Desert Safari

Our approach to the Black Desert, an area known for it charred volcanic peaks.
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After leaving behind the tourist hordes in the Nile Valley and returning to our base guesthouse in Cairo for a night, we set out on a desert adventure!  We struck out on a six hour bus ride from Cairo to the Bahariya Oasis in the Western Desert, where we were met by our desert safari guide, Amar.  Having already decided once on the trip to forgo a desert camel safari in India, we again decided to skip a prolonged camel ride.  Let's face it: camels are mean, smelly, uncomfortable (seriously, have you ever seen a camel saddle?), and to top it off they spit at you.  So we went into the Western Desert on an overnight Jeep safari!

Some small sand dunes on our initial foray into the Western Desert.
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We drove for what seemed like hours through the endless expanses of sand and dunes, occasional shrubbery, and one or two seemingly deserted microwave transmitter towers.  We would see no sign of life during the searing daylight hours, apart from the odd military vehicle or like-minded desert safari.  The Egyptian military has a strong presence in the desert, but with the huge tracts of open space their outposts seem few and far between.  To go into the deep desert on a week-long trek requires a military escort, typically a retired high-ranking officer, who can navigate through potential hazards like mine fields.  You also need a backup vehicle for every jeep with passengers, and although you should have a GPS for navigation most of these old Egyptian military types (apparently) know how to read the desert and make their way without complicated navigation systems.  Maybe next time.

At a point of interest in the Western Desert: the Crystal Mountain, a ridge composed entirely of quartz with a Katherine-sized archway in the middle. The locals call it Hagar al-Makhrum, or the "Hole in the Rock."
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The Western Desert consists of many areas, but our three-day visit on this trip took us to the White Desert, the Black Desert, and the Bahariya Oasis.  Enjoy the photos!