Deserts (Western Desert ~ Egypt)

December 2019

Saying a fond farewell to Cairo we headed into the desert. Actually that's not correct as we were more than happy to see the back of Cairo and feel sorry for anyone who has to live there.

Nine hours later our bus finally made it to Frafrara Oasis. On actually entering the oasis the bus had to pass through a serious police checkpoint - quite off putting. Once in town you then need to check in with the police. This was a bit weird as we were requested to sign a form saying we didn't want a police escort whilst here. Feeling this was a hangover from a few years ago and the bureaucracy hasn't caught up yet.

Our accommodation here was in a delightful little place run by the Farafarnui Brothers. In a classic case of bad timing they built the hotel in 2010 - one year before things fell apart and tourists stopped coming. Have to say the accommodation and food there was great. All of the buildings were made with mud bricks, domed ceilings and decorated exteriors - very cool.

From here we did two day trips into the eastern and western halves of the White Desert. The whiteness comes from the limestone which had been sculpted by the wind.  Again - very cool.

From Frafrara we headed to the next oasis along - a mere four hour micro bus ride to Al Qasr. Al Qasr is home to a medieval/Ottoman town whose old town (which dates back to the 1500s) is a maze of mud brick buildings. The lanes and entrance to the old town are built to act as protection against the bedouin raiders. This was done by only have four entrances and those being so short as to prevent camel riders entering. Once inside the lanes between houses are narrow, covered and full of bends.

Within the town are some of the original mills for for grinding wheat and for extracting olive oil (crusher and then squeezing).

The last time it rained here was 12 years ago and as a result 4 buildings collapsed.

Our accommodation at Al Qasr was nowhere near as good compared to Frafrara (even if it was 10% cheaper) - cold water showers for a start. From what we can gather the hotel was set up by a German woman several years ago and she has spent years trying to get the staff to clean the rooms properly and maintain the grounds and has slowly been worn down by the locals attitude. The one really good thing going for it was the large plunge pool which can  be filled on request from a hot water spring. Very relaxing sitting in it looking at the night sky.

Just behind the resort are a range of cliffs and Wadis which we had a few hours wandering around in on the vague hope of finding fossilised sharks teeth - sadly not successful.

By the time we ready to leave we were well relaxed - which was good as I think the stress of Egypt was starting to manifest itself.

From Al Qasr we had a choice of traveling to Al Kharga (4 hours by micro bus) then to Asyut (four hours by micro bus) then on to Luxor (six hours by train). Given that we would need to overnight somewhere and neither Al Kharga or Asyut sounded that nice we opted for a private taxi to take us straight to Luxor via a few back roads (seven hours) -  cost us $240 but think it was worth it.

En-route our driver pointed out some landmarks.  One that sticks in my mind is "Englishman's Hill". A small hillock in the middle of nowhere surrounded by endless gently undulating desert (and by desert I don't mean sand dunes but rather rocks and gravel). It's name comes from the fact the the Poms were stationed here during the War and it's still possible to find brass buttons and buckles lying on the ground. Poor bastards - can not think of a less appealing place to be stationed.

Next stop Luxor - home to Tutankhamun's Tomb