There are few who would endure a nine-hour bus ride to see an oasis. A closer look at Kharga and then Dakhla, however, might prove worth the journey. Pierre Loza enjoys two of the most interesting desert spots in Egypt "The desert has endowed me abundantly and now it is over," said prominent Egyptologist Mohamed Fakhri to his companions in the Kharga oasis before he left for France where his life ended less than a month later. Fakhry's statement exemplifies the enigmatic nature of the Egyptian oases as a perpetual haunt for all those that come in contact with it. The oases however have never fulfilled their potential on the Egyptian tourism map due to longstanding neglect. The greatest problem facing the New Valley oases is the scarcity of flexible transportation options. In other words, if you don't catch the petroleum services plane to Kharga which makes the round trip from Cairo about once a week and is not always consistent, then you're pretty sure you will probably be taking the bus. A suggestion to take the train to Assiut and from there head to Kharga by bus is also a bit risky because you stand the chance of missing the bus. What I opted for to make the nine-hour trip a bit more bearable was to buy two tickets, allowing me the luxury of spreading my feet across a few extra centimetres of space for LE80. My response to queries about why I had taken two seats for myself was of course "leg problems". There are two daily buses to the Kharga oasis which leave from the Turguman bus station, located on the side of Galaa Street in the heart of downtown Cairo. There is a private bus company, Hirz, and a public one, Pullman. After making the round trip, there is not much difference in the services rendered by either except that the first leaves at 9.30 while the second at 10.30. Another more comfortable option which will cost you more is to take a safari travel package trip. These package deals usually include frequent stops on a number of oases and some camping, probably providing the most genuine oasis travel experience. Brushing off the insidious glares prompted by my luxurious double seating privileges, I did not have the nerve to look outside the window. The Upper Egypt highway offers the more adventurous traveller a heavy dose of high speed excitement across a dark double lane, two-way road. It is in moments like these that one realises the amazing task that bus drivers must undertake everyday and the risks involved. After a four-hour drive we reached a rustic resthouse in Beni Mazar, the town which found its fame after a mysterious case of serial killings. Once you pass Assiut and approach the oases route, the highway becomes much less risky, making the seat next to the driver all the more inviting. The seat allows you a front row view of a panorama of desert landscape and a clear star- studded sky. Staying at Iberotel's pioneer hotel, my bus unfortunately passed it by a few hundred metres, but fortunately enough at around 7am a taxi was available to take me to my lodging. Upon arrival there was only one possible scenario after a draining nine-hour ride, a raid on the fruit basket and then a deep coma of restful sleep. In September, the weather in the Kharga oasis is sunny, warm and dry. The low humidity makes the climate much more pleasant than one would expect from such a temperate area. At the end of the day the best time to go would be winter. The Iberotel is unique in its setting in the centre of a green agricultural area surrounded by clustres of palm trees and livestock. I woke up to see an old peasant watering his rice field and then taking two steps to the side of the plot where he prayed, as the cows gazed lazily. The picturesque portrait speaks volumes about the rural character of Kharga and the simplistic nature of its inhabitants. Although it may be a destination off the beaten path, Kharga may still hold some of the original magic of Egypt's ancient desert frontier. After a day of lounging around in the hotel and basically recharging my batteries after such a hefty trek, we were off the next morning to the ancient city of Dush. A major military installation that was heavily guarded during Roman times, Dush represented the southern most frontier of the Roman Empire. Lying 13 kilometres south of the little town of Paris, if you go there by car make sure you watch out for areas on the road that are covered by sand. Make sure you cover these sandy parts of the road at high speed if you want to avoid getting stuck, a fact we learnt the hard way. After some digging and rocking of our vehicle, we were well on our way to Egypt's ancient Roman frontier. Ancient Dush lies about two kilometres north of the tiny modern day village of Dush, on a hill around 80 metres above sea level covered by potsherds. The site includes an ancient town, fortress, and a temple as well as some Roman tombs. It is currently being excavated by the Institute Française D'archeologie Orientale whose digout house stands at the foot of the hill. Ancient papyri dating back to the third century found in the area suggest that Dush could have existed even before Ptolemaic times. Dush or the ancient city of Kysis is believed to have been a bustling trading town where jewellers, potters and metal workers sat next to gaming houses and trading caravans. It is here where the oasis's fine grapes were exported for wine to be sent to the Nile Valley and possibly even Rome. Although the town was abandoned in the fifth century, evidence suggests that the fortress dates back to Ptolemaic times. With four-five storeys underground the fortress was garrisoned to protect the Darb Dush trade route, which ran east to west connecting the Nile Valley to the oasis. The sandstone temple built for