Siwa Oasis, Day One
We just returned from three days in the Siwa Oasis in western Egypt to see the Libyan desert. It’s a million miles away from the Egypt I know – the Egypt where smoggy, noisy, crowded Cairo is the center of everything. In Siwa, Cairo doesn’t seem to exist. In fact, nothing seems exists outside of the green oasis of palm trees, hot springs, and donkey carts.
The bus ride from Cairo to Marsa Matrouh and on to our final destination, the Siwa Oasis, is a long 9 – 12 hours through a lonely, flat, and sandy landscape. We barreled along in a deluxe bus down the same highway that Alexander the Great traveled in 331 BC in order to consult the Temple of the Oracle in the oasis.
The Siwa Oasis is on the edge of the Great Sand Sea in the Libyan desert. We took a 4×4 trip out into the sea – we didn’t have to go very far to feel very far away. We think perhaps it’s the farthest we’ve ever been from a McDonald’s, but we’ll have to confirm that.
Come on – would you be able to resist climbing to the top of the car? No way!
My guess is that this is a good example of seif dunes, meaning “sword” in Arabic. Besides miles and miles and miles of dunes, we found fossils in the sand, a reminder that millions of years ago we would have been sailing, rather than 4×4’ing.
D goes for some dune surfing, sans sandboard.
Our guide takes the quick way down from on top of the 4×4.
Ibrahim, our guide and driver, makes us some extremely sweet tea, with mint
Tea? Did somebody say tea? With mint? Watch out! I’m comin to get some!
Sunset in the Libyan desert. Sigh.
Stay tuned for Day 2 when we visit the Temple of the Oracle and ride bikes till we can’t sit anymore.
Tags: Egypt, Travel, Tag Index
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March 7th, 2007 at 7:35 pm
Your picture of the sand dunes looks very much like an Ansel Adams photo that he took at Death Valley National Monument, California, entitled “Sand Dunes, Sunrise”, c. 1948. In black and white, of course. Dunes make wonderful shadows and subject matter.
March 9th, 2007 at 7:22 pm
I was really glad to see that you had a guide. It occurred to me that you might get lost in the desert! The photos are lovely, really lovely. There must be a job waiting for you with National Geographic.
March 11th, 2007 at 7:22 am
Stunning, stunning images. You’ve seen a lot of the great things Egypt has to offer.
March 11th, 2007 at 3:11 pm
Thanks everyone for your kind comments on our photos. It’s been a lot of fun to take photos in Egypt because everything is interesting and new to me.
Once we get back to DC I’m sure I’ll put the camera back in the closet. LOL