For centuries, tourists have come to Egypt to enjoy its monuments and a civilisation that dates back thousands of years, concentrated on the banks of the Nile. Although visitors to the country normally only get to see 6 per cent of Egypt, that's all going to change with the emergence of ecotourism, which will allow tourists to visit the other 94 per cent too. "Egypt is blessed with three fantastic deserts: the Sinai Desert, the Eastern Desert and the Western Desert. Each has its own particular character, indigenous peoples, history and myths," says Mahmoud A.M. el-Kaissouni, the Environmental Adviser to Egypt's Minister of Tourism. "The Sinai Desert, home to ten protectorates, is referred to by many as the ‘Holy Desert'; the Romans called it the ‘Land of Fire'. There, you can find the world's smallest butterfly, or go bird-watching and witness the world's largest seasonal migration, with over 270 bird species taking wing across the desert in their millions, twice a year," adds el-Kaissouni, who thinks that, due to climate change and the increased pressures of modern life, more tourists will be ‘going natural'. In Sinai, you can also make the most of nature, simply by going for a walk or a desert safari, during which you're likely to come across much of Sinai's local fauna, including the hyrax, spiny-tailed lizard, striped hyena and Egyptian tortoise. You can also visit one of Sinai's 23 Bedouin tribes, each with their distinct tribal dress and rich traditions and customs, or climb Mount Saint Catherine and Gebel Moussa (Mount Sinai), Egypt's highest mountains, topped with snow in the winter. Although Sinai and the Eastern Desert share the same coastline, the Eastern Desert is distinctive because of its high mountain peaks and biodiversity, with vultures, wild asses, gazelles, Nubian ibex, acacia trees, and Barbary sheep. It is also home to a number of indigenous tribes: the Ababda, Bishari and the Mu'az. Both the Eastern and Sinai deserts are renowned for their lush mangroves, rich coral reefs and thriving aquatic life, such as green turtles and Dugongs. El-Kaissouni, who is also Chairman of the Ecotourism Committee, part of the Tourist Division in the National Specialised Councils, says that the Western Desert is home to many unique natural phenomena, including its twelve depressions and six beautiful oases: Siwa, Bahariya, Farafra, Dakhla, Kharga and Fayoum. The latter is home to Egypt's first World Heritage site, Wadi Al-Hitan (the Valley of the Whales), and Gebel Qatrani, where some of the world's most important fossil deposits are found. "These oases are inhabited by isolated communities that have lived there for more than a thousand years. Their mineral springs irrigate extensive palm and olive tree groves. Their communities enjoy a unique architectural tradition and distinct traditions, customs and cuisine," he says. The desert's southern landscape is dotted with caves, where thousands of prehistoric engravings and paintings have been documented. More caves are being explored; four caves discovered in April 2006 in Oweinat and Gilf el-Kebir were found to have Egypt's first cave paintings of monkeys. Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities is taking serious steps to preserve and restore these caves, and the Ministry of the Environment is seeking, with the co-operation of the Libyan and Sudanese governments, to have Oweinat designated as a World Heritage site. "The Western Desert is rich in history, with ancient monuments scattered across it, along with 500-year-old trees, dinosaur fossils, including that of the 25m-tall, 80-tonne Stromer's Tidal Giant, and countless whale and shark fossils, with more being continually uncovered. "It is also notable for its wildlife; slender-horned gazelle, fennec foxes, Lanner falcons and Barbary sheep roam across its sands," adds el-Kaissouni who is also Supervisor of Deep Desert Tours, affiliated to the Egyptian Tourism Federation. To the north, it's the shores of the Mediterranean, where a large number of submerged monuments and relics have recently been discovered by French archaeologists, such as Cleopatra's Palace. Divers have found the table at which the Egyptian Queen and her consort Mark Antony enjoyed their romantic dinners. The seabed is also littered with the remnants of Napoleon's fleet, and World War II submarines, planes and battleships. It also boasts a number of underwater caves. Lately, it's been attracting scuba divers from around the world, who make it a point to include deep desert tours in their itineraries, where they indulge in sandboarding and dive in the ancient Roman wells and the lakes of Siwa Oasis, where a submerged Pharaonic boat turned up a year ago. According to el-Kaissouni, ecotourists started exploring and enjoying the ‘other' Egypt in 1987. To cope with this thriving industry, more ecolodges are being built and more is being done to maintain and preserve our increasing natural protectorates, expected to number well over 40 by 2017. The Ministry of Tourism is currently concentrating on promoting ecotourism in Fayoum Governorate, which is the largest oasis in Egypt and a favourite bird-watching location for Europeans. The plan is to start establishing ecolodges like the internationally renowned Adrere Amellal ecolodge in Siwa, which continues to win acclaim and international awards. We're also starting work on purifying the waters of Lake Fayoum and on spreading essential services throughout the governorate. The potential for ecotourism in Egypt seems to be great and still far from fully exploited. But the development of such places could have a negative impact if we don't proceed wisely. El-Kaissouni warns that overdeveloping such areas and their welcoming too many visitors will harm their ecological systems. The increasing tourist facilities may lead to changes in the nature of these places, with more pollution in areas whose ecological systems haven't changed for millennia.