Osiris by Domitian between 81 and 96 AD stands piercing the desert sky with its grand gateway. As you enter the temple you are taken in by the view of the golden horizon of the desert and its overwhelming silence. Although some of its pillars are not completely intact, one could at least imagine the full grandeur it once possessed. Emperor Trajan also added a court in 117 AD later to be complemented by additions made by Emperor Hadrian. With numerous inscriptions about the Hadrian and Trajan, the temple's gates have also been marked by 19th century travellers who carved symbols of their tribal lineages. On your way back from Dush you get to see the abandoned project of famed Egyptian architect Hassan Fathi. The architectural guru started work on the visionary community dubbed New Paris in 1967, when it was interrupted by the war with Israel and construction was never resumed. An austere student of the traditional school of architecture, Fathi takes his lead from the mediaeval fortress communities dotting the oasis. Built two kilometres north of the ancient Paris community, the small number of families that agreed to live there were later banished due to alleged smuggling activities. Built under the auspices of the Egyptian Administration of Desert Development, the people who intended to live in the village refused because they thought it resembled a cemetery. Desolate today, New Paris is an architectural gem with narrow twisting lanes, domes and wind shafts. There are rumours that New Paris will be taken over by the Ministry of Culture, which intends to turn it into an international centre for the arts. One can just envisage a poetry recital or a sculpture working along its swerving pathways that seem to be completely in sync with the desert landscape. An ideal place for inspiration. After a quick lunch at the hotel we headed for Qasr Al-Zayan, a Roman temple dedicated to the ancient Egyptian God, Amun Re. Enclosed by mud brick walls, the temple is only part of a more elaborate fortress which also includes living quarters. The presently existing temple was built during the Ptolemaic period when it was known as the Great Well. It was later restored by Roman Emperor Antoninus in 138AD. The temple went through extensive renovation during the mid-1980s and recent excavations have also been made by the Egyptian Antiquities Organisation which found a cistern and caches of Roman coins. To this day there is still a small village at the foot of the temple where the cemetery of the ancient desert community was discovered lying 18 metres below sea level. Although it may hold many similarities to any rural Egyptian town, a closer look at Kharga shows that the widespread demographic distribution seems to be the main factor behind the oasis' impeccable environmental cleanliness. The fact that it is so far away from metropolitan cities also tends to keep it environmentally intact. Kharga offers you a chance to observe rudimentary country life that is deeply rooted in the culture of Egypt's original desert dwellers. A good example of remnants of a once thriving desert culture can be seen in the habit of offering dates to visitors. And there are hundreds of different kinds of dates, such as the Upper Egyptian date, the soft date and the hard date. Every date has a function. The one thing most kharga inhabitants agree on regarding dates is that they represent an effective aphrodisiac, a notion which I'm not sure holds any scientific weight. However the dates I ate in the oases were unlike any I have ever tasted in my entire life. A special date called the half and half is part crunchy and yellow. Its bottom half is moist and soft and seems to melt in your mouth. A must see is the Kharga fortress city, the Ghuweita, located 18 kilometres south of Kharga's centre on the east side of the main road. Strategically positioned on an ascending hill, this picturesque fortress is said to be where late movie maker Radwan El-Kashif filmed one of his last pictures Araq Al-Balah. Once the site of a thriving agricultural community where the best vineyards in all of Egypt sent wine to royal courts, it stands like a soft spoken giant beaten by the desert sun. Tombs as far away as Thebes attested to the quality of the area's vineyards. There is even evidence that the site was inhabited long before the fortress was erected, implying that there could have been communities there as early as pre-history. During Roman times the fortress could have been a garrison for the Roman army. The complex also encloses a temple dedicated to the Theban triad, Amun, Mut and Khosu. Constructed by Emperor Darius I, later additions to the temple were made by Ptolmies II, IV and X. There are also scenes inside the temple of the Nile God, Hapi holding symbols that symbolise ancient Egypt's names. With towering walls that are today covered by centuries of sand, Ghuweita was the most memorable mediaeval fortresses/city I encountered in Kharga. By the end of the day we reached the domed mausoleums of Bagawat, where the sun set on some of the earliest Christian churches and cemeteries in the world. As early as 1819, traces of paintings of the Christian saints could be seen on the walls of the decorative cemeteries. Although many of the current structures of the site date back from the fourth to the 17th centuries, archaeological evidence indicates that the area was a burial site even before the Christian era. Two very interesting chapels in the area are the Chapel of the Exodus and the Chapel of Peace. The frescoes inside the Chapel of Peace include numerous Biblical scenes, which include Daniel in the Lion's den and the sacrifice of Isaac. In a distinctly Byzantine style, the frescoes of Bagawat resemble those found