Bahariyya Trip

Fed up with looking for apartments and the hectic city of Cairo, I decided to join my fellow classmates on a trip they had arranged to the Bahariyya Oasis and the Western Deserts.

Day 1


It always strikes me how integrated the pyramids are with Cairo when you just drive past them on your way out of the city... It is even more impressive in the evening, when the huge shadows appearing out of nowhere just sneak up on you as you pass.


The microbus to Bahariyya was not really worth documenting, but once we got there we had lunch (not me since I am fasting) and then left for a small concrete pool the bedouins had manufactured to amuse the tourists. The brownish water was far from amusing, though, and I was worried Austin's fresh scar on the chin would get infected. (He had "happened" to fall on the ground on his way out of a cab the day before and his neighbour had dragged him to a hospital where they had sown his chin together.)


Alex, Mohammed, Giorgio, Martin & Austin getting a first glimpse of the desert.


This part was called the Black Desert for quite obvious reasons and we were told it is black because there were active volcanoes here at one point, however there are apparently other theories as well. The one about "the sun burning the rocks" seems a bit far-fetched though. :-P


Racing into the desert with our two jeeps!


The desert landscape was stunning as usual...


The three stooges posing for the camera.


How to build a cosy desert camp: Take two jeeps. Put them close together at a 90 degree angle. Cover them up with awesome arabic inspired cloth rolles. Put matresses and a table in-between. Add pleasant company, beer and sheesha to taste. :-)


Aly (I am guessing this is the way to spell it even if it was often mistaken for Ali) had an odd fetisch of wanting to be covered with sand wherever she was... ;-)


Yet another beautiful sunset pic. Don't worry, there will be more to come.


Alex, Giorgio and Austin (and possible Peter's legs) camping out by the fire and hungry for grilled chicken.


Our nice driver Samiir was quick to respond to their aching stomachs and threw the chicken around on the grill like a pro!!


Kristian the Dane was happy when the sun set because now noone would be able to recognize his nationality and he could feel safe.


A bit later this sweet band came out to us in the middle of the desert and played us some songs.


Alex shaking away to the oriental rhythms.


I really like how the smiling moon just rises on the horizon as night falls and the faint shadows of the sand dunes below it...


Samiir prepared some fuul (mashed beans) for us in the middle of the night to have for sohoor (the last snack you have before sunrise during ramadan).


Day 2


The first night was freezing actually, and since someone had stolen like five blankets for himself I only had one to cover myself with and I almost couldn't sleep at all.


Guess who had taken all the blankets? Peter looked mysteriously rested in the morning. ;-)


I almost managed to get a really nice panorama shot of the desert, hadn't a certain scarfaced Texan dived into my last photo like Jack in the Box. But it turned out pretty cool though.


Jason and Chris in the entrance to the crystal mountain.


Life as a camel is a bit easier nowadays when they can take the camel taxi everywhere instead of having to walk through the desert. Had they known their final destination was the butcher's, however, they might have preferred the alternative... :-P


Some mushroom rocks in the white desert.


This used to be the bottom of a sea...


Watch out for the handsome American tourist! ;-)


Forest Bump?


The photo of the bush everyone made fun of me for taking. Those rogues just had no idea of how great it was going to turn out... ;-)


One of the few photos of me I had from this trip. I will definitely replace it with one where I don't look like a drunken caveman (should that be possible) when I get the photos from the other guys on the trip. :-P

There were a lot of funny figures in the White Desert. Below are a few examples.


The hen and the tree. Or the hen and the mushroom. Or the hen with a small nuclear explosion up her ass dreaming of a big one (greetings to Kim Jong Il seem appropriate here).


Il-Kitaab (The Book).


El Porteño (The Argentinian). This particular one was very lifelike.

After this we camped out in the desert again in much the same way as the night before, with some beer, great food, a camp fire and the moon and stars. Only difference was that Peter didn't get five blankets this time. ;-)


Day 3


Not much happened this day except that we went back to Cairo. The funniest thing (for all of us but one at least) was probably the during the night the desert foxes had stolen one of Kristian's shoes. Maybe they could feel the unmistakable and irresistable smell of Danish pölse mixed with Carlsberg and sjokolaaaade from it, heck if I know! It was gone anyway and I documented the sole survivor (note incredibly clever pun here). :-D


A gang of camels who had managed to avoid the butcher's saluted us as we headed back to Cairo. The end of a great trip and some great fun...