Blogs from Baharia, Western Desert, Egypt, Africa

It was “Dawn Patrol” time again. Many travelers are aware of the scenario: up sinfully early and ready to go before the sun thinks about rising. It was our turn. We had many miles to travel this day and required all the sunlight possible if we were to see what the area had to offer. We were heading 600 km (350 miles) from Cairo into the desert. We were met by Mohamed and Gamel, tossed our belongings in the back of the ten passenger van and off we went, leaving early enough to avoid the morning traffic, which is a plus when you’re in Cairo and honestly we were more than ready to leave Cairo. This was the start of what was going to be a fantastic day, well two days, but at this point, frankly, ... read more

Put je dalje išao prema zapadnoj Egipatskoj Sahari, maloj oazi u jednom od najljepših dijelova najveće svjetske pustinje, Bahariyi. Autobus do Bahariye vozi satima kroz beskrajne prazne pješčane ravnice. Egipatski autobusi su sasvim pristojni ako se izuzme višesatno puštanje Kurana na zaglašujućoj decibelaži. I tako se nakon nekoliko sati monotonoga ali lijepog žutila ukazale palme Bahariye. Bahariya je u punom smislu riječi oaza… Voda, palme, ljudi, životinje okruženi pustinjom. Iako sam svom domaćinu Mohammedu Kotabyu se najavio mailom unaprijed ispostavilo se da on taj očito nije pročitao… Da situacija bude malo nezgodnija ispostavilo se da mu ni broj mobitela nije funkcionalan pa sam pola sata sjedio na praznoj autobusnoj stanici. Ukazao se neki rasklimani kamion, provirio zamotani beduin i na sasvim solidnom engleskom upitao što tu radim… Objasnih mu da čekam gospodina Kotab... read more

We've been traveling through the Middle East for almost 3 months now, we've seen desert. We've seen vast expanses of sand and rock. We've visited remote castles and isolated villages. They've been interesting, enjoyable, but none really compare to the spectacular scenery of Egypt's Western Desert. It was already midday before the coach dropped us off in Bawiti, the biggest town in Baharia Oasis (yes, the oases are big enough to have multiple villages in them!), so by the time we'd met the other tourists and the local drivers who would take us into the desert in two 4x4s and stopped for 'bedouin lunch' it was getting fairly late in the afternoon and we weren't too inspired. However the road soon took us far away from other people, to where hours pass with just sand and ... read more

On my last day there is a fire in Cairo. In my stomach. Taking this as a cue that the city no longer agrees with me, it's time to leave. I arrive too late the next morning to catch the solitary bus to Bahariyya, a desert oasis that is to be my next destination. Instead I am pointed towards the minibus depot, located miles away under a urine soaked flyover. There isn't a foreigner or English speaker in sight but I am eventually able to locate the correct desert taxi and we get underway after barely an hour of waiting. The minibus has 17 seats but we get away with just 23 occupants. Behind me the back four seats are taken up by two voluminous women and their assorted baggage. I have already noticed that many ... read more

The journey began at 6:00am from Cairo. Lauren (my friend and fellow intern) and I traveled south of Cairo to the Western desert's Bahariya Oasis to experience one of Egypt's natural wonders. We arrived at the oasis over an hour ahead of schedule - the drive from Cairo only took 4.5 hours, mostly of which we both slept through. From the town of Bawiti in the oasis, we jumped into a jeep with our Bedouin driver and headed out to the desert. We first visited the Black Desert, which was slightly disappointing. However, the White Desert did not fail to impress. The guide drove us all over to see the interesting rock formations. These included the fish, the chicken, the rabbit, and the mushroom. One funny moment in particular was going to a site and our ... read more