Kharga

Kharga (khär'gu) [key]or Al Kharijah (äl khär'ēnjä) [key], large oasis (1986 pop. 38,544), S central Egypt, in the Libyan (Western) Desert. Populated chiefly by Arab Bedouins and Arab-speaking Berbers, the irrigated oasis produces cereals, vegetables, olives, dates, citrus fruits, and alfalfa. Cattle and poultry are also raised. Al Kharga, the chief settlement, is a rail terminus. The oasis was prosperous in ancient times, and there are ruins of temples built by the Achaemenids of ancient Persia and by the Romans.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2007, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

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