Farafra, Egypt

{{Infobox settlement  | name = Farafra | other_name = | native_name =  | nickname = | settlement_type = Depression | motto =  | image_skyline = {{photomontage |photo1a = Farafra ,Egypt.jpg |photo2a = FarafraBadr2ndCourt.jpg |size = 250 |spacing = 2 |color = Transparent |border = 0 }} | image_caption = View to the White Desert near the town, Badr Museum in its old town. | image_flag = | flag_size = | image_seal = | seal_size = | image_shield = | shield_size = | image_map = | mapsize = | map_caption = | pushpin_map = Egypt | pushpin_label_position = bottom | pushpin_mapsize = | pushpin_relief = 1 | pushpin_map_caption = Location in Egypt | subdivision_type = Country | subdivision_name = {{EGY}} | subdivision_type1 = Governorate | subdivision_name1 = New Valley Governorate | subdivision_type2 = | subdivision_name2 = | subdivision_type3 = | subdivision_name3 = | | government_footnotes = | government_type = | leader_title = | leader_name = | leader_title1 =  | leader_name1 = | established_title =  | established_date =  | area_magnitude = | unit_pref = Imperial  | area_footnotes = | area_total_km2 =  | area_land_km2 =  | population_as_of = | population_footnotes = | population_note = | population_total = | population_density_km2 = | population_density_sq_mi = | population_metro = | population_density_metro_km2 = | population_density_metro_sq_mi = | population_blank1_title = Ethnicities | population_blank1 = | population_density_blank1_km2 = | population_density_blank1_sq_mi =  | timezone = EET | utc_offset = +2 | timezone_DST = EEST | utc_offset_DST = +3 | coordinates = {{Coord|27|03|30|N|27|58|12|E|region:EG-WAD_type:landmark|display=inline,title}} | elevation_footnotes =  | elevation_m = | elevation_ft =  | postal_code_type =  | postal_code = | area_code = | blank_name = | blank_info = | blank1_name = | blank1_info = | website = | footnotes = }}

The '''Farafra depression''' ({{langx|ar|واحة الفرافرة}}{{ltr}}, {{IPA|arz|elfɑˈɾɑfɾɑ|pron}}) is a {{convert|980|sqkm|abbr=on}} geological depression, the second largest by size in Western Egypt and the smallest by population, near latitude 27.06° north and longitude 27.97° east. It is in the large Western Desert of Egypt, approximately midway between the Dakhla and Bahariya oases.

Farafra has an estimated 5,000 inhabitants (2002) mainly living in the '''town of Farafra''' and is mostly inhabited by the local Bedouins. Parts of the town have complete quarters of traditional architecture, simple, smooth, unadorned, all in mud colour—local culture and traditional methods of building and carrying out repairs have been supported by its tourism. Often grouped within Farafra are the hot springs at '''Bir Sitta''' (the sixth well) and the '''El-Mufid''' lake.

== Etymology == The word al-Farafra (''al-Farafira'' in local pronunciation, {{Langx|ar|الفرفرون}} ''al-Farfarun'' in Middle Ages) is a broken plural form of {{Langx|ar|فرفر}} ''farfar'' meaning "fizzy spring". The oasis was called in {{Langx|egy|tꜣ jḥw}}, "the land of cattle".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Peust |first=Carsten |year=2010 |title=Die Toponyme vorarabischen Ursprungs im modernen Ägypten |location=Göttingen |publisher=Mitarbeiter des Seminars für Ägyptologie und Koptologie der Universität Göttingen |page=39}}</ref>

== History == {{hiero|1=tꜣ jḥw<ref name=Gauthier4/> |2=<hiero>tA:N23*Z1-E1-Z1*Z1*Z1:xAst</hiero>|era=mk|align=left}} {{hiero|tꜣ jḥw(t)<ref name=Gauthier4/><ref>{{cite book |last1=Wallis Budge |first1=E. A. |title=An Egyptian hieroglyphic dictionary: with an index of English words, king list and geological list with indexes, list of hieroglyphic characters, coptic and semitic alphabets, etc. Vol II |date=1920 |publisher=John Murray |page=[https://archive.org/details/egyptianhierogly02budguoft/page/1050 1050] |url=https://archive.org/details/egyptianhierogly02budguoft}}</ref>|<hiero>N17-i-H-E1-t:niwt</hiero>|era=pt|align=left}}

