Camping in the Desert
On Friday and Saturday of this week (Nov. 20-21), I took a trip with several other AUC faculty to Lake Fayoum south of Cairo for a camping trip. We got picked up in Maadi at Midan Victoria, and then met everyone at Tahrir Square before switching from buses to 4X4 off-road jeeps. We drove out of Cairo before going off road into the dessert. We stopped at some sand dunes for tea, then went on to Soknopaiou Nesos, a 3rd century BC city that was established by the Ptolemaic pharoes (this was the cite we think Valentina, Glen’s Italian girlfriend, was excavating at). We had lunch there, and went on to see the Crocodile Temple at the shore of Birket Aarun, an outgrowth of the Nile that is slowly drying up and becoming saltier. It was amazing to see this one rectangular temple out literally in the middle of no where, now about 1000 meters from the lake (although right near the edge 2000 years ago). We then went onto set up camp on a plateau behind some large outcroppings. Several times our driver got stuck in the sand, and other times it was not clear we were going to make it up the sand hills.
The camp was set up when we arrived (everything arranged by Mahmoud Expeditions). There were several tents, plus the central area for dining and eating. By the time we got our gear in our individual tents, it was almost sunset, so several of us climbed a hill and took pictures (see below). I walked around and did some meditation, and then gathered at the dining area for tea. We had a traditional Egyptian meal for dinner, and some people played Scrabble while others drank coffee and talked. We had some interesting talks about AUC and its future: some are very hopeful due to its provost’s call to become a “world class university” and lead the region in scholarship; others feel that the poverty, corruption and inefficiencies of the Egyptian society will hold back any real progress. After dinner, the tour operators gave us a little concert on drums and flute and singing while pulling people in for traditional dance. I walked off into the desert to look at the stars—awe inspiring. This is why I wanted for a long time to camp out in the desert: the stars. I was not an dark as Big Bend National Park in Texas, but you could clearly see the Milky Way, but also the organgish glow of Cairo on the northern horizon. I went to bed fairly early, but woke up many times since it was pretty cold, despite using a nice down sleeping bag from AUC faculty services.
The next morning, we had a traditional breakfast and broke camp (the outfitters did this; we just put our gear in the 4X4s. I climbed up a large hill and had a 360 degree panoramic view of the desert—almost as impressive as all the stars the night before. Very desolate, but with its own beauty. We drove down off the plateau and over the desert to Wadi El-Hitan, a World Heritage Nature Site that is known as the Whale Open Air Museum. This was an amazing place. 37-42 million years ago or so, this whole region of the Sahara was under the Tethys Sea and whales ancestors roamed the area on the edge of the sea. Over time, food became scarce, and whales walked to the shore to find food. Over millions of years, they evolved to look for food in the sea rather than the shore, and became sea-dwelling creatures. Whale still have floating arms and legs not connected to their spine. We got a short talk from Dr. Phillip Gingrech, of the University of Michigan, who discovered fossilized whales with feet and knees and arms (this was the guy who actually found this stuff, and he took ½ hour out of his day digging on a moment’s notice to talk to us). Then I went alone on the 2 hour walking tour of the Wadi El-Hitan area, seeing many whale bones and beautiful desert formations. As I started the tour, I saw the end of the Fulbright tour which had also come out for a day trip. I said hi to Scott and Sussan and Cathy Kain and others. I would have liked to be with them, but was glad I had done the overnight camping—one thing off my “bucket list.” By sundown, we had finished out late lunch and walking tour, and drove the road back to Cairo in the 4X4s. It was very bumpy, and my butt was sore after the 3 hour trip back home.
Below are photos from the desert camping trip:
The camping was amazing! I can now check off my “bucket list” to camp in a major desert. Beautiful scenery, and the stars…billions and billions.
After camping the night, we visited Witan El-Hitan, the largest congregation of fossilized whale bones in the world (yes, that’s right, in the Sahara Desert!).
Pictures of my 2 hour walk through Witan El-Hitan:
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