The Kharqa oasis is the most southern and largest of Egypt’s western oases. It is located about 200 km to the west of the Nile in the Libyan, or Western Desert. The oasis is about 160 km long and up to 80 km wide. The historic Darb el-Arbain trade route, running north-south between Middle Egypt (notably Assyut) and Sudan, passes through Kharqa. The oasis has been home to various ethnic groups since the early Dynastic period.