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Oases
Information  '
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| The
Place? |
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From
the Nile, the Sahara Desert stretches
3.000 miles westward to the Atlantic
Ocean. The world's greatest stretch of
desert is broken only by some spots of
green every here and there. An ideal get
away from the heavily populated cities of
Egypt, would be to take a trip into the
Western Desert where, on 94% of Egypt's
total area, live only 1% of the
population. Scattered over this vast area
of sand are five oases thriving with
vegetation, namely, Kharga, Dakhla,
Farafra, Baharreya and Siwa. Around each
of which are some ancient Pharaonic, Roman
and other archeological sites which could
be interesting. We should point out,
however, that the main reason behind
visiting the oases, shouldn't be
archeological, but to experience and live
the primitive life of the natives, in
other words anthropological. Depending on
how much time you have on your hands, you
can plan separate trips to the oases or
just take a tour through all five of them.
In such case however, it would be
preferable to have your own car since they
are quite far apart. This would also
facilitate the visits to the sites
scattered around the oases. Should you
insist on taking a life time
"transportation" adventure,
there are taxis, service taxis and buses
between the oases and the main cities
along the Nile, but those are very
unreliable since there isn't a real
schedule or set routes. Fortunately, the
Egyptian government has invested on
constructing roads linking all five oases
and Cairo. We would advise you to prepare
well for a trip to the oases, tents,
drinking water (the hot springs are only
suitable for swimming and not drinking),
gasoline, canned goods a first aid kit,
etc.
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| When
to go? |
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The
Western Desert, like Sinai, has a typical
desert climate. Which means sunny clear
skies, extremely hot days, and extremely
cold nights. During the summer the days
can reach 50'C, while a winter night can
get as cold as -4'C. Extreme weather
changes occur between day and night.
During the summer months of May through
August, visiting the oases isn't advisable
for the days would be too hot. The winter
months bring immensely cold nights, but
are more bearable than the summer. The
ideal time to visit the oases would be
late autumn or early spring, namely during
October, November or March and April, when
the weather is warm, sunny and pleasant.
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| How
to Go? |
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You
may like to book a tour through a travel agent in
Cairo or hire your own transport. Bear in mind
that desert driving has special requirements and
be sure to get a suitable vehicle and guidance on
possible hazards. 0therwise you can travel to each
location by bus or service taxi and arrange trips
from there. Service taxis go to Baharreya from the
Sayyeda Zeinab or Al-Azhar terminal. Buses from
Al-Azhar and Ataba Sq. go to Dakhla and Kharga. To
get to Siwa, you should take a train or bus to
Alexandria and then a bus to Marsa Matrouh, and
from there a service taxi or bus to Siwa. Although
a finished road exists between Siwa and Bahareya,
there is no public transport. Getting around in
the Oases will have to be by service taxi, but we
strongly advise you to go by car. .
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| The
People? |
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The
Bedouins of the Western Desert are somewhat
different from those you will meet in Sinai, they
come from different origins. Most of them are
descendents of the Arabian tribe of Awlad Ali,
some are descendents of the Berbers of Algeria and
Morocco. Further south you might meet some who
originate from Sudan. They are generally
hospitable people, and given there geographic
handicap meeting visitors is always a pleasure for
them. Some have adapted to the growing tourist
awareness and bought 4WD pickup trucks to act as
guides who take you to and from the attractions
around each oases. It is useful to take a guide
with you for they know the desert and getting lost
isn't at all funny.
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