The Western Deserts of Egypt
Trip Start
Dec 16, 2005
1
7
12
Trip End
Jan 08, 2006
Oasis ofthe Western Deserts,
Egypt
Wednesday, December 28, 2005
We crossed into the black Desert where we stayed at this amazing straw hut resort in the middle of nowhere. Our guide offered us the choice of free camping in the freezing desert or stopping at this resort ... this is quite a no brainer ... Either you can freeze your ass off and pee in the sand or you can snuggle into a warm bed and have a hot shower in the morning ... I'm all for adventure but there has to be limits!!!
Arriving in the place in darkness we cooked our Christmas dinner of chicken and spuds ... drank some beer and off to sleep ... this is really one of the nice things about arriving in a desert hideaway at night .... you never know what to expect in the morning ..
Desert 1
. and wow !!! ... it did not let down as we are in the middle of some wonderful desert scenery ... and the toilets are clean!!!! The next day I get my first real experience of Egyptian life in dusty desert Oasis town. Here the tourists have not quite corrupted everything and you get a real feel of just how friendly and openly warm Egyptians can be ... beautiful smiling children are stopping us asking for pens (apparently something of a luxury in these parts) ... in the shops people are genuine and welcoming and the prices are only slightly inflated ...
We purchase our food and head off for our second and final free camp in the White Desert. To describe this place in words is an injustice ... so look at the photos ... not my best work but you get the idea. Suffice it to say the scenery is like nothing else I have seen.
After yet another cold night sleeping under the open starlight ... we wake in the morning to a white lunar landscape. I'm not sure what was more amazing ...this beautiful landscape, the amazing star filled night sky or the morning scence of 1 person per hill top to catch to the dawn ...
Once again we press on stopping at a sculptors place to view his dreams ... I could not resist a new dust collector ... his work in sandstone, amazing!
Then there was the mud hut village near Al-Quasr Oasis ... an incredible feat of mud masonry ..
Desert 10
. though not great for those of us with respiratory problems!!That night we stop at another oasis this time staying on the roof at Mohammed's place, under the open stars while cooks one of the nicest meals of the trip... hearty soups, stews, flat brad and chicken with lots of different salads ... and some of the locals join us around our roof top camp fire to regail us with music and dancing.
I awake in the morning to find Mohamed with a hot cup of tea and we chat while he fries some falafel for our breakfast ... inviting me to sample it before serving the others.
The next day we set off for the longest driving leg of the trip ... the 10 hour drive to Luxor. We cross what seems to be an immense expanse of first rocky then sandy desert ... punctuated by the occasional rock outcrop ...