Archaeological evidence suggests that Farafra region has been inhabited since late Pleistocene.<ref>{{cite book |editor1-last=Barich |editor1-first=Barbara |editor2-last=Lucarini |editor2-first=Giulio |editor3-last=Hassan |editor3-first=Fekri |editor4-last=Hamdan |editor4-first=Mohamed |title=From Lake to Sand: The Archaeology of Farafra Oasis Western Desert, Egypt |date=2014 |publisher=All'Insegna del Giglio |location=Florence |isbn=978-88-7814-520-7 |page=10 |language=English |chapter=1}}</ref> Farafra was known in ancient Egyptian history at least since the Middle Kingdom. In the Ptolemaic period, the region was under the administration of the Oxyrhynchite nome (19th Upper Egyptian nome).<ref name = Gauthier4>{{cite book |last1=Gauthier |first1=Henri |title=Dictionnaire des Noms Géographiques Contenus dans les Textes Hiéroglyphiques Vol. 6 |date=1929 |page=4 |url=https://archive.org/details/Gauthier1929/page/n5/}}</ref>

==White Desert== {{Main|White Desert National Park}}

A main geographic attraction of Farafra is its White Desert (known as ''Sahara el Beyda'')—a national park of Egypt and {{convert|45|km|mi|abbr=on}} north of the town of Farafra, the main draw of which is its rock type colored from snow-white to cream. It has massive chalk rock formations that are textbook examples of ventifact and which have been created as a result of occasional sandstorm in the area. The White Desert is a typical place visited by some schools in Egypt, as a location for camping trips.

==Wells== {{Quote|The Roman spring of Ain Bishay bubbles forth from a hillock on the northwest edge of town. It has been developed into an irrigated grove of date palms together with citrus, olive, apricot and carob trees, and is a cool haven amid the arid landscape. Several families tend the crops here; you should seek someone out and ask permission before wandering around.|Sights in Qasr Al Farafra - Lonely Planet<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.lonelyplanet.com/egypt/western-desert/qasr-al-farafra/sights |title=Sights in Qasr Al Farafra." |access-date=2013-06-13 |archive-date=2013-10-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131003232650/http://www.lonelyplanet.com/egypt/western-desert/qasr-al-farafra/sights |url-status=live }}</ref>}}

Due to its geographical location and geological formation it has more than 100 wells spread out over the lands of the Farafra, many of which are natural. Most of these wells are used in aggregation of the cultivated land in the oasis. Some of the wells in Farafra have become favorite tourist destinations. Bir Sitta, (well 6 in Arabic), Bir Sab'a (well 7) and Bir Ithnian wa ishrin (well 22) are the most important. Because of the water's warm temperature and a slight percentage of sulfur, these wells are favorable for swimming and relaxation. There is a large lake touristic well named Abu Nus 15 kilometers north of the edge of the Farafra.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.ask-aladdin.com/Egyptian_Oasis/Farafra_Oasis.html |title=Water Wells of Farafra |access-date=2013-06-13 |archive-date=2013-06-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130618210442/http://www.ask-aladdin.com/Egyptian_Oasis/Farafra_Oasis.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Climate== Köppen-Geiger climate classification system classifies its climate as hot desert (BWh).

