Bahariya Oasis Features:
Bahariya oasis was a key agricultural center in Pharaonic times, exporting large quantities of wine to the Nile Valley. Today it is famed for its dates and olives. Bawiti, the main village, is very picturesque, with palm groves surrounding clusters of mudbrick houses.
The Oasis Heritage Museum has clay figure displays by the local artist Mohammed Eed. Hot and cold springs surround the oasis and just west of Bawiti a hot spring, Ain Bishmu, is used by the villagers for washing and swimming.
Further afield, a few ruins of the Temple of Alexander the Great, built in 332 BC, lie just north of a large discovery of mummies. The nearby 26th-Dynasty Temple of Ain al-Muftela is better preserved.
Bahariya is surrounded by hills, and the Black Mountain, 7 km (4 miles) northeast of Bawiti, is worth a visit. Also called the “English Mountain”, it is crowned with an old World War I British outpost. Climbing to the top takes about an hour, but the view is very rewarding.
The Black Desert, created by wind eroding the dark, rocky outcrops, begins 20 km (12 miles) south of Bahariya. Further south are the main quartz rock formations of Crystal Mountain.
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