The Qara Oasis is almost inhabited in Egypt, with a population of only 363 (as of the 11 November 2006 census). This oasis is often disregarded when 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. Initially, 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 homes is provided by small individual solar cells.
The oasis appears in the 1958 war film Ice Cold in Alex.
Location of Qara Oasis
Qara Oasis lies at the northwest edge of the Qattara Depression, 75 km northeast of Siwa Oasis, belongs to Siwa District within Matrouh Governorate and is connected to the Matruh-Siwa road by an asphalted access route.
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At first, the people of the Qara Oasis built a fortress on top of a nearby rocky mountain, a defensive position that would protect them from enemies, so they lived by planting dates and olives. It has a school for primary education, and it was declared the first illiteracy-free village in Matrouh Governorate in 2009. Still, it lacks a medical unit, and relief convoys frequent it from time to time to provide essential medical services. And because the oasis is not connected to the national electricity grid, solar cells provide the energy needed for light streets and domestic use and diesel generators for services that require considerable power.
The oasis is an archaeological site built with “Kershef” material made of silt and salt. Among the features of the oasis are thick, high salinity springs that have been known since the time of the Romans and a hot water spring called “Kefara”, whose temperature reaches 70 degrees Celsius, which are transformed into cooling basins for use in agriculture and the people’s consumption, ancient ruins located at the top of the adjacent mountain, and a market where environmental products are displayed. And handicrafts. One of the distinctive dishes of the villagers is “Al-Aqrouz”, which is the palm tree, which is traditionally served to the most important guests.
Umm al-Saghir and solar cells
The area of “Umm al-Saghir” is 120 acres, and it is 1050 km away from Cairo and 250 km from the nearest city, Siwa. In the middle of the night, however, the residents of the oasis were able to implement a system that cities could not implement, which is solar energy cells, by installing cells on top of the roofs of houses. Solar energy cells produce hardly enough to light the light bulbs that save on roads and home use, as well as For a diesel generator for uses that require what solar energy cells will not provide, such as electrical appliances (washing machines and refrigerators).
No service area
The poverty of the “continent” is not limited to electricity. Still, it extends to include mobile networks, as there is no coverage of them, making it almost isolated from the world. Concerning social services, the oasis consists of only literacy classes without state sponsorship. It also lacks a unit. Medically, any patient from the oasis must travel more than 300 kilometres to Matrouh to receive treatment and medical care. The oasis owns one “rickety” car, which brings them some supplies, such as oil, tea, sugar, and bags of cheap and inferior biscuits, which they offer as the best kindness with tea, and whatever food may be provided is cheese, bread, olives and beans, so there is no possibility for anything else. Like wild flies and mosquitoes, summer life is unbearable.
Legends and wonders of the neighbouring continent in the heart of the desert of Egypt
In the heart of the desert, hundreds of kilometres away from urban cities, lies one of the spots where once you step in, time stops and takes you back for thousands of years to be surprised by a strange and wondrous world in which reality is mixed with myth, stories are combined with legends. Rituals are juxtaposed with holidays and celebrations. Make for us a legend called the Egyptian Qara Oasis, one of the oases of Siwa City.
Despite the natural features of the oasis that made it a solution to many Egyptian crises in general and Matrouh Governorate in particular, which suffers from a lack of water and the provision of thousands of fertile acres suitable for growing wheat and various agricultural products, the oasis is still forgotten and fell from the account of officials who ignored and neglected it completely.
Sheikh Omar Rajeh of the oasis says that the oasis of the neighbour or Qarat Umm al-Saghir, is the smallest Egyptian village located east of the city of Marsa Matrouh, 300 km away in the heart of the Egyptian desert and on the edge of the Qattara Depression.
He added that despite the distinctiveness of the Qara oasis in the presence of freshwater springs flowing all the time, which is unparalleled in the world, especially since the scientific studies conducted on the oasis have proven that it floats on a river of fresh water, which if used well would eliminate the water shortage problem that it suffers from. Matrouh Governorate, but this water has not been exploited so far.
He explained that the Matrouh governorate depends on providing water to its residents through the Alf Milli line, which is exposed to many pollutants, making it unfit for drinking and causing many diseases, in addition to the presence of many infringements on the line in a way that causes many crises for the people, especially in the summer.
He wondered why the government did not take advantage of this fresh water from the oasis, especially since the Prime Minister was holding the position of Minister of Irrigation and had the experience to be able to exploit it by making cranes and establishing a line to the cities of Marsa Matrouh, Barani and Al Najila to provide fresh water instead of creating crises every year, noting that the people of the oasis wished That the land around them be inhabited. Someone who cultivates it comes to benefit from its bounties.
Engineer Hussein Al-Sunaini, Director of the Directorate of Agriculture in Matrouh, indicated that the neighbour’s oasis contains thousands of arable acres, which is characterized by its high quality and fertility, which, if it were exploited using modern methods of agriculture, would have become a basket of Egypt’s grains.
He added that the people of the oasis depend on cultivating figs, olives, dates, and some types of vegetables.
He pointed to the need to exploit the oasis land because the problem of cultivation and land reclamation depends on the availability of some important water and soil fertility elements. It is in great demand, especially in European countries looking for these crops.
Qara Oasis is the oasis of wonders
And about the fact that the oasis is one of the areas characterized by wonders and strangeness in light of the technological progress that prevails in the world.
Sheikh Mahdi says that the Umm al-Saghir continent was isolated from the world until, in 1985, the engineer Muhammad Ahmed Allam, head of the Northwest Coast Reconstruction Authority, built a road linking the village with those around it.
He added that the credit for discovering and saving the village goes back to Field Marshal Abdel Hakim Amer in 1948 as a junior officer. When the revolution broke out in 1952, Field Marshal Amer took over the Ministry of War and decided that the armed forces would send quantities of flour, sugar, rice, blankets and clothes, which became an annual habit and took over the governorate afterwards. It was sent on behalf of the ousted President Mubarak, as the people awaited it after Mubarak visited the oasis in 1996. He met Sheikh Hassan, the oldest Sheikh of the oasis, who died six years ago.
He added that its population had been 500, neither increasing nor decreasing, for several years, and this is due to an old belief prevailing in the people that if they had a child in the morning, an older man would die in the evening, and it happened that this often happened. Also, he explained that this belief is due to the invitation of one of the sheikhs, Sheikh Trabelsi, who left her mark on everything in the oasis of Qara.
When the Sheikh was coming from Libya on his way to Hijaz on foot to perform the Hajj, he passed the Qara oasis, and some boys threw stones at him, so the Sheikh called on them to have fewer children,
He pointed out that the people of the Qara remained until the outbreak of the July 1952 revolution. They did not know any currency, but they were satisfied with the swap. The oasis had no shops for crafts and professions typical in other cities, such as carpentry, blacksmithing, and plumbing. Everything is elementary.
