White Desert

The White Desert (Arab.: الصحراء البيضاء, el-sahara el-beida) is located in the Egyptian part of the Libyan Desert about 30 kilometers northeast of the oasis farafra and 130 kilometers southwest of the oasis bahariya, and 420 km southwest of CairoBoth oases were already inhabited around 8000 BC. In Pharaonic times they served as military "outpost against marauding Libyan tribes"^[1] as well as “places of exile and penal camps”^[2].

The core area of ​​the White Desert covers approximately 12 km by 12 km and is known for its limestone formations, which make it a large natural sculpture park. It is distinct from the Western White Desert (el-sahara el-beida gharbiya), which impresses less with individual sculptures than with larger formations.