Qara Oasis

Coordinates: 29°37′17.68″N 26°29′50.94″E / 29.6215778°N 26.4974833°E / 29.6215778; 26.4974833

Qara village

Map of Qara

The Qara Oasis (also spelt Cara or Gara; Arabic: واحة القارة‎; also Qarat Umm El Sagheir) is one of the inhabited oases of Egypt, with a population of 363 Berbers (as of the 11 November 2006 census),[1] though of a darker complexion than the inhabitants of the Siwa Oasis. This oasis is often disregarded when it comes to counting the number of Egyptian oases as it is very small compared to the others. In local folklore, if a newborn arrives, an elder will die shortly after, thus keeping the population constant. It lies at the northwest edge of the Qattara Depression, 75 km northeast of Siwa Oasis, and belongs to Siwa District within Matrouh Governorate and is connected to the Matruh-Siwa road by an asphalted access route. Originally, the inhabitants lived atop a neighbouring mountain which acted as a natural fortress, but today they live in simple houses beneath. Electricity for street lighting and houses is provided by small individual solar cells.

The oasis appears in the 1958 war film Ice Cold in Alex.

Sources

  1. ↑ Matruh Governorate: Census 2006


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