Farafra

Farafra is the nearest oasis to the White Desert. People usually visit this desert from Bahariya and
miss out on seeing Farafra. Which is a pity as Farafra has a special charm all of its own.
The Farafronies have had their number swelled in recent years by the new valleys settlement
scheme. Wells were drilled to supply with water these new farms and the population has increasedtimes. At first sight it seems as if the old mud walled, originally Roman, fortress in town has fallen into disrepair, largely washed away by freak rainfall since the 1950s. The other mud fortresses- notably
in Dakhla Oasis are uninhabited- but despite its parlous state of repair the Farafra fortress still
has a few families thus providing a unique sense of continuity to the ancient past of the oases. considerably from a few thousand in the 1980s to over 15,000 today.Many of these people live in the new hamlets that surround the main town of Qasr Farafra which now has around 5000 inhabitants. This has led to an increase in the number of shops on the highway as you drive through- always a useful thing for resupplying a desert
journey. As you walk around Farafra with its low, tin roofed buildings it is hard
to picture it in Roman, or even Ottoman