Day 18. Tue 30th September
El Kharga Oasis. Dakhla Oasis.
Up at 6:30 to visit the Hibis Temple, dedicated to Amun and Mut and built
during the 25th dynasty, around 775-653 BC. The temple is threatened by
the rising water table and plans are underway to move the structure to
higher ground. However the move has had to be halted due to the discovery
of roman tombs underneath the proposed new site. We are accompanied on
the drive by a car full of tourist police. Saleh explains that it is actually
more to give National Servicemen something to do than for any real reasons
of security.
From the Hibis Temple we walk about 1Km across the desert to the Necropolis
of Al-Bagawat, passing the new Hibis Temple site on the way, and the tombs
full of bones and broken roman pottery.
Al-Bagawat is a Coptic (Christian) cemetery dating from around the
4th to the 6th century AD. Many of the tombs have been painted with biblical
scenes.
Our next stop is a carpet factory, where carpets are woven by hand from
sheep and goat wool and camel hair. I discover which materials are used
through a protracted and highly amusing conversation with several of the
girls doing the weaving. As they speak no english at all I am forced to
imitate each animal in turn by miming its movement and imitating its noise,
and they nod or shake their heads accordingly. My drama training thus comes
in very useful, although even my formidable talents have their limit, and
I am unable to ascertain whether or not cotton is used!
There seems to be about twenty girls working in the factory. The weavers
work extremely fast, but there is no sweat-shop atmosphere, and they are
all happy to chat and joke with us, and to pose for photographs. A bathmat-sized
rug takes four days to make and costs between 100 and 200 EGP (£10-£20).
I buy one for 160 EGP - cheaper than the silk one, anyway.
Next stop is a pottery where pots are thrown on foot-operated wheels, dried
in the sun and then painted or carved. Once again we are welcomed in with
big smiles. Mindful of the problems of getting them home whole I don't
buy any pots.
Our last stop before lunch is a date processing plant, where dates are
washed, roasted and packed. This is a larger factory with maybe 50-60 workers,
possibly more, and the floor is sticky with date juice. We are asked to
pass through fairly quickly, as the workers would all rather chat and have
their photos taken than get on with their work, and, indeed, this proves
to be quite true.
We drive into El Kharga for lunch. It is market day and the town is bustling,
but there is none of the tourist hassle that plagued us in Luxor and Aswan.
I watch a shop keeper climb on to his counter to raise the shade over the
entrance to his shop. He puts one foot in a basket of tomatoes and the
other on top of a large pile of cucumbers. Unfortunately I can't get my
camera going quickly enough to catch it. If my Mum was with us I don't
think she'd dare eat anything in Egypt again!
Saleh brings us falafel sandwiches in pitta bread, and we set off.
Our next stop is the town of Mut in the Dakhla oasis.We stop on the
way for a short walk in the desert and to admire the rock strata, and arrive
in Mut at about four o'clock. In Mut we stop of at Ahmed Madi's restaurant.
We will have lunch here tomorrow, but we must order it today. We also order
lemonade and beer - we will drive to Farafra tomorrow, and the hotel there
is muslim and completely dry, so we must take our alcohol with us. This
done, we head out of town to meet the camels that will transport us to
our campsite.
The Bedouin camp is a few miles north of Mut, an interesting little
building, decorated with handpainted pictures of camels in compromising
positions, and poems allegedly written by the owner, Yousef, but bearing
a striking resemblance to Paul Simon lyrics.
The Bedouin camels turn out to be significantly more comfortable than
the ones we rode in Aswan, having a big annular cushion, like a big soft
loo seat, but no steering at all. They travel all together in a herd, complete
with pregnant females and young, and any that are not being ridden simply
tag along for the stroll.
We ride for a little over an hour into the desert. We have two guides,
but they stay at the back - the camels apparently know where they are going.
All of a sudden they all stop and, as one, begin to relieve themselves.
This is apparently the camel toilet, and also our destination. The camels
kneel on the command "Chch" and we all dismount. The camels are then quickly
rounded up by the guides and, to our consternation, both guides and beasts
disappear back the way we have come, and we are left standing in the middle
of the Western Desert. Then Saleh appears, and beyond the rise we find
the jeep with our overnight stuff, a wind break, and supper cooking on
a stove.
We watch the sun set, eat, and take it in turns with the Bedouin to
sing songs. They teach us a couple of tricks involving coke bottles and
bank notes and the chief cook splits his trousers trying to pick up a cigarette
packet in his teeth, causing great hilarity all round. I pass around the
Southern Comfort and even some of the muslims have a shot. After gazing
at the stars and the Milky Way for a while, we throw down our blankets
and mats and retire to bed under the open sky.
