Farafra

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.

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.