11 Best Sights in Al-Kharga, Western Desert Oases

Hundreds of mud-brick chapels spill over the crest of a hill at this early Christian cemetery. They date from a time between the 4th and 7th centuries AD, when Christians wrestled among themselves over the concept of God the Father, God the Son, and the Holy Spirit—was God one, or three in one?

Bagawat is probably the oldest Christian cemetery of such magnitude in the world. Most of the 263 chapels, which served as individual tombs and family mausoleums, are unadorned. Two tombs have Biblical scenes painted on their ceilings. The Chapel of Peace is the best preserved, with depictions of Adam and Eve, Noah's Ark, and St. Paul dating from the late 5th century AD. The Chapel of the Exodus at the summit of the complex dates from the 4th century AD, and the Biblical scenes and characters here are depicted in an earlier, more naive artistic style. Pharaonic elements and Byzantine allegorical symbols can be seen on the walls, which are littered with centuries of graffiti.

The necropolis was arranged in a series of streets as a "city of the dead." The remains of an early mud-brick basilica occupy the middle of the complex, and hundreds of unexcavated graves cover a nearby hill.

Also known simply as Al-Deir (which means "the monastery"), this Roman mud-brick fortress with 12 towers once guarded the main caravan route to the Nile. Reached only by a four-wheel-drive vehicle, its sand-swept ruins are littered with the graffiti of disgruntled British soldiers stationed here during WWI.

The mud-brick monastery overlooks one of the most important caravan crossroads in the Western Desert. The imposing ruin contains a honeycomb of hermit cells and once stood five stories tall. Below it are the ruins of a small church.

On a desert hill east of the main road to Asyut is this Roman mud-brick fort and temple that once guarded the caravan routes. The site is in ruins, but the view of the oasis from the top is worth the short ascent.

The small, well-organized museum is a perfect finale to a trip to the Western Desert oases. The collection spans more than 15,000 years of New Valley history. Finds are displayed from the Neolithic, pharaonic, Greco-Roman, Coptic, and Mamluk to Ottoman periods. The displays are presented in rather staid wood-and-glass cases, but the information in English is well put together. The ground floor concentrates on ancient finds, and pride of place must go to a small selection of Greco-Roman era mummies just beyond the entrance, including a gilt-faced "Golden Mummy" from Bahariya. The most rare objects are the nondescript Old Kingdom terra-cotta jars displayed in the hall to the right of the mummies, which are unique to the oases region. The second floor displays items from the Islamic era, including blue tiles, cut glass, and Mamluk clothing from Al-Qasr.

The legend that the temple here was covered in gold conveys the strategic importance of this hilltop fortress. As well as ruling over Darb al-Arba'in—the southern gateway to Egypt on the ancient caravan trail to sub-Saharan Africa—the mud-brick Roman fortress probably controlled the Darb al-Dush route to Edfu and Esna in the Nile Valley. The crumbling fortress walls tower 10 meters high in some areas, while underground chambers go down five levels. A temple built of sandstone by Domitian in the 1st century AD and dedicated to Osiris and Seraphis, abuts the eastern flank of the fortress. The remains of the Roman garrison town of Kysis are scattered over the hillside below.

A Persian temple built on an earlier pharaonic site and continued under the Ptolemies, this sandstone temple was dedicated to the Theban triad of Amun, Mut, and Khonsu. The fortress was later used by a Roman garrison, who beefed up its mud-brick enclosure wall.

The Roman mud-brick fortress, which was built between the 3rd and 5th centuries AD, occupies a sand-choked wadi at the base of the northern escarpment. Its 12-meter (40-foot) walls protected a garrison that monitored passing caravans, and there was a large settlement here supported by a nearby spring. In ancient times, several manafis (underground aqueducts) brought water from the spring. One has been cleared and is now used to cultivate fields.

The temple at Qasr al-Zayyan is dedicated to the local deity Amenibis (Amun of Hibis), protector of the oasis. The temple's sandstone gate is well preserved, but its walls are swamped in sand. Next to the temple is a small Roman fortress.

This temple is one of only a handful of surviving Persian monuments in Egypt. It was built during the reign of the emperor Darius I (510–490 BC) on the site of an earlier temple dedicated to Amun. Later rulers surrounded the temple with a series of stone enclosures, and built an avenue of sphinxes. The reliefs are in good shape, and you can still see the garish colors on the bas-reliefs. Unfortunately, attempts by conservationists to protect the temple from rising groundwater have accelerated its destruction. The temple was closed at writing, but expected to reopen soon.

The Tourist Friends Association organizes free guided tours of the city's sights, including visits to local carpet-making, pottery, and date processing factories.