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Kharga[khAr´gu] Pronunciation Key or Al Kharijah[Al khAr´EnjA] Pronunciation 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.
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