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New York Times (Michael Slackman)
THE police were looking for five cars along a lonely stretch of desert road and, well, here were five cars. The license plates did not match the ones they were looking for, but there were five cars — so the police detained the convoy.
“Egypt really is a logic-free zone,” said Amr Shannon, the desert guide whose five-car caravan was released after an officer finally acknowledged the obvious.
The point here is not to embarrass the police at the checkpoint. It is, instead, to illustrate one of the first pieces of advice Mr. Shannon gives before taking tourists to some of the most beautiful and isolated destinations ranging across Egypt’s desert landscape.
After more than three decades of introducing thousands of tourists to the thrill of Egypt’s unique and sprawling deserts, Mr. Shannon is planning to retire in the fall. Equal parts adventurer and philosopher — Indiana Jones meets Yoda — he is now helping to teach a new generation of guides not just to showcase Egypt’s natural beauty but also to behave as a life coach. Guides must know when to intervene (when the tires are buried deep in sand, for example) and when to fade into the background, so guests can experience the buzzing silence of the open desert.
- Interview With Barry Kemp Re Looting
New Scientist (Jo Marchant) A thriving market for antiquities in the west is behind the looting of Egypt's heritage, says Barry Kemp, who describes the fraught situation on the ground Where is your dig site? I work at Amarna, the short-lived capital...
- Travel: Breaking Down In The White Desert
Seattle PI (Rob Hodges) You know you're in trouble when you're forced to flag down a camel caravan for help. That's the situation my wife, Kate, and I were in the last morning of a three-day/two-night jeep trek in a fairly remote part of Egypt's...
- New Book: Gilf Kebir National Park
American University in Cairo Press The first and only guidebook to the Gilf and Uweinat. Gilf Kebir National Park Egypt Pocket Guide Alberto Siliotti Feb 2010 In the far southwestern corner of Egypt lies one of the most fascinating and least known regions...
- Travel: Welcome To The Sahara
New Stuff The desert is one of the mysterious places on earth where normal rules about living are suspended and even inverted. There is no water- yet we need water for life. There are no crops and trees and yet these are essential to make shelter and...
- Travel: The Faiyum Oasis
Al Ahram Weekly (Amira El-Naqeeb) Good travel article which looks at many of the main features of the Faiyum oasis, from the world's oldest paved road to the lovely site of Dimeh. With photos. For me Fayoum has always been a destination at arm's...