How remote can you be?

Kharga oasis is being developed as a tourist destination, but there is a long way to go before it can earn a place on the tourist map, says Nevine El-Aref
Although Kharga oasis, once a major stop on the Darb Al- Arba'in -- the old "40-Days" slave and trading caravan route running between Sudan and the lower Nile valley -- is rich in sites worthy of a tourist visit, travel agents and guides are finding that few are interested. In spite of the fact that much progress has been made in tourism development, operators are kicking their heels as they wait for clients. In the words of Mohamed Bahnous, a local guide: "We are suffering. Only a few people visit the oasis, and this is the result of our own personal efforts. We beg travel agencies to bring tourists here, but they prefer to go to Bahriya." Bahnous adds that Bahriya oasis, where the Golden Mummies have been found and from where safaris can be organised to the Western Desert, is easily accessible from Cairo. "They consider Kharga too far away," he says.
Unfortunately, Kharga oasis is not well promoted as a tourist destination, even though it has been upgraded with new four-star hotels, youth hostels and many other facilities. There is even a new airport. "For desert safaris, we have good paved roads and desert tracks to suit all types of tourist -- but none come. Even after Kharga was given more exposure by being included on the Pharaoh's Rally route." Bahnous says.
There is little sign in Kharga even of the backpackers who flow in a thin but steady stream through the other Western Desert oases. Farid Tawfiq, a venerable gentleman of Kharga, suggests two reasons for Kharga's failure to figure high on the tourist itinerary. "The main reason is lack of publicity by the Ministry of Tourism. The wealth of Kharga is simply not made known. If and when it is, we have no local travel agency to assist tourists. There are no taxis; no buses; and the only thing they can do is hire a private minibus with a driver who doesn't speak a foreign language. Public transport is unreliable because the stations are placed haphazardly and they don't go to many archaeological sites."
Tawfiq is pessimistic about the future of tourism in the oasis. "There is only one way to save Kharga and make use of the enormous effort and funds which have already gone into developing the city and its archaeological wealth," he says. "And that is publicity."
He compares the situation in Kharga with that in Bahriya oasis: " [Bahriya] was nothing, and seldom visited. But when the valley of the Golden Mummies was found it was well promoted and now, where once there were only two or three unclassified hotels, there are a number of three- and four-star hotels, as well as a spa with five bungalows," Tawfiq says. "Once the oasis attracted the attention of international journalists, people started going there in large numbers -- Egyptians, foreigners, Arabs, businessmen -- and I hear that development projects in agriculture and industry are being set up. Suddenly, Bahriya is well known, and competing with other major tourist destinations."
As for Kharga, he says, not many people know that there are no fewer than 120 important sites in the oasis, including Persian, Graeco-Roman, Christian and Islamic monuments. From an archaeological view, it is even more important than Bahriya. "One way to promote our oasis," Tawfiq went on, "is to make its spas better known. Some of the finest springs are here in Kharga, and eco-tourism should be developed." This would encourage investment, which, in turn, would help upgrade transport and other facilities. Kharga could then be advertised at international tourism and other conferences where it should be made known how easy it is to get there by plane from Cairo or Luxor. "In my opinion, ecological tourism is the answer. It has tremendous potential in Kharga," he says.
Tawfiq is probably right. There is almost no pollution in Kharga. There is no noise. The weather is dry and hot throughout the year, with a clean fresh breeze. There are iron and sulphur water springs where the temperature reaches 43 degrees centigrade, and the hot sand and mud have excellent medicinal properties. The springs and sand are recognised in the treatment of rheumatoid ailments, bone and muscle disorders and some skin diseases.
The truth of the matter, as the situation stands today, is that one reason why Kharga is suffering from lack of tourism is an unavoidable emphasis on security. Despite its easy accessibility by road from several cities in the Nile valley, all movement is controlled by convoy. Vehicles and tourist buses are accompanied by security police. While this is considered necessary for safety reasons, it is an inconvenience most people would prefer to avoid.
An unfulfilled vision
Travelling through Kharga oasis, photographer Sherif Sonbol captured this remarkable interplay of light and shadow in Hassan Fathi's masterpiece of architecture at New Baris which, unhappily, remains an empty shell
The hallmark of the work of Hassan Fathi, one of the most famous Egyptian architects -- indeed, one of the leading architects of the 20th century -- was his technique of using mud-brick to create vaults and domes. In his studies of traditional architecture, he noted that many Nubian structures were blended with inspirational elements of mediaeval, Mameluke and Ottoman style, and he combined these techniques and materials to produce distinctive buildings of aesthetic as well as social moment. He felt strongly that, while architecture should be designed to cater to the needs of human beings, their surroundings should be elegant and comfortable as well as functional. With this in mind, he designed this commercial outlet in the Kharga oasis.
The building was conceived in 1967, when time was running out before the completion of the High Dam at Aswan which resulted in the disappearance of large tracts of Nubia. The then minister of culture, Sarwat Okasha, invited 20 architects, among them Hassan Fathi, to visit the region with a view to recording its distinctive architecture.
After the tour, Hassan Fathi noted that the old town of Baris, some 80 kilometres south of Qasr Kharga, was a derelict settlement inhabited by a few hundred individuals, and decided to design a new community about two kilometres to the north. New Baris, he hoped, would serve as a model for all the new villages of the oases. Having observed the traditional architecture of the mediaeval fortress towns of the oases, he adapted a modern version with covered passages and courtyards. The structure allowed for the circulation of fresh air, with sunlight allowed only into the internal part of the dwelling via the courtyard. It was an ideal design for a desert community.
Construction began at the beginning of 1967, and Fathi's dome-covered market- place, with its elegant vaults, cooling wind shafts and shady corridors, was designed to meet every need of a commercial outlet -- or so he thought. For centuries Baris had been a centre for trade: dates and fruit of the oasis were bartered for grain on the famous caravan route known as the Darb Al- Arba'in (Forty Days' Road) which ran from Kerdassah, near Cairo, to Sudan. Fathi was enthusiastic about reactivating the community.
It remained a vision. One of Hassan Fathi's greatest masterpieces was never developed as intended, and stands today unfinished, unused, windblown, and a lonely relic of a visionary man.
What happened?
Construction had progressed rapidly for six months when it was brought to a halt by the 1967 Six Day War. It never resumed. Over the last few decades, suggestions have been made at the highest level for its completion and use as a craft centre or local market. But they have come to naught. Indeed, for some unfathomable reason, the chambers have not even been usurped by squatters from among the more needy oases dwellers.
However, just as we visit empty temples for an insight into ancient life as reflected in its art and architecture, so should all visitors to Kharga oasis make a point of making a short detour to New Baris to see one of the finest examples of what has become known as "Hassan Fathi architecture."
Jill Kamil
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