Dakhla Oasis Travel information from LookLex / Egypt Dakhla Oasis Al-Qasr The Friday Mosque The madrasa Street scenes Qalamoun Ottoman tombs and more Mut The ancient city Deir el-Hagar Muzawaka Tombs Magic spring Rashda Budkhulu Bashendi Balat

Oasis in the Western Desert in Egypt with about 75,000 inhabitants (2003 estimate). Dakhla Oasis consists of a number of smaller oases, divided by hills or desert, but never far in between.
Qasr is the main town in the west, Mut in the middle is the largest settlement in the oasis with 15,000 inhabitants, while the two smaller villages of Bashendi and Balat dominate the east. The oasis is about 65 km long from northwest to southeast, with a maximum width of about 20 km.
Originally, Dakhla was fed by 700 springs, but in modern times many have dried up, and others only work with electric pumps.
The economy of Dakhla is based on agriculture, production of handicrafts and some tourism.
Dakhla is connected by a main road with the Farafra Oasis 300 km northwest, and Kharga Oasis 190 km east.
Dakhla Oasis is a very attractive place with numerous green gardens, traditional villages and the backdrop of pink mountains (to the north). Lifestyles are quickly changing, and many of the villages are being abandoned. Once empty, the mudbrick houses soon falls in and will disappear within a generation or two unless they are kept in repair.

History
Archaeological finds show that Dakhla has been inhabited at least since the Old Stone Age, densely populated as there was a large lake here.
5000 BCE: The lake starts drying up, many migrate to the Nile Valley.
1st century CE?: Dakhla becomes an important Roman town, becoming adorned with many monuments.