Qara Oasis

Qara Oasis واحة القارة Qarat ʾUmm el-Sagheir • قارة أم الصغير
Village
The village
Location within the Qattara Depression
Qara Oasis Location in Egypt
Coordinates: 29°37′17.68″N 26°29′50.94″E / 29.6215778°N 26.4974833°E / 29.6215778; 26.4974833Coordinates: 29°37′17.68″N 26°29′50.94″E / 29.6215778°N 26.4974833°E / 29.6215778; 26.4974833
Country	Egypt
Governorate	Matrouh
Population
• Total	363
Time zone	UTC+2 (EST)

The Qara Oasis (also spelt Cara or Gara; Arabic: واحة القارة‎; also Qarat Umm El Sagheir, i.e. قارة أم الصغير) is an inhabited oasis in Egypt, with a population of only 363 (as of the 11 November 2006 census).^[1] This oasis is often disregarded when it comes to 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. It lies at the northwest edge of the Qattara Depression, 75 km northeast of Siwa Oasis, and belongs to Siwa District within Matrouh Governorate and is connected to the Matruh-Siwa road by an asphalted access route. Originally, 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 houses is provided by small individual solar cells.

The oasis appears in the 1958 war film Ice Cold in Alex.

Sources[]

• LookLex: Qara, Beyond Space and Time
• Wikivoyage (German)

References[]

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