{{Weather box |metric first = yes |single line = yes |location = Farafra, Egypt |Jan record high C = 31.8 |Feb record high C = 37.2 |Mar record high C = 41.5 |Apr record high C = 46.4 |May record high C = 47.5 |Jun record high C = 47.8 |Jul record high C = 44.7 |Aug record high C = 45.1 |Sep record high C = 43.4 |Oct record high C = 42.6 |Nov record high C = 37.8 |Dec record high C = 31.2 |year record high C = 47.8 |Jan high C = 20.0 |Feb high C = 22.4 |Mar high C = 26.2 |Apr high C = 31.6 |May high C = 35.4 |Jun high C = 37.8 |Jul high C = 37.8 |Aug high C = 37.3 |Sep high C = 35.1 |Oct high C = 31.2 |Nov high C = 25.5 |Dec high C = 21.1 |year high C = 30.1 |Jan mean C = 12.0 |Feb mean C = 14.0 |Mar mean C = 17.8 |Apr mean C = 22.8 |May mean C = 27.0 |Jun mean C = 29.4 |Jul mean C = 30.3 |Aug mean C = 29.9 |Sep mean C = 27.2 |Oct mean C = 23.1 |Nov mean C = 17.6 |Dec mean C = 13.6 |year mean C = 22.1 |Jan low C = 4.1 |Feb low C = 6.0 |Mar low C = 9.2 |Apr low C = 13.8 |May low C = 17.9 |Jun low C = 20.6 |Jul low C = 21.9 |Aug low C = 21.5 |Sep low C = 19.5 |Oct low C = 15.6 |Nov low C = 10.1 |Dec low C = 5.6 |year low C = 13.8 |Jan record low C = -3.3 |Feb record low C = -2.2 |Mar record low C = -0.2 |Apr record low C = 2.9 |May record low C = 7.6 |Jun record low C = 13.9 |Jul record low C = 16.9 |Aug record low C = 16.8 |Sep record low C = 13.5 |Oct record low C = 7.3 |Nov record low C = 0.6 |Dec record low C = -2.1 |year record low C = -3.3 |precipitation colour = green |Jan precipitation mm = 1 |Feb precipitation mm = 0 |Mar precipitation mm = 0 |Apr precipitation mm = 0 |May precipitation mm = 0 |Jun precipitation mm = 0 |Jul precipitation mm = 0 |Aug precipitation mm = 0 |Sep precipitation mm = 0 |Oct precipitation mm = 0 |Nov precipitation mm = 1 |Dec precipitation mm = 0 |year precipitation mm = 2 |unit precipitation days = 1.0 mm |Jan precipitation days = 0.1 |Feb precipitation days = 0.1 |Mar precipitation days = 0 |Apr precipitation days = 0.1 |May precipitation days = 0 |Jun precipitation days = 0 |Jul precipitation days = 0 |Aug precipitation days = 0 |Sep precipitation days = 0 |Oct precipitation days = 0 |Nov precipitation days = 0 |Dec precipitation days = 0 |year precipitation days = 0.3 |Jan humidity = 51 |Feb humidity = 43 |Mar humidity = 38 |Apr humidity = 29 |May humidity = 26 |Jun humidity = 26 |Jul humidity = 28 |Aug humidity = 31 |Sep humidity = 36 |Oct humidity = 42 |Nov humidity = 55 |Dec humidity = 53 |year humidity = 38.2 |source 1 = NOAA<ref name= NOAA>{{Cite FTP | url = ftp://ftp.atdd.noaa.gov/pub/GCOS/WMO-Normals/TABLES/REG__I/UB/62423.TXT | server = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration | title = Farafra Climate Normals 1961–1990 | access-date = October 25, 2015}}</ref> |source 2 = Climate Charts<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.climate-charts.com/Locations/u/UB62423.php |title=Farafra, Egypt: Climate, Global Warming, and Daylight Charts and Data |publisher=Climate Charts |access-date=17 July 2013 |archive-date=17 August 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130817133425/http://www.climate-charts.com/Locations/u/UB62423.php |url-status=live }}</ref> }}

==Gallery== <gallery class="center" widths="200px" heights="160px"> File:WhiteDesertEgypt@FarafraOasis2007jan6-93 byDanielCsorfoly.JPG File:Weisse Wüste.jpg|Limestone rock formation File:White Desert, Al-Farafra-Al-Bahariya road through the desert, Egypt.jpg|Al-Farafra – Al-Bahariya road File:White Desert, Rock formation, Egypt.jpg|Rock formation File:White Desert, Karst rock formations 2, Egypt.jpg|Rock formations File:White Desert, Karst rock formations, Egypt.jpg|Distant view </gallery> {{Wide image|White-desert-egypt.jpg|600px|Panorama of the White Desert of Egypt||center|alt=Panorama of the White Desert in Egypt}}

==References== {{Reflist}}

==Bibliography== * Beadnell, Hugh J. L. (1901). ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=-L0lAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA11 The Farafra Oasis: Its Topography and Geology]''. Geological Survey Report Part III. Egypt. Maṣlaḥat al-Misāḥah. * Bliss, Frank (1998). 'Artisanat et artisanat d’art dans les oasis du désert occidental égyptien'. "Veröffentlichungen des Frobenius-Instituts". Cologne. * Bliss, Frank (2006). 'Oasenleben. Die ägyptischen Oasen Bahriya und Farafra in Vergangenheit und Gegenwart'. Die ägyptischen Oasen Band 2. Bonn. * Fakhry, Ahmed (1974). ''Bahriyah and Farafra. Reissue of the Classic History and Description''. Illustrated, reprint. Publisher: American Univ. in Cairo Press. {{ISBN|9774247329}}, {{ISBN|9789774247323}}. 189 pages.

==External links== {{Commons category|Farafra}} * [http://www.wikivoyage.org/de/Far%C4%81fra Farafra oasis on German Wikivoyage] {{in lang|de}}

Category:Populated places in New Valley Governorate Category:Oases of Egypt Category:Western Desert (Egypt)