Private Touring
to the
Most Intriguing Place
on Earth

On the Road to Bahariya. 
  by Joyce Carta

Late February 2006

Contrasts fascinate and intrigue, and you could ask for no more drama in contrast than what you see on the road to Bahariya.  The oasis, the smallest in Egypt with more than 2,000 square kilometers, is a 4 hour drive from Giza, a long, hot, almost perfectly straight drive to the southwest.  The irony in getting to this haven of sparse green in the barren heart of the Western Desert is that you first pass through the densely packed forest of sprouting condos and apartments of 6 October City.  These stretch to the west of the southern highway – Cairo’s growing middle class burbs are a tangle of new construction as Africa’s largest city pushes its boundaries.

And then suddenly it’s all left behind.  What lies ahead is the ribbon road with flat sand on either side and heat vibrations playing tricks with your vision.  The railroad line runs parallel for most of the trip…freight cars toting iron ore from just north of the oasis back to the capital city.  There is a stopping point en route for refreshments and a chance to see some branches of petrified wood from a past more ancient than the long-gone sea that once covered the area. 

After around 3 hours you start to see some green and then the extent of the Oasis opens before you.  Bahariya defies the popular conception of a pool with date palms surrounding, but a vast area where agriculture has flourished for thousands of years, with good livestock grazing and the famous hot springs (some of which are VERY hot).  The Hot Spring Hotel was our destination.

Peter Wirth and his wife Miharu, German and Japanese ex-pats, run the International Hot Spring Hotel which is on the site of an ancient spring that is as muddy from iron content as it is therapeutically warm (45 degrees C…113 degrees F).  The Hotel is located at the foot of the Black Mountain, which overlooks the entire Oasis and just outside El Bawiti, the town at the center of the Oasis. The palm groves invite the visitors during the Hotel’s season from September to May.  Rooms are large octagons with very comfortable beds and well equipped bathrooms.  And the desert air virtually guarantees a good night’s sleep.  A short stroll takes you to the reception/main building which contains smaller guest rooms surrounding the indoor entrance to the hot spring itself (bring your swimsuit if you want to give it a try).  Walking up the path takes you to the breakfast room, passing palm groves for evening cocktails and the Bedouin tent dinner/meeting venue.  Also on the way is a tiny shop where you can purchase authentic camel wool blankets (great for soft, comfy snuggling) from genuine local Bedouin weavers at wonderful prices.  Peter & Miharu and their excellent staff run the hotel with grace and efficiency.  In the 3 days we spent with them I never saw either one without a smile.

Also staying at Hot Spring was Cassandra Vivian, noted author of “The Western Desert of Egypt:  An Explorer’s Handbook” which is the must have volume for the natural and human history of Egypt’s barren and once inaccessible places.  Ms. Vivian is currently researching another project and was a pleasure to meet her.  To learn more, her website is the Egypt Handbook.  

Following our arrival we quickly found our rooms and then wasted no time to get to the camel riding venue.  This is an extra you can arrange for once at Hot Spring Hotel, and one I’d never miss.  Personally, I adore camels.  I love their stately pace and the ease with which their heavy padded feet grip the sand.  Not to mention how jealous I am of long curving eyelashes.  Our mounts were female North African camels…a bit smaller than the usual Sudanese variety so the saddle sits behind the hump.  Our route was around Pyramid Mountain, a local landmark.  And did we enjoy it?  Pictures speak loud and clear…and you can see the expressions on my face, Phil (my husband) and Hoda, our friend and Egyptologist guide.

Afterwards we chatted with the Bedouin family who’ve been doing camel rides for Hot Spring Hotel for the past decade…but the sun was starting to set and we wanted to get up to the English House.  This outpost was used by the British during WWII and commands an amazing view of much of the Oasis. Unfortunately it was a bit hazy for our sunset, so we started back…with a unscheduled stop to visit some of village women and see samples of their beautiful traditional cross-stitched clothing.  Back at Hot Spring this evening a Bedouin dinner was set for a group of conference attendees…and we were invited to join them.  These sort of events take place regularly at Hot Spring Hotel…and this one made a rapid transition from relaxed friendly dinner to an amateur belly dancing display.  A terrific evening and probably the best roasted eggplant I’ve ever tasted.

The morning of our second day we three, with Awam, our Bedouin driver/guide, took off for our Black and White Desert excursion.  We drove through the Oasis’ central town, El Bawiti, which is truly a backwater where the inhabitants fight the daily battle vs. the desert dust.  We didn’t expect much and we weren’t disappointed.  However, there’s construction everywhere in anticipation of the Oasis’ planned future popularity and tourism potential.  Dr. Zahi Hawass’ Golden Mummies excavation has put Bahariya on the current tourism radar screen.

