Farafra oasis is the least known amongst the oases of the New Valley in the Western Desert of Egypt, situated in between Bahariya oasis and Dakhla oasis. It is the smallest and most isolated of them all. Farafra connects all of the Western Desert together. Wherever your destination, Farafra always seems to be near. It is closer to Libya than to the Nile Valley. It has also been known to be an important station for major caravan routes.

Farafra is a triangular-shaped fertile depression, considered to be the largest depression in the Libyan Desert, covering the area of 200 km long, 90 km wide.

The oasis is mainly inhabited by Bedouins and holds approximately 5.000 people most of which live in El Qasr located in the northern part of the oasis and where you will find the school, the hospital, Badr’s Art Museum and El Badawiya Hotel.

The Bedouins live in one floor mud-brick houses with wooden doors, mostly painted in blue (believed to ward off the evil eye), sometimes decorated by the local artist Badr, with landscapes, birds, animals and versus of the Qur’an beautifully inscribed on the walls. Usually, one house is divided into many sections, occupied by more than one family, with the sections linked through open air corridors.

Their main source of income is agriculture, producing mainly dates, olives, beans, rice and watermelons. By drilling new wells, the agricultural area is being expanded and nowadays the oasis produces more than its own needs, therefore exports the excessive output to Cairo and the Nile Valley.

These days, tourism seems to be playing a big role in the economy of the oasis, as many locals are attracted to it and Awlad Ali, the genuine three Bedouin brothers (Saad, Atef and Hamdi) have started their own business in the area by opening Badawiya Expedition Travel specialized in jeep safaris and camel safaris, located both in Farafra and Cairo, and also by building the traditional mud brick El Badawiya hotel.

Another important industry would be hand made crafts including carpets, rugs and hand woven mats, as well as the palm leaf products seen around the entire oasis.

Main Attractions:
Al Qasr ( or Qasr El Farafra), Bir Setta hot sulphur spring, Palm tree gardens, Abu Nuss Camel Farm, Lake El Mufid, Badr’s Art Museum, Mr. Socks.