Bahriya Oasis

(Local Name: Wahet el-Bahnasa) The Bahirya (Northern) Oasis, also known as Wahet el-Bahnasa, the Oasis of Bahnasa, and to the ancients as the Little Oasis (Oasis Parva: in contrast to the Kharga Oasis) lies in latitude 28° 23 north and longitude 28° 19 east in a depression in the Western (Libyan) Desert, here hilly and very picturesque.

The oasis, 11mi/18km long by 5.5mi/9km across, has a population of some 6,000, who live by the cultivation and export of high quality dates, olives, citrus fruits and onions and by the rearing of poultry (mainly turkeys). It is planned to achieve a considerable increase in agricultural output by the drilling of wells. A recent development is the open cast mining of iron ore at El Gedida, some 25mi/40km northeast of the oasis.