Qara Oasis
Encyclopedia
Qara or Cara is Egypt
's 8th inhabited oasis
, with a population of around 300 Berber
s, though of a darker complexion than the inhabitants of Siwa. 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 SW edge of the Qattara Depression
, 75 km NE of Siwa
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 cell
s.
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
's 8th inhabited oasis
Oasis
In geography, an oasis or cienega is an isolated area of vegetation in a desert, typically surrounding a spring or similar water source...
, with a population of around 300 Berber
Berber people
Berbers are the indigenous peoples of North Africa west of the Nile Valley. They are continuously distributed from the Atlantic to the Siwa oasis, in Egypt, and from the Mediterranean to the Niger River. Historically they spoke the Berber language or varieties of it, which together form a branch...
s, though of a darker complexion than the inhabitants of Siwa. 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 SW edge of the Qattara Depression
Qattara Depression
The Qattara Depression is a depression in the north west of Egypt in the Matruh Governorate and is part of the Libyan Desert. It lies below sea level and is covered with salt pans, sand dunes and salt marshes. The region extends between latitudes of 28°35' and 30°25' North and longitudes of 26°20'...
, 75 km NE of Siwa
Siwa Oasis
The Siwa Oasis is an oasis in Egypt, located between the Qattara Depression and the Egyptian Sand Sea in the Libyan Desert, nearly 50 km east of the Libyan border, and 560 km from Cairo....
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 cell
Solar cell
A solar cell is a solid state electrical device that converts the energy of light directly into electricity by the photovoltaic effect....
s.