Dakhla Oasis

Dakhla Oasis (Arabic: الداخلة; transliteration: al-Dākhla; BGN: Al Wāḩāt ad Dākhilah), an aa spelt Dakhleh an kent colloquially as the inner oasis, is ane o the seiven oases o Egyp's Wastren Desert (pairt o the Libyan Desert). Dakhla Oasis lies in the New Valley Govrenorate, 350 km frae the Nile an atween the oases o Farafra an Kharga. It measures approximately 80 km (50 mi) frae east tae wast an 25 km (16 mi) frae north tae sooth.
 History 
 Prehistory 

The human history o this oasis stairtit durin the Pleistocene, when nomadic tribes settled sometime thare, in a time when the Sahara climate wis wetter an whaur humans coud hae access tae lakes an mairshes. But aboot 6 000 years ago, the entire Sahara became drier, chyngin progressively intae a hyper-arid desert (wi less nor 50 mm o rain per year). Housomeivver, specialists think that nomadic hunter-gatherers began tae settle awmaist permanently in the oasis of Dakhleh in the period o the Holocene (aboot 12 000 years ago), during new, but rare episodes of wetter times.

In fact, the drier climate didna mean that thare wis nae mair watter in what is nou kent as the Wastren Desert. The sooth o the Libyan Desert haes the maist important supply o subterranean watter in the warld, an the first indwallers o the Dakhla Oasis haed access tae surface watter soorces.

 Pharaonic Period 
The first contacts atween the pharaonic pouer an the oases stairtit aroond 2550 BCE.

Islamic Period
The fortifeed Islamic toun o Al Qasr wis biggit at Dakhla Oasis in the 12t century probably on the remains o a Roman era dounset bi the Ayyubid keengs o Egyp. (blog)

 Efter 1800 
The first European traveller tae find the Dakhla Oasis wis Sir Archibald Edmonstone, in the year 1819. He wis succeedit bi several ither early travellers, but it wis no till 1908 that the first Egyptologist, Herbert Winlock, visitit Dakhla Oasis an notit its monuments in some seestematic manner. In the 1950s, detailed studies began, first bi Dr. Ahmed Fakhry, an in the late 1970s, an expedeetion o the Institut Français d'Archéologie Orientale an the Dakhla Oasis Project each began detailed studies in the oasis.

 Geography 
Dakhla Oasis consists o several communities, alang a string o sub-oases. The main settlements are Mut (mair fully Mut el-Kharab an aunciently cried Mothis), Al-Qasr, Qalamoun, thegither wi several smawer veelages. Some o the communities hae identities that are separate frae ilk ither. Qalamoun haes indwallers that trace thair oreegins tae the Ottomans.

Dakhleh Oasis Project

The Dakhleh Oasis Project (DOP) is a lang-term study project o the Dakhleh Oasis an the surroondin palaeoasis, initiatit in 1978 when the Royal Ontario Museum an the Canadian Society for the Study of Egyptian Antiquities wur awardit a jynt concession for pairt o the Oasis. In 1979, the Centre for Archaeology an Auncient History at Monash University began tae cooperate in the project.

The DOP studies the interaction atween environmental chynges an human activity in the Dakhleh Oasis. The director o the DOP is Anthony J. Mills, umwhile curator at the Ryal Ontario Museum.  The excavations at Ismant el-Kharab (auncient Kellis), Mut el-Kharab (auncient Mothis), Deir Abu Metta an Muzawwaqa are unnertaken wi the cooperation o Monash University, unner the direction o Gillian E. Bowen. Bowen an Colin Hope, an aa o Monash, are the principal investigators at Ismant el-Kharab. 
The DOP haes an aa excavatit at 'Ain el-Gazzareen, El Qasr el-Dakhil, Deir el Hagar an Ain Birbiyeh.

As well as the Dakhleh Trust, formed in 1999 tae raise money for the DOP, organisations which hae supportit or participatit in the DOP include: the Royal Ontario Museum, the Society for the Study o Egyptian Antiquities, Monash University, the University o Durham, the University o Toronto, Columbia University, the American Research Centre in Egypt , the Egyptology Society of Victoria  an New York University.

In addition, excavations are undertaken at Amheida unner the direction of Roger S. Bagnall. Thir war oreeginally conducted unner the auspices of Columbia University, but are currently conducted for New York University.

Dakhleh Trust
The Dakhleh Trust wis formed in 1999 an is a registered charity in Breetain.

Its declared aim is tae advance unnerstaundin o the history o the environment an cultural evolution throughoot the Quaternary period in the eastren Sahara, an parteecularly in the Dakhla Oasis.

Tae this end, the present trustees hae committit theairsels tae supportin the DOP.

Trustees

 Name Personal details Office John Ruffle MA Retired museum curator an Egyptologist Chairman  Judith Trowell Treasurer Sir Graham Boyce KCMG  Glenys Carter MBE Retired director, National Association of Toy and Leisure Libraries   Simon deMare Museologist  Anthony Harris  Peter Mackenzie-Smith Managin director, Prothero Leemitit 

 References

 Further readin 
 Published wirks 
 Fakhry, A.  The Oases of Egypt, I : Siwa Oasis, Le Caire, Amer. Univ. in Cairo Press.
 Fakhry, A. The Oases of Egypt, II: Bahriyah an Farafra Oases, Le Caire, Univ. in Cairo Press, c. 2003.
 Giddy, L. Egyptian Oases: Bahariya, Dakhla, Farafra an Kharga during Pharaonic Times, Warminster, Aris & Philips, 1987.
 Jackson, R. At Empire’s Edge: Exploring Roum’s Egyptian Frontier, New Haven et Londres, Yale University Press, 2002.
 Thurston, H. Island o the Blessed : the Secrets of Egypt’s Everlasting Oasis, Toronto, Doubleday, 2003.
 Vivian, C. The Western Desert of Egypt: an explorer’s handbook, AUC Press, le Caire, 2000.
 Wagner, G. Les oasis d’Égypte à l’époque grecque, romaine et byzantine, d’après les documents grecs, Le Caire, Recherches de papyrologie et d’épigraphie grecques, 1987.

 Freemit airtins 
Dakhla in the Auld Kinrick
Photos of Dalkhla Oasis on GlobalAmity.net
Travel guide 

Category:Populatit places in the New Valley Govrenorate
Category:Oases o Egyp