By: Tarek Ibrahim

As a tourist hot spot, the western deserts oases are probably the most unknown to the general public. The reason is simple; when mentioning the possibility of traveling to the desert to some of my peers, I was met with dark humor. Why, many ask, should rational people travel almost 400 km to camp in the desert. Are there no more beaches?

Desert tourism is culturally unattractive to many. The media portrays the desert as a place where people die of thirst, and not a place to enjoy and relax. In this article, I would present, what I personally think, is one of the best examples of sustainable tourism here in Egypt.

The best way to go to the Oases is using the bus, which not only has the minimal emissions per person, but also because all-terrain vehicles (or camels for that matter) are the only way to move around in the desert. The road to the closest oasis, Bahariya, is almost 400 km long with only two gas stations, making the journey in an urban car an adventure in itself. On the road, the only way to get electricity is by harnessing solar energy, as cell phone network operators conveniently did.

Your first stop is Bawiti, the administrative center of the Bahariya Oasis. When you step off the bus, you are met with mud-bricked old buildings, unpaved roads, and crowds of Wahati beduin people; not a strong first impression. However, the local tour of the city shows that Bawiti is more than meets the eye. Hot sulfur springs are used to irrigate the vast farms that are close by, and as tourist attractions (arthritis medication and hot spring bathing). While walking in the vast date and citrus farms, you feel that you are walking in the middle of a forest, and not in the largest desert in the world.

The unique salt lakes, which are one of the features that characterize the Desert Oases, are found on the outskirts of Bawiti. The reason for their existence is their altitude; every single one of the oases exists at a depression. The depression traps rain water, which in time caused the formation of terminal salt lakes. At the end of the day, it is a great place to picnic and to enjoy the amazing view of the sunset. The water is murky, but with some guts, you may even take a dip!

After a short stay at Bawiti, you may stop for the night at one of the “desert camps”. Inside, you find bamboo/straw cottages, a fire place, and toilets. The desert camps are the best complement to your day of nature hiking. Talking around the camp fire, listening to Bedouin music, and going constellation hunting makes the desert camp not only a place to sleep, but a place to enjoy the desert nightlife.

Going on the road to the Farafra Oasis, there is still a lot to see in this magical place. You come across the Black Desert. The landscape is dominated by dead and dormant volcanic hills, which many years ago erupted dark volcanic rocks called dolerite. The dispersion of this rock throughout the black desert is the reason for the color, and hence the name. Climbing the biggest hill in this desert, called the English Mountain, reveals an awe aspiring panoramic view of this exotic desert.

Finally in our endeavor in the oases we stopped to camp at the White Desert National Park, or White Desert for short. In sharp contrast to the Black Desert, the White Desert is startlingly the direct opposite. The milky white desert complexion has its roots 80 million years ago, when this place was the bottom of the ocean. The remains of marine microorganisms are today the chalk-blasted white landscape. The frequent sandstorms in the area eroded the soft rock structure, producing striking natural art forms. With a bit of imagination, anybody could see anything in those rock forms.

The landscape of the White Desert is not the only interesting thing to see. As the night approaches, the coy desert foxes and gazelles start to come out from hiding and start to approach the campers. When the campers sleep, scores of foxes come close and sniff around at the campers’ feet, very keen not to disturb them. However, the foxes are very able thieves and love shoes, and dozens of tourists do go back home barefoot.

The Wahatis (people living in the oases) have a deep underlying link with their ecology, and a lot could be learned from them. Not only do they respect their surrounding ecology, but also try their hardest not to disturb it. They utilize, not manipulate, the resources Mother Nature provides, and this led to their survival and sustenance. They do not take their all-terrain vehicles off route in fear of destroying the desert landscape with their wheel ruts. Tourists taking pieces of rock from the landscape are frowned upon.

Upon arriving, the first thing Aiman (our guide) told us was to blend with the environment, not change it, so other people could enjoy it too. He even reprimanded us for looking at the foxes, arguing that we are guests here, and guests do not bother the hosts. He made sure that when we left, our camp was back the way it was.

According to Aiman, most of the people who come to the Oases are foreigners, and many of them are very responsible. They run away from the pollution that we created to remember once again that our cities are just a small part of our planet. Havens like the oases are important for them to recharge their batteries and get ready to get back to their stressful lives. Aiman even told us a story of how tourists once had a fight with one of the locals for throwing stones at desert foxes. Unfortunately, you could still find “I WUZ HERE” graffiti on some of the rocks at the White and Black deserts.

The next time you want to travel somewhere where you can eat burgers, go clubbing, or go shopping, consider a change and go someplace where you could activate your lost links to the ecosystems. It does not make sense for eco-conscious people wasting what they saved all year in potential emissions just to have a vacation. Green tourism is not only responsible; it is a lot of fun.