For nature at its best, join Amira El-Naqeeb in Wadi Al-Natrun "Five years ago, heading to Bani Salama, I was lost and found myself by a magnificent lake," Hani El-Kamouni owner and manager of Al-Hamra Ecolodge, told Al-Ahram Weekly. "After spending five hours there, I fell in love," he smiled. Located on the west bank of Hamra Lake, off the 112th km on the Cairo-Alexandria desert highway, the ecolodge can be reached by taking a turn 100 metres before Wahat Omar; simply follow the signs. The property of Arab squatters who gained official ownership by occupying the place (Egyptian law provides for ownership by wad' yad, literally "placing of the hand"), the first of El-Kamouni's 30 feddans of land were bought from tribal elders. Inaugurated in September 2003, the resulting ecolodge offers peerless accommodation with a choice of nine different cottages as well as rooms at a central facility. "We were keen on a homey atmosphere," El-Kamouni explained. How eco-friendly are ecolodges? A fast-spreading phenomenon, do they present environmentalists with a viable answer to complex concerns? "We have organic food," El-Kamouni begins. "Our furniture is handmade out of palm reeds and bamboo; the rugs are also local products... Even sewage undergoes several processes of filtration so it can be re-used in agriculture, and waste -- transported in airtight containers -- is mostly converted into fertilisers." Only power, indeed, is not part of the ecosystem. Of the 14 saline lakes in Wadi Al-Natrun, Hamra is the only one with a stable rate of evaporation, due to the presence, at its centre, of a fresh water spring. Tradition holds that it was here that the Virgin Mary quenched her thirst and that of her son -- "fresh water right in the middle of all this salt -- a miracle," as one local has it. Named for its large deposits of natron, this area has been renowned since ancient times, when the crystal was an essential ingredient for mummification. (The ancient tradition of soaking the corpse in natron for 40 days is believed to be the origin of the modern Egyptian convention of holding a mourning ceremony 40 days after death). Besides, Wadi Al-Natrun is home to the world's four earliest monasteries. Wadi Al-Natrun, which lies under the jurisdiction of Al-Beheira Governorate, boasts a unique location 24 metres below sea level -- the 14th lowest point on earth, in fact. Hamra Lake is rich in black mud, useful in the cosmetics industry; immersion in its waters helps cure skin disease. Thus the ecolodge combines the benefits of a Coptic historical site and a spa. Yet it is arguably in the way it integrates the local community that its true charm lies. "Supporting the locals," El-Kamouni explained, "is one of our aims." Locals agree. "I used to work in agriculture," Khaled Abdel-Hamid testified; "now it's all about tourism, thanks in large part to the ecolodge. I was born here and I've lived here all my life, breeding sheep and camels. Five years ago this place was a desert but now many locals have found their way into tourism." Likewise Nozha, 18, a tribal Arab: "The project has brought me in contact with so many different nationalities. I even met someone who taught me English. Only then did I realise how important my place of residence actually is." And the project has been successful enough to attract investors, who are, according to Serag Mustafa, one of the partners, in the process of building a new ecolodge, Nabaa Al-Hamra, to occupy 600 feddans on the shores of the lake and in its vicinity: "Consultants are already working out how to best benefit from the lake and its environs, making use of the resources without harming the environment. The project will include chalets, spas, golf courses, swimming pools, restaurants -- every kind of attraction." According to El-Kamouni, obstacles like high-voltage wiring cutting through ecolodge space, are yet to be confronted: "We filed a court case against the Provincial Electricity Company which is affiliated with the Ministry of Electricity. We await the verdict." Mustafa lists obstacles of his own: green houses to be built off lake shores, for example -- again a government project. Yet the Wadi Al-Natrun council head, Osman El-Sharqawi, argued that such projects -- to occupy government land -- should not conflict with tourist development. The choice of location, he added, was by no means haphazard: "We picked four locations, which the authorities in charge decided were best suited to the project." Nor are the people in charge of the government projects amateurs -- they know what they are doing. Besides which the investors, he added, obtained rights to the land many years ago; if they are serious, indeed, what is stopping them from using it? El-Kamouni insisted that the wait is necessary for business reasons. The investors he hopes to draw in from Arab countries, he said, would much rather contribute their money to a trouble-free project. Paradoxically, of all the parties that should help resolve such conflicts, the Ministry of Environmental Affairs is refusing to interfere. Wadi Al-Natrun has not been declared a national protectorate, spokespeople from the ministry told the Weekly ; thus the ministry has not been aware of projects going on there.
