Egypt Western Desert Expeditions
ROCK-ART ROCKS:
If you love the desert and are also interested in geology and culture, you might consider either the Gilf Al-Kebir Rock-Art Expedition or the Gilf Al-Kebir-Siwa Oasis Grand Expedition in Egypt's southwestern desert.
The Gilf Al-Kebir Rock-Art Expedition is a 12-day itinerary that starts in Cairo. You travel first to Dakhla Oasis, and then continue on across the whole desert span of the eastern Gilf Al-Kebir. Having climbed the plateau, the route heads off towards the west until it reaches the rock art site now known as the Mestekawi/Foggini Cave. This cave was only discovered in May 2002 during expedition led by Colonel Ahmed El-Mestekawi for Massimo Foggini, an Italian industrialist and desert traveler. It contains an astounding number of well-preserved paintings and engravings.
The paintings conjure up the life and customs of what may well be several human societies who once lived in this now extremely arid and remote part of Egypt. This Neolithic shelter is by far the richest ever found in this part of Northeast Africa. The trip then moves south to end at Wadi Wassa, from where the group returns to Dakhla and then to Cairo.
During the trip, travellers will be able to get to know Egypt's southwestern desert intimately, and learn about past geological epochs. The main objective of these expeditions is to explore and map out a rough diagram of the early distribution of man along the Tropic of Cancer, and piece together the nature of the early communities that settled within what seems to us a supremely inhospitable environment.
The Gilf Al-Kebir-Siwa Oasis Grand Expedition is an even more challenging adventure. This 19-day expedition starts from Cairo to the White Desert south of Bahariya Oasis, and then proceeds to Eastern Gilf Al-Kebir (crossing the entire area between Dakhla Oasis and the Gilf Plateau), Central Gilf Al- Kebir, the Mestekawi/Foggini Cave, Western Gilf Al-Kebir and Wadi Hamra. This latter is an extraordinary canyon cut into the northwestern outliers of Gilf Al-Kebir. Together with Wadi Abdel- Malik and Wadi Talh, Wadi Hamra forms the Zarzora Valley, first described by the Hungarian explorer Count L E Almasy (the real life The English Patient). This environment shelters an extraordinary ecosystem, with trees, shrubs and animal life surviving in what is possibly the world's driest locale. From Zarzora, the expedition then heads north to the Great Sand Sea, then travels on to Siwa Oasis, from where the group will return first to Bahariya Oasis, and thence to Cairo.
The Gilf Al-Kebir Rock-Art Expedition leaves on 27 December 2009, while the Gilf Al-Kebir-Siwa Oasis Grand Expedition will depart on 25 December 2009.
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