Travel: Inside the secret (Eastern) desert

With photos.

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Egypt’s little-known, largely unexplored Eastern Desert, where impeccably preserved ruins and breathtaking examples of ancient rock art bring to life the fascinating history of this once fertile and thriving region.

Egypt’s desolate desert interior.

Egypt’s Eastern Desert. With no GPS, satellite phone or firearms, and with no real idea why or where we were going, Mohamed was perhaps the least impressive security guard I had ever encountered. Yet his presence, courtesy of the Egyptian security forces, was obligatory: without him there would be no trip.

Egypt the deserts were portrayed as hostile wastelands, places to bury the dead and banish wrongdoers. Fittingly, they were ruled over by Seth, the Egyptian god of chaos and disorder. But far from being a place of fear and trepidation, Egypt’s Eastern Desert is fascinating and contains some of the country’s best-kept secrets.