Kharga oasis in the Western Desert is underrated, even as it is one of the most beautiful spots in Egypt.
Also known as the ‘Great Oasis’, Kharga was known in ancient Egyptian texts as ‘Hebat’, which means ‘plow’.
This part of Egypt was linked to the Nile Valley by a series of roads, including ones that connected it with Abydos, Luxor, and Esna.
The oasis contains evidence of Paleolithic human settlement in it. This evidence included tools and rock inscriptions from prehistoric and early historical times.
The oasis also contains traces of the era of the Middle Kingdom, including ones related to the heads of the exploration campaigns that got out of Thebes and Abydos to explore the oasis, along with Dakhla, another separate Western Desert oasis, but one that used to be an administrative part of Kharga in the past.
Modern State monuments abound in Kharga as well. These monuments include scenes and texts referring to the gifts brought to the oasis by the rulers of other oases.
The army of the Persian King Cambyses is known to have stopped in Kharga on its way to Siwa Oasis.
Cambyses was out to discipline the priests of the Temple of the Revelation of the God Amun in Siwa.
However, he had to stop in Kharga to get supplies. In a way, this highlights the richness this oasis enjoyed towards the end of the ancient Egyptian era.
Kharga is located around 600 kilometres, or a seven-hour drive, away from Egyptian capital Cairo.
The oasis contains a large number of interesting sites. These sites include Hibis Temple, by far the largest in the oasis.
Hibis is located about 3 kilometres to the north of the city of Kharga. The design of this temple is similar to others constructed during the modern state, and in the Greek and Roman periods.
The temple is dedicated to the Theban Triad, Amon, Mut, and Khonsu, the General Trinity, Osiris, Isis, and Horus, and a large number of common deities.
The first beginnings of the temple were in the 26th dynasty during the reigns of Psamtik and Ipre Oasis. Then the construction was completed during the reign of Persian King Darius I.
Other important sites in the oasis include Nadura Temple which is built on one of the hills, 2 kilometres north of the city of Kharga.
This temple is known as Kom Al-Nadura due to its use in the Mamluk era as a control point to supervise the progress of caravans on Darb Al-Arba’een.
There is in Kharga also the Temple of Qaser Al-Zayyan which is located in the village of Qasr Al-Zayyan, south of the city of Kharga.
This temple dates back to the Ptolemaic period. Some additions were made to the temple in the Roman era.
The Temple of Ghweita is also another interesting site in Kharga. It is located 25 kilometres south of Kharga. Together with the temple of Hibis, Ghweita is the only temple built in Egypt during the Persian occupation.
The construction work of this temple started during the reign of Darius I on the top of a hill that was originally the ruins of a Pharaonic settlement.
The Temple now includes a hall with 8 huge columns, a hypostyle hall, and a sanctuary.
Although Kharga Oasis occupies around a third of Egypt’s space, it is home to the lowest population density.
Around 20,000 people only live in this vast oasis, with only 4 people living in each square kilometre.
Tourism is not a major source of income in Kharga.
Most of the residents of the oasis work in agriculture, in the crafts or as civil servants.
