Bahariya (El-Wahat El-Baharia Arab. الواحات البحرية‎, “Northern oases”) is an oasis in Egypt, in the governorate of Giza. There is a museum. The main agricultural crops are grown: guava, mango, dates, olives. There are also more than 400 sources of mineral water, cold and warm.

Geography
The oasis is located about 370 km southwest of Cairo. It has the shape of an oval, stretching from north to southwest. Length up to 94 km, width up to 42 km. The total area is up to 2000 km².

Settlement
The oasis of Bahariya consists of several villages, the largest of which (the administrative center of the district) is called Bawiti. In the neighborhood is the village of Qasr. To the east, about ten kilometers away, lie the villages of Mandishah and Ez-Zabu, between which lies the small village of Aguz. A few more kilometers to the east is the easternmost village, Harra. The last village is called Khiyaz, but it is not considered by everyone to be part of Bahariya, as it is too remote from all other villages, about 50 km south of Baviti.

People and culture
The population of the oasis, or the Wahati people (from the Arabic word Waha, meaning oasis), are the descendants of the ancient people who inhabited the oasis, the Bedouin tribes from Libya and the northern coast, as well as other peoples of the Nile Valley who settled in the oasis.
Most Wahati people are Muslims. There are many mosques in Bahariya. The social structure in the oasis is strongly influenced by Islam.
Traditional music is very important to Wahati. At social gatherings, especially at weddings, music is performed with the help of flutes, drums and simsimia (an instrument like a harp). Traditional rural songs are passed down from generation to generation, and new songs are being composed. Contemporary Arabic music is also popular in the oasis.

History
In Baharia, the ruins of the temple of Alexander the Great remained. Some archaeologists believe that the commander passed through Baharia, returning from the oracle of Amun from the Siwa oasis. In 1996, excavations began on a Greco-Roman necropolis known as the Valley of the Golden Mummies. Approximately 34 tombs from that era have been excavated.
In the ancient rocks of the oasis, scientists have found the remains of the skeletons of Carcharodontosaurus, Bahariasaurus and Stomatosuchus, dating back about 95 million years ago.

Modern Life
Over the last 30 years The oasis was rapidly changing. In the early 1970s, an asphalt road was laid connecting Bahariya with Cairo. With the new road came electricity, cars, television, telephone lines. In addition, the language spoken by the Wahati people has changed and is increasingly influenced by the Cairo dialect through music and television.