You can see the Black Desert approaching.  Chunks of black rock densely scattered give it its color and its name – the rock has been strewn over millennia from nearby volcanic mountains.  Turning off a bit we drove past the Black Mountain, and yes you can climb this good-sized hill, and many do, but we decided against it.  The 4X4 did a fine job on both the highway and the desert moonscape (everyone who’s ever written about Egypt’s Western Desert has called it a moonscape so who am I to argue with convention?).

Traveling on we stopped at Crystal Mountain, an outcrop formation with a natural arch that is shot with veins of crystal…and when the sun is bright as it was on our day, these veins glitter and gleam. We rested a bit, shot some pictures, did a bit of rock hunting and progressed on to the main event.  Egypt’s White Desert absolutely looks like an other world transplant.  Suddenly the limestone is shot with thick chalk and in the mid-day sun, blinding in its brilliance.  The White Desert is where you find the famous Mushroom formations…weird lumpy outcroppings, leftover from both the ancient sea and the more recent wind erosions.  Once you enter the realm of the Mushrooms they seem to stretch to the horizon…but then with the blinding light and the wavy heat, the actual horizon line is hard to pinpoint.

All this driving and picture taking works up an appetite so we veered off the road in search of the SOLE palm tree (there must be others, but that’s the way it seemed) to spread our lunch blanket.  Awam brought out all the essentials…the small silver-colored table/tray (Awam’s family’s proud possession, the bread, the wonderful raw & dressed vegetables, the cold tuna (yes, tuna!) and brewed us some wonderful Bedouin mint tea.  You wouldn’t think hot tea would do the trick in the heat of the afternoon, but you’d be wrong.  We ate and lounged and rested and then decided we’d make our way back.  However, before we did we veered off for a “Desert Rose” hunt.  These wonderfully unusual formations, ranging from about the size of a small plum to a tiny grape, are black & shiny curved crystalline clusters and there’s one particular area for good hunting.  Not wanting to be greedy I took maybe 5 of these…and decided the tiniest one was worthy of small gold band to hang from a neck chain.  Not being any sort of geologist I have no idea what their mineral content might be and couldn’t find anything much on the Internet…so I’m content to admire and marvel.  Not everything has to have an explanation 

Usually our Bahariya Oasis excursions come with a desert barbeque dinner under the often times shooting stars visible in the White Desert, but the shower was beckoning and we decided to have the barbeque back at Hot Spring.  Awam was also our evening chef and he grilled juicy chicken plus delicious rice and veg and we dined under the stars…before we retired for another good night’s sleep.

On our final morning we touring the human history artifacts.  Beginning at the excavation office for the Golden Mummies dig we visited the 10 or so sarcophagi on display.  These were discovered in 1996 when a donkey stumbled into what turned out to be a hole in the desert floor…and are glorious examples of the refined art of Egypt’s Greco-Roman period.  Dr. Zahi Hawass, Egypt’s Director of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, took personal charge of the excavation and predicts this region will offer up a great deal more of its secrets in the future.  We then visited the two 26th Dynasty tombs of father & son…rich men who could afford elaborate paintings and decorations and both in very good states of repair.  We concluded with the Temple of Alexander the Great, dated to around 332 BCE when Egypt was added to his growing empire.  This temple has the distinction of being the only one in Egypt dedicated to a living god, as Alexander was believed to have been.  The cemetery surrounding the temple ruins was used until the 4th Century CE.

The morning was waning and we needed to head back.  Collecting our belongings we said Goodbye to Peter and Miharu, and our new friend Awam…and steeled ourselves for the long, hot drive back to Giza.  We did hear that there’s a particularly wonderful pottery shop on the main road going out of El Bawiti and since it had been a while since the Shopping God was appeased I wanted to stop.  Phil was probably just as well pleased that this place was closed!

Some General Notes:   

The Bahariya area is developing for tourism but be prepared to encounter poverty and living conditions far below what you see in Egypt’s well developed Nile Valley.  Local people are mostly farmers, but like Egyptians everywhere, are ready with a smile and a greeting.  The climate is hot & dry although winter nights can be cold – drink plenty of bottled water.  An average tip for your Bedouin guide (in total) would be around USD50, but feel free to be more generous…it’s very much appreciated.  Besides the camel wool blankets there’s a small but wonderful selection of unique and reasonable pottery at Hot Spring, and cash is preferred.  This Oasis is a world apart in many ways and has much to offer the senses and the spirit – relax and let its charms work on you.