Bahariya

Three hundred kilometers or so give or take of open desert driving between Siwa and the Oasis of Bahariya. Back to wards the Nile and Cairo it is much easier to reach Bahariya from Cairo over bitumin roads than thru the open desert.
After an early start from Siwa we drove down thru an astounding saddle on to the Great Sand Sea .
There is a panorama at the top of the saddle and another taken looking back to where we have been.
We came across the ruin of an aircraft which has taken the time of a dedicated group of aeronauticals in an endeavor to establish its provenance to as yet no avail.
And at Bahariya we meet Peter Wirth and his amazing International Hot Springs Hotel .
Bahariya Oasis is small and it is possible to walk up onto the desolate black desert scarp behind Peters hotel and look down and over the Oasis at a glance. Siwa on the other hand is so large it is difficult to take in and the night arrival made it difficult to assimilate. Bahariya is like throwing a switch, click and it is there, rim showing stark against the desert, the bed, lush and green with occasional cane fires.
The road to Bahaiyra from Siwa is presently a days drive in 4X4 over open desert. The drivers all from Bahariya are wonderful sand men with the uncanny eye of the self assured professional, and to our delight with Crowded House on the stereo. Even so we bogged out more than once and slit several tires during the day. Lunch , fuel, water and spare fan belts and radiator fans stacked in spaces around the trucks.
The Supreme Council of Antiquities has been excavating the Valley of The Golden Mummies at Bahariya for well over a decade and several exquisite golden mummies are on display at the local museum, alas no photography.
General Secretary Zahi Hawass has a detail on the Mummies and has written a book . Goto :
http://www.drhawass.com/events/valley-golden-mummies
Following on from Bahariya we did a sleep out in the White Desert National Park an incredible experience, and walked The Black Desert and the Crystal Mountain on the way to the Oasis of Farafra. These experiences will be in Galleria of their own in the weeks to come. So please stay with us.
Enjoy