Development in the Desert: A Case Study of Farafra Oasis, Egypt

This is the second round of studies on Farafra oasis by scholars from the Institute of Developing Countries of Warsaw University. A volume covering their research in 1993 appeared in 1995; it measured the pace of change introduced in all aspects of life during the first ten years after opening the secluded oasis to the outside world. Now, ten years later, the change is overwhelming: settlers from the Nile Valley, tourists from the world at large, and the locals visiting Cairo or other places in Egypt and abroad, all brought with them new things and new ideas which have irrevocably transformed the traditional ways of life. There is no use regretting the vanished past. The people of Farafra have gained enormously from better education, better health care, and better income. Yet, the task of recording the memory of the disappearing traditions is urgent as never before.