Egypt > Sleeping on the desert sand

Egypt - Entrance to the tomb of Ramses III

I get up again at six o’clock. It’s starting to get easier. Today, I start the day feeling much better. Unfortunately, some of the other travelers are sick. I eat breakfast cautiously. At seven o’clock, we get on the bus under the supervision of Ale. Ale is our guard for the next few days through the desert. He’s a tough young guy of just 21, with a huge gun strapped to his belt. It looks safe, although I suspect he might disappear when we really need him. In Egypt, it’s mandatory to travel either with an armed guard on board or in a convoy. It must be necessary for some reason. But it could, fortunately, be worse. From the hotel, we are escorted by a police car with wailing sirens. Intersections are blocked to safely get the Dutch group out of the city. What nonsense! Once the police leave and we are fully reliant on Ale again, we stop several times to buy fruit, water, and withdraw money from an ATM. Driving past the pyramids, we head toward 6th October City.

Egypt - South of Bahariyya lies the Black Desert with the Black Mountain previously used as a lookout by the British

After that, it’s finally time for the desert. The weather is somewhat hazy, and it’s even cool in the bus. We drive through the Black Desert. The Black Desert was formed as dark rock formations eroded due to wind. At a resthouse in the middle of the desert, we have a drink and stretch our legs. On the way to the Bahariyya Oasis, we stop in the Black Desert to take a photo of the Black Mountain. This distinctive black mountain rises high above the desert and used to serve as a lookout for the British. We continue to Bahariyya. In the village, our bus is quite a spectacle. Many children wave at us. We laugh at the bicycle rental in the middle of town — the selection consists of a series of rusty bikes.

Egypt - Beautiful windshaped rock formations near Farafra Oasis at sunset

We stop at a hotel just outside Bahariyya for lunch. On the return, we drive back through the village, but unfortunately don’t have time to stop. Along the sometimes endless road, we continue deeper into the desert. The landscape changes from the gray-black terrain to the sandy landscapes I imagine a desert should have. At a viewpoint, there’s a chance to photograph the sand hills. Erwin climbs down to the sand dunes. Ale, our security man, follows him to bring him back. Ale challenges him to a race back up — Erwin wins, and Ale isn’t happy. He’s already looking for a rematch. At the Crystal Mountains, Mohammed shows how the quartz in the rocks glistens in the sunlight. From a distance, the mountain looks like crystal. As the sun sets behind the sand dunes, we arrive a little further at the Mushroom Mountains — beautiful limestone formations shaped like mushrooms by the wind. The orange glow of the setting sun makes for surreal scenes. From these Mushroom Mountains, we walk the last kilometer to our overnight site in the desert. At the desert tent, the Bedouins are already preparing the meal. Around a low table on a rug in the sand, we have our dinner. In the dark, the white limestone mountains of the White Desert reflect around the campsite. After dinner, music is played and songs are sung around the campfire. Unfortunately, the repertoire of the Bedouins and ours isn’t quite in sync yet. Around 10:30 p.m., we roll out our mats in the sand. The wind is strong and quite cold. An extra blanket helps against the wind, but unfortunately not against the sand blowing with it. I crawl deep into my sleeping bag and quickly fall asleep.