31st May 2010

Leaving the Black Desert behind we drove to Bahariza Village for supplies, It was really dirty. Had lunch in a private property near the white desert. We continued our journey to the White Desert. The chalk-white landscape is strewn with alien shapes, boulders of brilliant white which thrust up from the surface of the desert. Many of the formations are given descriptive names - sculpted by the harsh desert winds into weird shapes which constantly change over time. There are 'monoliths' and 'mushrooms', 'ice cream cones', 'tents' and 'crickets', as well as the majestic conical flat-topped 'inselbergs' . A night under the stars in the White Desert is an experience I will never forget . As the sky turned pink then deepest fiery orange, the rock-shapes fade and silence is all around. We sat around the camp fire playing a game, naming all of the characters on Homer Simpson. I went out first round. A desert fox made its way through our camp fossicking for food.

1st June 2010

Up early and have a 5 hour truck journery. We got bogged and spent over an hour digging the truck out. We drove through an Oasis. Jules and Gus dared to go swimming.

Next stop was the Farafra Oasis and in this quaint little part of the desert lives an artist called Badr Abdel Moghny, "An artist with a dream" is his tagline and in his home designed and made entirely by him with mud and camel and donkey feces, as is traditionally done in the desert, he showcases his paintings and sculptures. He was born in Farafra into a Bedouin family and grew up in the desert where he taught himself to use things he found in his environment for his art. As a teenager he found a way to use sand grains in his work and moved on from there, still today he only uses natural resources in his work. This place was absolutely fascinating.

We the continued to Dakla Oasis which had a 200 year old Mud Brick City. We had a tour of the mud brick city which is uninhabited. The minaret is the only part remaining of the 11th Century Mosque. Our accomodation tonight was on under the starts on the roof of El Kasr guesthouse.