in Roman catacombs. As the sun set on the ancient churches we made ready for our trip the next morning to Kharga's slightly greener and more popular sister, the Dakhla oasis, about 220 kilometres east. As you approach Dakhla you are first welcomed by golden escarpments and sandstone outcroppings contrasted by the bright green of the rice fields in the forefront of the escarpments. This beautiful area which is about 200 kilometres en route from Kharga also includes colourful rock formations that resemble animals. In one escarpment the rock turns into a light pink colour as it gradually melts into the shimmering yellow of the sandstone. It seems that here in Dakhla, women are out and about on the fields a lot more often than their Nile Valley sisters. Large Spanish hats seem to be the day's fashion, the peasants working in the field amiable and relaxed. "To tell you the truth Dakhla inhabitants have green hands," said a travel companion from Kharga to explain Dakhla's agricultural superiority to Kharga. The sheer density of the greenery is prevalent enough. "In Kharga we buy most of our vegetables from the Nile Valley, but in Dakhla a lot of the people grow their own food," he said. The occasional sign in English and the Internet cafés show that Dakhla has enjoyed relatively higher levels of affluence from tourist revenues than Kharga. A little further down the road to Dakhla one encounters the city of Balatt which continues to capture the original character of desert life in its older Islamic village. Built with mud bricks and narrow covered pathways, it is a paragon representation of desert architecture. Lined with Casuarina trees, some of its quarters are still inhabited. As I walked along its cool dark pathways, I saw a man in his 60s carrying a basket full of sand. It turns out that new sand is brought into these Mameluke homes everyday in a bid for cleanliness. People spread the sand in front of their homes for the same reason. As the sand is spread and evenly flattened, it resembles a natural carpet that leaves no negative environmental externalities whatsoever, an environmentalist's dream come true. When I asked the old man to rest for a minute so I could take a couple of photos of him, he was more than happy to oblige. As he sat down he seemed to be wondering away in deep thought. "What are you thinking about?" I asked. "I am thinking of the prophet," he responded with a dreamy smile. It is this kind of lucid faith that is indicative of the oasis and its people. There are many city dwellers with showy expressions of religion that can learn a spiritual lesson or two from this old man carrying sand on his back in the middle of the desert. The city of Al-Qasr in the north of Dakhla is among the most beautiful Ayubid cities in Egypt as a whole. Believed to be one of the oldest inhabited areas in the oasis, Al-Qasr stands on the foundation of a Roman City. According to the accounts of some Western travellers who visited the area in the 1800s, an estimated 3,760 people inhabited the area. Sitting under a pink escarpment, you enter Al-Qasr by first passing through a palm grove. Ten years ago, Al-Qasr did not even have access to electricity. Today cement buildings are gradually creeping towards the old city. The Islamic city's quarters are also in need of further renovation, for some of its pathways are falling apart. One of the oldest door beams in the whole oasis are here, at the Beit Ibrahim household, going back 1518 AD. The old city also encloses some traditional craft artisans which include potters and metal wielders. As you enter the high ceiling of the madrasa or the courthouse, you get a fulfilling dose of decorative Islamic handwriting and architecture. As we headed back to our lodging at Iberotel's Mut three lodge, I spent the afternoon soaking in the warm mineral water that is effused from Dakhla's aquifers. The water, which is also used for agriculture here, is rich in minerals that work wonders for rheumatism patients. In the winter months health tourists come from all over the world for the water's healing effect. The heat of the water complemented by the intense sun are not a very good combination, so if it's the magic water you're after, make sure you visit in winter. At night I experienced some authentic southern Egyptian hospitality. I was welcomed into the home of one of the travel companions from Dakhla. We had a dinner of fresh cow milk and fresh yoghurt that was divine plus honey with sun bread. The meal and the warmth of the household whose inhabitants I had only just met, made for a memorable evening. But inviting a stranger into your home for a meal comes naturally to the oasis people, whose simplicity and generosity are in abundance. As we headed back to our lodging at Iberotel's Mut three lodge, I spent the afternoon soaking in the warm mineral water that is effused from Dakhla's aquifers. The water, which is also used for agriculture here, is rich in minerals that work wonders for rheumatism patients. In the winter months health tourists come from all over the world for the water's healing effect. The heat of the water complemented by the intense sun are not a very good combination, so if it's the magic water you're after, make sure you visit in winter. At night I experienced some authentic southern Egyptian hospitality. I was welcomed into the home of one of the travel companions from Dakhla. We had a dinner of fresh cow milk and fresh yoghurt that was divine plus honey with sun bread. The meal and the warmth of the household whose inhabitants I had only just met, made for a memorable evening. But inviting a stranger into your home for a meal comes naturally to the oasis people, whose simplicity and generosity are in abundance.
