Farafra is the nearest oasis to the White Desert. The main town straddles the desert highway that snakes from the White desert down past Abu Mingar all the way to Dakhla.
Farafra was known in ancient Egypt as the Land of the Cow, in honour of the Egyptian goddess Hathor who was symbolized by a cow. The text of the ancient Egyptian folkstory the ‘Eloquent Peasant’ talks of the ‘rods of Farafra’. This may have been a reference to a type of oasis cane used for making furniture and even fishing rods.
Crafts of Farafra
Unlike Siwa, with its jewelry, and Dakhla and Kharga with their ceramics, there is no great craft tradition celebrated in Farafra apart from the spinning of wool- both from camels and sheep. Unusually, both for Egypt and the world in general, spinning is considered a male occupation. Heavy jowelled fellows who look like they could land a good punch can be seen strolling the main street twirling a spindle and bobbin as they chat with friends and drink a glass of mint tea. Knitting, too, as amongst sailors, is an occupation practiced by men as well as a few liberated women in Farafra.

Hot Springs
As in Bahariyya, Farafra is well endowed with hot springs. What could be more relaxing than soaking away the desert sand after a hard safari through the White Desert? Bir Sitta, Well Six, is particularly good for travelers, especially if suffering a few aches and pains from the new experience of camel riding. The large hot bath contains traces of sulphur which are said to aid muscle and joint recovery. It is about five kilometres from the main town but easy to reach by taxi or car.
Another character worth appraising is the primitive pop artist Badr whose own brand of naïve sculpture and painting is displayed in his house/museum and exotic garden. Badr has exhibited in France and Germany and his museum is behind the school.

Did you know?
The first census of Farafra in 1892 put the population at a mere 542 inhabitants, one thirtieth of its current population.