We stopped at noon while Hannie made lunch for us, Shak Shuka which is scrambled eggs, tomatoes, onions, and vegetables. It is so good, They also make a salad with, tomatoes cucumbers, onions and cream feta cheese mixed. This is always served with Egyptian bread. It is all so good. We stayed at the camp for the hottest part of the day under the tent cover, where it was reasonably cool although the sand was too hot for bare feet. Hannie our cook taught us some card games to pass the time. This lunch stop area was on a large dune with rocky outcrops around us. By mid afternoon we set out off road again to our campsite. This one was spectacular. We drove through a mountain pass which reminded me of the Grand Canyon and out on to a huge line of golden sand dunes. The oasis in the valley was below us. While the Bedouins set up camp we climbed to the highest part of the dunes. Funny but it must be instinct to get to the top of the highest spot around. It was full moon and the view was spectacular. After supper the cook put out our leftovers and some water and a tiny Fennec Fox came out to eat. He is about the size of my medium size cat and has a big bushy tail and long perky ears. I saw his tiny foot prints in the sand. Again we slept out in the open, just stars and moon and loud Bedouin music till lights went out.
Friday March 20
After breakfast and another long climb through the dunes we went into the oasis in the valley below. We had a tour of a 1200 year old mud brick fortress. Amazing place, the modern day town is also made mainly of mud brick. The basket weavers were selling their wares and I bought a hat (same as the farmers there wear) and a laundry basket woven by the ladies there. We drove through the oasis which was at least 20 KM long and went into a field which had a large pipe pouring water from a hot spring into a cement holding pond. By this time we were very dirty from the sand and not washing for two days so in the big holding tank we went, clothes and all. We washed out hair and got clean allover. What a treat, we stayed there in the field while the cook made diner and watched the farmers work in the fields and the traffic on the foot path go by. There was a procession of donkeys with carts or being ridden as well as people on foot. Shepherds and a large flock of sheep and goats came by and all the sheep were dipped in and washed. Now the sheep didn’t like that and ran away each time a new sheep was selected for the tub, then the shepherds had to round them all back again many times. The baby goats were the cutest.
After another good lunch we set off on road and off road to our next camping spot. We turned off into a desert area and headed into the dunes, huge dunes, running North to South as far as the eye can see and parallel to them was another set of dunes following the same pattern. As did the next as far as we could see. The dunes look like huge sculptures, they are so beautiful. We parked in a large valley between the sets of parallel dunes and they set up camp. We set off up the dunes again, these were so high, higher that the night before. I sat on top till the sun a set and the moon rose. Later that evening instead of bunking down in the shelter the fellows had made with the trucks I took my sleeping bag and camel blanket and went to a few feet from the highest point and slept in a little hollow. It got a bit breezy, which meant fine sand everywhere but I turned out of the wind, pulled up my camel hair blanket and slept there. I was awake to see the sunrise from the high dune. After breakfast we hit the road/off road and by lunch time we stopped at a ‘cold’ spring they called it but another hot spring to us. We hopped in again , clothes and all and I was dry within and hour in the scorching heat. We were met there by our van to drive us to Cairo, I was sorry to have to leave. Truly an unforgettable experience.
Sunday 23 March 2008
Desert camping : Part 2
We stopped at noon while Hannie made lunch for us, Shak Shuka which is scrambled eggs, tomatoes, onions, and vegetables. It is so good, They also make a salad with, tomatoes cucumbers, onions and cream feta cheese mixed. This is always served with Egyptian bread. It is all so good. We stayed at the camp for the hottest part of the day under the tent cover, where it was reasonably cool although the sand was too hot for bare feet. Hannie our cook taught us some card games to pass the time. This lunch stop area was on a large dune with rocky outcrops around us. By mid afternoon we set out off road again to our campsite. This one was spectacular. We drove through a mountain pass which reminded me of the Grand Canyon and out on to a huge line of golden sand dunes. The oasis in the valley was below us. While the Bedouins set up camp we climbed to the highest part of the dunes. Funny but it must be instinct to get to the top of the highest spot around. It was full moon and the view was spectacular. After supper the cook put out our leftovers and some water and a tiny Fennec Fox came out to eat. He is about the size of my medium size cat and has a big bushy tail and long perky ears. I saw his tiny foot prints in the sand. Again we slept out in the open, just stars and moon and loud Bedouin music till lights went out.
Friday March 20
After breakfast and another long climb through the dunes we went into the oasis in the valley below. We had a tour of a 1200 year old mud brick fortress. Amazing place, the modern day town is also made mainly of mud brick. The basket weavers were selling their wares and I bought a hat (same as the farmers there wear) and a laundry basket woven by the ladies there. We drove through the oasis which was at least 20 KM long and went into a field which had a large pipe pouring water from a hot spring into a cement holding pond. By this time we were very dirty from the sand and not washing for two days so in the big holding tank we went, clothes and all. We washed out hair and got clean allover. What a treat, we stayed there in the field while the cook made diner and watched the farmers work in the fields and the traffic on the foot path go by. There was a procession of donkeys with carts or being ridden as well as people on foot. Shepherds and a large flock of sheep and goats came by and all the sheep were dipped in and washed. Now the sheep didn’t like that and ran away each time a new sheep was selected for the tub, then the shepherds had to round them all back again many times. The baby goats were the cutest.
After another good lunch we set off on road and off road to our next camping spot. We turned off into a desert area and headed into the dunes, huge dunes, running North to South as far as the eye can see and parallel to them was another set of dunes following the same pattern. As did the next as far as we could see. The dunes look like huge sculptures, they are so beautiful. We parked in a large valley between the sets of parallel dunes and they set up camp. We set off up the dunes again, these were so high, higher that the night before. I sat on top till the sun a set and the moon rose. Later that evening instead of bunking down in the shelter the fellows had made with the trucks I took my sleeping bag and camel blanket and went to a few feet from the highest point and slept in a little hollow. It got a bit breezy, which meant fine sand everywhere but I turned out of the wind, pulled up my camel hair blanket and slept there. I was awake to see the sunrise from the high dune. After breakfast we hit the road/off road and by lunch time we stopped at a ‘cold’ spring they called it but another hot spring to us. We hopped in again , clothes and all and I was dry within and hour in the scorching heat. We were met there by our van to drive us to Cairo, I was sorry to have to leave. Truly an unforgettable experience.
