Blogs from Western Desert, Egypt, Africa - page 2

The Western Desert is vast, stretching from the Nile and the Mediterranean to the Sudanese and Libyan borders. The Great undulating Sand Sea contains some of the largest dunes on earth. The strange rock formations of the White Desert litter the sandscape like meringues gone mad; and the charred dark peaks of the Black Desert exude an other-worldly feel. It's an isolated, desolate, sometimes eerie landscape. Out on a limb, away from the desert circuit road, lies Siwa, a tiny, tranquil, still largely traditional oasis, surrounded by ruins, springs and date palms. But Siwa is changing. Mahdi Hweiti has lived in Siwa all of his life. 'For every person it's different. I cannot be away from my village for more than a week'. When Mahdi was a boy there was no road at all - not ... read more

I spent the morning debating whether to go back to Cairo that night and once I deceided I would, I packed my bag and checked out of the Palm Trees Hotel. I got some lunch and then went back for the desert safari. It turned out there was 9 of us doing the desert safari, but I was the only one not camping out in the desert. At first there was just one jeep, whihc looked in reasonable condition. This battered old Toyota then pulled in and was to be our second jeep. It didn't look like it would make it to the desert, never mind drive through it. Of course, this was the jeep I ended up in. As great as Wadi Rum in Jordan was, this was proper desert. Sand dune mountains roling on ... read more

Day 93 cont… – The Western Desert (Black Desert) It was only 3 – 3 ½ hour drive until sundown, we were now in the Black Desert (part of the Western Desert). We continued on for a little bit longer until Nick spotted the turnoff that leads to a bush camp he’s used before. We found a flat spot to park the truck and then set up camp. Nick recommended sleeping under the stars (‘cos how often do you get the chance), most went for it but there were a few couples that set up tents. It was beginning to get cold, so once the fire was started we all spent a good 2 hours around it while dinner was cooked and then everything packed away. There is a rotation system for cooking and also cleaning ... read more

GAP Adventures offers both one week and two week tours of Egypt. The former seemed a bit short to me, and the latter seemed a bit long. In hindsight, I still feel the same way. The second week of our tour definitely did not have the consistent “wow” factor of the first. Most of it was just OK (Alexandria, for example), and we had to spend a lot of time on the road. There’s no way around it, though. If you want to see the White Desert (and believe me, you do), you have to spend some time out there. As much as I’d like to have the verbal dexterity to describe the experience of sunset and sunrise in the White Desert or, even more, the experience of waking up there in the middle of the ... read more

When I was looking into travelling in Egypt, one place stood out above everything else - I'd go and see the Pyramids, the Cairo Musuem, Luxor, etc, almost whether I wanted to or not, but I'd read a blog on the White Desert almost 10 months ago, and for me, that was the main attraction in the country. The desert just seems so bewitching, alien, and exotic. In Siwa, it was all that and more. And I hoped for the same with the White Desert, on the edge of the Sahara. I sorted out a tour easily in Bahariya (the touts don't let you relax for long), and set off just before midday for another overnight tour. The tour was a mad dash through as many sights as the driver could fit into one day - ... read more