Dakhla Oasis

(Local Name: El-Dakhla) The Dakhla Oasis (El-Dakhla, the Inner Oasis) lies in the Western Desert some 465mi/750km southwest of Cairo, in latitude 25° 24' north and longitude 28° 54' east. Its lush green date groves and gardens are an attractive sight, contrasting strikingly with the ochre and pink rocks of the desert.

Dakhla is, after the Fayyum, the largest and most populous of the Egyptian oases, with some 20,000 inhabitants. It has large reserves of water, with more than 700 natural springs, lakes and ponds; but since the water of the springs is brackish it must be pounded and stored in a network of cisterns to allow the salt to settle. Like the other large oases in the Western (Libyan) Desert, Dakhla is being developed and enlarged under the New Valley land reclamation project. Deep bores have tapped underground water for use in irrigation and have made it possible to win new land for cultivation. The inhabitants of the oasis cultivate and export dates, citrus fruits, mangoes, apricots and vegetables, and also rear a certain amount of livestock (mainly poultry). In recent years increasing quantities of phosphate have been mined. Excavations here have shown that Dakhla was inhabited at a very early stage. In antiquity there were many more springs and lakes than there are today, providing excellent conditions for the growing of vines and the rearing of livestock. The inhabitants of the oasis carried on an active trade with the people of the Nile Valley, but have preserved down to the present day their Berber inheritance.