Egypt

Al Ahram Weekly Snapshot: White Desert

Al Ahram Weekly

It’s not the work of some talented artist; it's purely natural. Mohamed El-Hebeishy sets out to discover the artistic beauty of the White Desert.

A mushroom, a chicken or perhaps a rabbit are all examples of the various shapes that have been naturally formed. As the name White Desert may indicate, the whole area is made up of snow-white chalk shaped and outlined as a result of being exposed to what geologists call "differential erosion". The soft particles have been eroded, leaving us with the core hard rock of the chalk fantastically moulded into thousands of different shapes, an endless array of mind boggling formations that the most creative of artists could not repeat.

The White Desert was declared a natural protectorate back in 2002 due to its unique landscape and desert formations which are simply unparalleled. Located as part of the much greater Western Desert, the White Desert lies in near proximity to the tranquil Farafra Oasis.

- Photographs Of The White Desert
Sharm4u If you like the White Desert you will like this page - lots of lovely photographs of the amazing area near the Farafra oasis in Egypt's Western Desert. Every time I go there I am as astonished by its structures and colours as I was the first...

- On The Trail Of Tourist Trash (3 Tons Of It) In The White Desert
Seattle Times (Andrew Stelzer) This article made me feel very cold. The White Desert is a remarkable place and I was only talking with a group of people the other day about the benefits or otherwise that tourism would have in terms of its total impact...

- Daily Photo - The White Desert
In honour of the White Desert, and to accompany today's article about the sheer amount of rubbish that tourists to the area leave behind, here are some photographs of one of the world's most wonderful natural landscapes. I've posted images...

- Travel: The Western Desert
http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=428000It is always good to see the Western Desert being featured in travel stories, for a change. This article describes the highlights of a family's trip to the Egyptian Western Desert, picking out some...

- Travel Items
The Western Desert Oasis of Farafra http://www.egypttoday.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=6465It is very nice to see a travel review of one of the wonderful Western Desert oases, this the remote and untouched of all the oases: "The White Desert beckons, with...

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