Travel: Bahariya to Kharga

Well! I am back in Cairo and what a trip! As I mentioned, I signed up with the Arabic Language Institute for a four day trip through the oases of the Western Desert. After the marathon bus trip to and from Siwa Oasis last spring, I swore I would never take another bus trip, but we had a four day holiday, and the appeal to visit the oases was strong, so I joined the group at 7 a.m. Tuesday morning and set off for Bahariya oasis—about 350 kilos southwest of Cairo.

Our holiday from classes was for the Eid al Fitr. The Eid al Fitr is the three day feast that ends the month of Ramadan, the 28 days of sunrise to sunset fasting. In the Middle East, the Eid al Fitr began on Tuesday, and just after midnight on Tuesday, friends in Yemen and Saudi Arabia sent Happy Eid phone messages. The end of Ramadan is a raucous time in Muslim communities, but I had not heard anything special out on the streets of Cairo, so when I got to the bus, I asked a Muslim friend if Ramadan had ended and the Eid begun. NO! Not in Egypt! Although Ramadan and the Eid are based on the lunar calendar, the Eid does not begin until the sheikh sees the thinnest sliver of the crescent moon. I tend to believe that the moon can be counted on to maintain its schedule whether or not I see it, but here, it is not assumed that any thing definitely will happen. If God wills, it will happen; if not, well... So, the end of Ramadan should be confirmed by a visual sighting of the crescent moon, and if it is not seen, the calendar is used. The calendar confirms by dint of numbers that the lunar month has indeed ended and thus the extra day, just to be sure, here in Cairo. I hope my Muslim friends will feel free to correct any of my misunderstandings. At any rate, my friend’s slightly aggravated response was, “Of course he could not see the moon. No one can see that sliver of the moon in Cairo because of the pollution, so we have to go by the calendar!” We had a wry laugh over the situation, and our Muslim travelers had to spend the day in the desert without even a sip of water.

The oases of Egypt, naturally, since aside from the occasional well there is no water anywhere, are sites of ancient communities. Only a few years ago, near the Bahariya oasis, a donkey discovered a cemetery filled with ‘golden mummies.’ The donkey’s owner got the credit for the discovery of what would come to be called the Cemetery of the Golden Mummies because he called the local archaeologist who called the director of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, Zahi Hawass. The cemetery was partially excavated and the few mummies in good condition were moved to museums. Their face masks were painted with gold, thus the name, and we saw several adult mummies, one child mummy and an infant mummy.