Al-Waha al-Kharga (meaning the outer oasis) is an oasis in Egypt. It is located in and is the capital of Al Wadi al Jadid (the New Valley) Province.
All the oases have always been crossroads of caravan routes converging from the barren desert.
In the case of Kharga, this is made particularly evident by the presence of a chain of fortresses that the Romans built to protect the Darb el-Arbain, the long caravan route running north-south between Middle Egypt and the Sudan.
The forts vary for size and function, some being just small outposts, some guarding large settlements complete with cultivation. Some were installed where earlier settlements already existed, while others were probably founded anew. All of them are made of mud bricks, but some also contain small stone temples with inscribed walls.
So far, many of these sites have suffered relatively little damage, still looking like frozen images of what life must have once been.
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