Dakhla Oasis is the second provincial capital of the new valley and lies 350 km from the Nile Valley with an area of 145,369 square miles (376,505 square km).. It is situated between the Kharga and Farafra oases. It is inhabited by about 166,000 (2004 est) people and is considered one of the most beautiful Oases in Egypt. Dakhla is famed with its several wells such as Mut and Ayn al Qasr in which the water temperature reaches 45oc. The economy in the Oasis depends on agriculture and tourist activities as well as phosphate extraction. The main crops there are mulberry trees, date palms, figs and citrus fruits. Many rock inscriptions and graffiti could be traced along the track of Darb el-Ghubbari which links Dakhla with Kharga Oasis. At Al-Dakhilah tombs of the Old Kingdom (c. 2686–2160 BC) were discovered in the 1970s by an Egyptian archaeological expedition headed by Ahmed Fakhry. Al-Kharijah has more extensive ruins. Throughout pharaonic history the oases served as places of exile or re fuge for those in disfavored with the government. In Roman and Byzantine times the oases had widespread cultivation, and they became flourishing Christian settlements. Later, however, raids by desert tribal groups reduced their prosperity. The oasis dwellers were originally Libyan Berber-speaking peoples, mixed with immigrants from the south and with exiled Egyptians. In the Muslim period Arabs intermingled with them, and now they are Arabic speakers. The nomadic desert dwellers are from the Awlad 'Ali tribal group. The main attractions there are there are Huwaytah Temple and Amenebi.