Super Siwa Sand Safari
Siwa, Egypt
June 08, 2013We met Hanny, Mohammed and Yosef around 9:00. Yosef will be our desert guide and driver of the Four Runner. At the edge of town he let some air out of the tires for better traction in the sand and then we sped off into the desert.
At first there were some markers on the ground but within a kilometre or two there were no indicators. We just had to trust that Yosef knew his way. We went full speed up an embankment and down a steep hill of sand. Hanny almost ended up in Mohammed's lap. The rest of us were having a blast. Yosef slammed the brakes at the top if the next steep hill, then crept forward a few meters and stopped again. He repeated this all the way down. I thought that Hanny was going to jump out and walk back to town! Poor Hanny!!
The rest of the morning was equally as exhilarating Unbelievable Sand!. At some points you could only see sand for as far as you could see. The sand dunes look like a distant mountain range. Other times there were sun bleached and sand blasted rocks. Whenever you came up to a crest you never knew if it was going to flatten out or if the ground was going to drop out from underneath the SUV and when it did, it felt like we were flying!
We drove or 50 kilometres to Bush Field Forest. It had small pieces of petrified remained of tree trunks. It is amazing to see wood that has turned to rock. We drove another 20 kilometres to the fossil site. On our way there we had some mechanical issues. The front right wheel was not turning properly. When we arrived at the fossil site the guys pulled the wheel off and took a look. Thankfully Mohammed was a mechanic and was able to pinpoint the issue with the brakes. The fossil site was unreal. We saw lots of sand dollars and thousands of shells. It was hard to imagine that this site was once covered by water and aquatic life when all we could see for miles and miles was sand Over the Edge.
It was another 10 or 20 kilometres to our own private oasis. There were two sites that were close to each other. The first spot had a natural hot spring and was discovered by Russians who were looking for oil. The second spot had a "lake", which was more likely a natural pond, that a local person tried to create a new business by adding fish to the lake, but apparently it didn't work.
It was very windy so we could not have lunch at the "lake". The guys headed back to the hot water springs to prepare lunch while Bill and I stayed at the lake to cool off. For the next hour or two we splashed around with the minnows and fish. We saw few birds across the lake, but we were never close enough to determine what they were. There were some small brown birds and some large white birds like storks or egrets. We tried to lay in the shade under the canopy, but we were getting pelted with sand Our own little Oasis. So we laid out in the hot desert sun.
We were collected when lunch was ready around 2:00. I was hungry! We sat on cushions and ate grilled stuffed chicken, stewed vegetables, salad and couscous. The meal was so delicious. I think this is the most plump and moist chicken we have had so far.
We spent the rest of the afternoon drinking strong sweet tea, resting, eating peanuts, melons and chatting under the palms trees in relative shelter. Another driver with the ladies from Chile brought us the part that Mohammed needed to fix the brakes.
We started driving back around 5:00 and it was another great adventure. We went up and down lots of dunes, saw a fish fossil, Bill and I both got to drive, and then we stopped to watch the sunset. The sun did not make it to he horizon before it disappeared into the blowing sand.
The sand safari was spectacular and we would highly recommend that you add this to your bucket list!
We both had to shower before dinner to get some of the sand off More fun in the Desert. My skin felt nice and smooth after the sand blasting/exfoliation it received today!
We had a very fine dinner again this evening. The main course was fried chicken and French fries. I think my condiment of choice for fries is going to be baba ganoush from now on.
After dinner we purchased a palm leaf bowl and a camel and lamb wool bag. I am sure that I paid an outrageous amount, but he was happy and I was happy!
Some thoughts or maybe more appropriately, some questions on Siwa. We have seen less than 10 women since we have been here. One was at a restaurant with a tourist, so probably not a local. Another was walking near her home. The rest have been in the back of a cart with their faces completely covered with a black veil. Khalid told us about the three day festival each fall. The young boys get to see the young girls only during this time and inquiries are then made for arranged marriages. I don't know if women get to attend. He also mentioned that a man can have up to four wives, divorce is allowed and remarriage is allowed for men and women. This makes me wonder are the girls educated? I would guess that they are not. How much education do boys get here? Does anyone marry someone outside the city? Probably not because who would agree to being locked away for the rest of their lives? We have seen boys and young girls (pre-elementary age) together in Siwa. At what age are the girls confined to the home? Probably when they hit puberty...
Pictures & VideosField of Fossils
