Farafra

Travel Stories - Egypt


Farafra-Oasis-Egypt-Desert-Rocks-White-Formations

introduction


I am still traveling alone in the western part of the Egyptian desert; this afternoon I chartered a service taxi and on my way to the oasis village called Farafra. This should and must be the smallest oasis in the region. I am in the taxi with three other Egyptians and hot air is coming in through the open windows in the front. It is in the middle of the summer and it is very hot in Egypt. If the car slows down a bit, you feel sweat everywhere on your body. The motto is to drink water all day even if you think you are not thirsty.

 

From time to time I fall asleep in the car and see through my heavy eyelids a landscape of large flat sand plains interrupted by large gray stones and the occasional small mud house. It is half past seven when I arrive in Farafra where about 3000 people, most of the Bedouin living. I check into a hostel on the main road and eat a bit further away at a small eatery that is appropriately called Hussein. Fortunately they are still open because it is one of the few restaurants in town. I watch the TV in front the hostel together with some local people; it is on a small table and some people have come here to watch together. Now that the sun has set, there is a breeze and it is comfortable here - finally.


twin peaks


Yesterday I booked a tour at the hostel to the white desert, one of the sights and highlights in the region. But first we have to go to the local police station to make a kind of statement. To my knowledge I have been constantly followed in the western desert and probably/ hopefully or perhaps only for my own safety.

 

After I have reported there, the three of us (Ahmed and the driver) can board the jeep and head for our first stop. We drive past the ruins of Fort Farafra, where the village is named after; My guide tells us that when danger occured all residents came to the safe fort where they each received a different room. In time of peace, stocks were already being built up by the people concerned so that in case of encirclement there was enough food and drink for a while. Now we drive back on the main road and leave the dusty oasis village behind us. We drive towards Bahariyya and after about 20 km we arrive at our first rock formations. It is called "Sahra al-Beida" here. 

 

The white desert has a white, creamy color and massive chalk formations that have arisen as a result of occasional sandstorms in the area. The desert is formed from the remains of microscopic sea creatures that lived here in the sea about 80 million years ago. After the disappearance of the sea, the wind was responsible for erosion to contemporary rock formations. Depending on the composition and hardness of rocks and their layers, bizarre structures such as mushrooms, towers or hand shapes arose. With a little imagination you can see dogs, a hippopotamus, camels and other creatures in these remarkable rock formations.

 

We drive all the way to the prominent rocks they call here Twin Peaks where a bit further the white desert ends. Behind it lies the black desert. On the way back we stop at what they call the "crystal" mountain here; I enjoy the impressive view of hills, rocks and white sand.This is an unique sights where not a lot of people (read; tourist) know about.


The English patient


In the afternoon I am taken to my hotel where I take a shower and wash the sweat and the sand of my body and get it out of my clothes. Down in the lobby I meet an Egyptian who has lived in the Netherlands and invites me for lunch. I walk with him and it turns out that I am the only tourist in the whole Bedouin village. Looking at the dusty streets and the local women wearing beautifully decorated dresses and blouses, it seems as if I have landed 100 years back in time. I see traditional architecture; simple, smooth, without any frills and everything in the color of mud.

 

I end up in a small mud house where a plate with rice and a piece of meat is offered. Cutlery is lacking. The man speaks English well and talks about the film and book "The English Patient" which I know reasonably well. He talks about the fact that this really happened, but that the story has been adjusted changed. The Englishman in the book is not a Brit but a Hungarian.

 

He was also not plagued by burns and/or a broken heart. He was an adventurer who in 1942 managed to bring a German spy through the Western deserts (where we are now) along the English lines in Egypt. Also the English organization Long Range Desert Group which is also mentioned in the film was real - these patrolled in this region not to infiltrate German or Italian soldiers. 

 

After dinner we hang out togehter for a while before I go back to my hotel. In the evening I am ready with my big bag to trudge to the gas station a little later. The heat is gone but the bus is late - an hour later as planned he finally comes and stops. It becomes clear that the bus is fully packed and that he can not offer me a place unfortunately. Back at the hotel I can take a seat upstairs in a big lobby to sleep in and do not have to pay anything. In the morning I will try a new attempt.



tips & advice (2004)


Farafra is a small oasis city without a bus or train station. You can simply hold your hand out on a number of fixed points (and move back and forth) on the main road to stop a bus or (service/shared) taxi. A fixed place where cars and busses stop is the gas station.

 

Farafra - Cairo: two buses a day go to the capital via Bahariyya; one at 10:00 in the morning and one at 22:00. Price is EL 27 and the duration is about 8 to 10 hours.


  • Name: Al-Badawiyya safari and Hotel

Address: Farafra (main road)

Price: EL 10 (dormitory)

Phone nr. : 012 2148343

Email: badawya@link.com.eg

 

Content:

Great hotel located on the main road in Farafra about 200 meters north of the famous gasstation where buses stop. It is a beautiful large mud building with a large open lobby and different types of rooms. All rooms are clean but it is a popular place for groups and overlanders so it can also be full. You can have breakfast here (no dinner) and there is also a possibility to book tours to, among other things, the white dessert.


TOUR white desert:

There are a number of people who can take you to the White Desert with a (guided) tour. One of them works at the hostel where I slept (see accommodation). 

  • TIME: 0900 - 1330 tour
  • PERSONS: guide and driver
  • PRICE: 75 EL (half day)

Don’t forget:

Water, snack, money (change), cardigan or vest, sunglasses, sunscreen, cap, long-sleeved shirt.


Farafra-Oasis-Egypt-Desert-Rocks-White-Formations

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