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Bahariya Oasis (, "the Northern Oases") is a depression and a naturally rich oasis in the Western Desert of Egypt. It is approximately 370 km away from Cairo. The roughly oval valley extends from northeast to southwest, has a length of 94 km, a maximum width of 42 km and covers an area of about 2000 km2.
The valley is surrounded by mountains and has numerous springs. Located in Giza Governorate, the main are agriculture, iron ore mining, and tourism. The main agricultural products are , , date palm, and .
From 45 CE, the depression was known in Latin language as Oasis parva (Small Oasis). The Greek historian Strabo called it the "Second Oasis", and the 5th century CE historian Olympiodorus of Thebes called it "the Third Oasis".
In Coptic language times, it was known as the "Oasis of Oxyrhynchus" ( Diwah Ēmbemdje) or Tast(s) (), which is derived from Ancient Egyptian ḏsḏs. After the Islamization of Egypt, it was called the Oasis of Bahnasa, "Oasis of Oxyrhynchus".
The modern name is الواحات البحرية, al-Wāḥāt al-Baḥriyya meaning "the Northern Oasis”. The southern part of the depression around El Heiz apparently never had a separate name.
The Greco-Roman period was a time of prosperity. There is the ruin of a temple dedicated to Ammon by Alexander the Great located in Qasr el-Miqisba ('Ain et-Tibniya). It is believed by some Egyptologists that Alexander passed through Bahariya while returning from the oracle of Ammon at Siwa Oasis.Fakhry, Ahmed: Baḥria Oasis, vol. II. Cairo: Government Press, 1950, pp. 41–47, 85, figs. 29 map, 30, 71, plates XXIV–XXXV, XLIV.B.Pfeiffer, Stefan: Griechische und lateinische Inschriften zum Ptolemäerreich und zur römischen Provinz Aegyptus. Münster: Lit, 2015, pp. 18–22. Excavations of the Greco-Roman necropolis found in 1995Associated Press: Zweitausend Jahre alte Mumien in ägyptischer Oase entdeckt, in: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Nr. 132, 1995, Friday, 09.06.1995, p. 11. and known as the Valley of the Golden Mummies began in 1999. Approximately thirty-four tombs have been excavated from this area.Zahi Hawass, The Valley of the Golden Mummies, New York 2000. In Roman times, a big military fort was erected at Qarat el-Toub.Colin, Frédéric; Laisney, Damien; Marchand, Sylvie: Qaret el-Toub : un fort romain et une nécropole pharaonique. Prospection archéologique dans l’oasis de Baḥariya 1999, in: Bulletin de l’Institut français d’archéologie orientale (BIFAO), vol. 100 (2000), pp. 145–192.
In the spring of 2010, a Roman-era mummy was unearthed in a Bahariya Oasis cemetery in el-Harrah. The female mummy was 3 feet tall and covered with plaster decorated to resemble Roman dress and jewellery. In addition to the female mummy, archaeologists found clay and glass vessels, coins, anthropoid masks and fourteen Greco-Roman tombs. Director of Cairo and Giza Antiquities Mahmoud Affifi, the archaeologist who led the dig, said the tomb has a unique design with stairways and corridors, and could date to 300 BC. This find came as a result of excavation work for the construction of a youth center.Nevine El-Aref: In the sands of time, report of Al-Ahram Weekly of April 29, 2010.
In 2019, archaeologists discovered 19 structures and a church carved into the bedrock from the fifth century CE. The church was decorated with religious inscriptions in Greek language. Ancient Christian ruins discovered in Egypt In 2021, archaeologists discovered a complex with the ruins of three churches and monks cells date back to the fifth century CE. Forskere fra Norge har gjort oppsiktsvekkende funn i Egypt (13 March 2021) NRK
During World War I, the Baharia Military Railway was built to provide access to the oasis. In the early 1970s, an asphalt road connecting Bahariya to Cairo was finished. With the new road came electricity, cars, television, phone lines, a more accessible route to Cairo, and, more recently, internet. The spread of people and ideas between Bahariya and Cairo has increased dramatically since the road was constructed. Also, the language of the Waḥātī people has changed under the influence of the Cairo dialect, as heard on television and in music.Bliss, Frank: Oasenleben : die ägyptischen Oasen Bahriya und Farafra in Vergangenheit und Gegenwart, Bonn: Politischer Arbeitskreis Schulen (PAS), 2006, (Beiträge zur Kulturkunde; 23), .
The majority of Waḥātī people in Bahariya are Muslims. There are some mosques in Bahariya. The nature of social settings in the oasis is highly influenced by Islam.
Traditional music is very important to the Waḥātī people. Flutes, drums, and the simsimeyya (a harp-like instrument) are played at social gatherings, particularly at weddings. Traditional songs sung in rural style are passed down from generation to generation, and new songs are invented as well. Music from Cairo, the greater Middle East, and other parts of the world are now easily accessible to the people of the oasis.
Bahariya used to be a major center for Coptic Christians. However, most of the Oasis converted to Islam centuries ago. Copts that live in Bahariya today are largely new transplants from the Nile Valley.
The traditional dress of women in Bahariya is called Magaddil (braids) after the striped pattern of the embroidery. There was also a dress that was lightly embroidered, with a border of telli embroidery around the neck that was made separately and sewn onto the dress. In recent times these have largely been phased out by floral print dresses.
The region between the Bahariya and Farafra depressions used to have volcanic activity during the Jurassic Period. In addition, the landscape contains some hills made of barite or calcite crystals, and also golden limestone boulders which became a sanctuary for species, such as white foxes, gazelles and rams.
In June 2022, paleontologists reported the discovery of a 98-million-year-old type of abelisaurid in Bahariya Oasis, which was around in length and initially found in 2016.
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