the 19th Dynasty reign of Merenptah, Ramesses II's son and successor, the oasis was captured by Libyan invaders who used it as a base to attack the Nile Valley. As a side note, the Farafra Oasis is actually closer to Libya than to the Nile Valley.

During the Third Intermediate Period, though little supporting evidence is available, the Farafra may have been an important way station for both armies and trade caravans. We do know that there were several major caravan routes that operated through the Farafra during this period.

Though the quantity is small, the earliest antiquities currently found in the Farafra Oasis date from the Roman Period. During that time, it probably held some real importance for the Romans because it sat at the center of their African holdings, connecting the Nile Valley to the Libyan oasis such as Jalo and Kufra. So far, the Roman antiquity sites found in the Oasis are actually at Ain Della, now often called the "Hidden Valley", which is actually a separate depression just north of Farafra, with others found at Wadi Hinnis along the main caravan route to the Bahariya Oasis, and at Ain Besay just to the south of Qasr Farafra.

During the Roman Byzantine Period, the oasis mostly converted to Christianity and remained Christian far into the Islamic era, even though it was, according to Cailliaud, the first Western Desert oasis conquered by the Arabs. Little evidence exists that it became a place of banishment like the Siwa and Kharga Oasis, but it is likely to have been, given its remote location. We do find a number of Coptic inscriptions in the oasis, as well as clearly Christian houses and cemeteries dating to the 10th century.

Qasr Al Farafra

The only real village in the Farafra Oasis, Qasr Al Farafra is a quite and relaxing place, which represents most of what it has to offer tourists. There are few tourist accommodations in the area, but that may change in the near future. Most of the description of the Farafra Oasis applies to the town itself.

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