Foto: The mushroom rocks in the White Desert (bron: Ronald van der Veer)
Egypt - At seven o’clock, accompanied by Ale, we board the bus. Ale is our guard for the coming days through the desert. A tough young guy of just 21, with a huge gun on his belt. It looks safe, but I estimate he will be gone when we really need him. In Egypt, it is mandatory to travel either with an armed guard on board or in a convoy. It must be necessary somewhere. But it could be worse. From the hotel, we are escorted by a police car with blaring sirens. Intersections are blocked to get the Dutch safely out of the city. What nonsense! After the police leave and we rely fully on Ale again, we stop a few times to buy fruit, water, and withdraw money at an ATM. We drive past the pyramids toward 6th October City. Then it’s really time for the desert. The weather is a bit hazy and even chilly in the bus. We drive through the Black Desert. The Black Desert was formed because the dark rock formations eroded by the wind. At a rest house in the middle of the desert, we have a drink and can stretch our legs. On the way to the oasis town of Bahariyya, we stop in the Black Desert to take a photo of the black mountain. This characteristic black mountain rises far above the desert and once served as a lookout point for the English. We continue to Bahariyya. In the village, our bus is a spectacle. We are waved at by many children. We laugh heartily at the bike rental in the middle of the town. The assortment consists of a series of rusty bicycles. Too bad we don’t have time to stop here. On the sometimes endless road, we drive further into the desert. The view changes from the black-gray landscapes to the sandy landscapes as I imagine a desert. At a viewpoint, there was an opportunity to take a photo of the sand dunes. At the Crystal Mountains, Mohammed shows how the quartz in the mountain glistens in the sunlight. From a distance, the mountain therefore looks like crystal. While the sun disappears behind the sand dunes, we arrive a bit further at the mushroom mountains. Beautiful limestone rock formations shaped like mushrooms by the wind. With the orange glow of the setting sun, this creates surreal images. From these mushroom mountains, we walk the last kilometer to our overnight place in the desert. At the tent in the desert, the Bedouins are already preparing the meal. In the dark, the white limestone mountains around the overnight spot of the White Desert reflect the light.
Citadel of Cairo
Egypt - The Citadel is also especially busy due to the Sugar Festival (Eid al-Fitr). While a line of over a hundred meters of Egyptians waits to enter the Citadel, we can enter through the special tourist entrance. The likely difference is that we pay, and they ...
Pyramids of Giza and the Sphinx
Egypt - Of course, I knew the pictures from history books — the pyramids of Giza: three stone structures whose construction still remains a mystery. The illustrations showed thousands of workers stacking stone upon stone. Beautiful, of course. But I will never ...
The temples of Abu Simbel
Egypt - The temple of Abu Simbel was carved out of rock by order of Ramses II. Originally, the temple stood 200 meters eastward. However, due to the construction of the High Dam near Aswan, nearly 300 kilometers away, the Abu Simbel temple would have been submerged ...
The temples of Karnak and Luxor
Egypt - At the end of the afternoon, we visit the temples of Karnak, about three kilometers from Luxor. With seven horse-drawn carriages, we travel in a procession to Karnak. In front of the temple, Mohammed gives a detailed explanation about the temple. Karnak ...
The Valley of the Kings in Luxor
Egypt - The Valley of the Kings is the burial site of the pharaohs from the period 1500 – 1000 BC. As it turns out, we are not the only tourists — it is incredibly crowded. For many day-trippers from Hurghada, this is one of the must-see attractions. From ...