Abu El-Mahareek Dune Belt
(Ghard Abu El-Mahareek)

This notorious dune belt travels south-southeast from the east of the Bahariya
Oasis all the way to the Kharga Oasis depression. Almost parallel to the Nile,
it formed a natural barrier that isolated the oasis villages from the Nile valley.
Even though it’s only a few kilometers wide, crossing it was very difficult
even for the camels. So caravans used to travel around it from the north via
Fayoum or south via Kharga, but this journey took a lot of time. Few caravans
crossed the dune belt itself and it was a very hard crossing. That’s why this
sand dune belt was originally called Abu Mekharri (dune of shit). Take a look
at the very old maps of Egypt if you don’t believe me :).

El Quess Abu Said Plateau

The plateau is a quick identifier to the location of the Farafra Oasis on
any map. Farafra is the dark spot in the middle of the image. The sand dunes on the right run in straight lines to the Dakhla plateau. A make shift WW2 small airplain landing strip is hidden
in these dunes. The dunes to the left of the plateau are the eastern edge of
the Great Sand Sea. Hidden in these dunes is Ein Dalla (Orienteering well), which was a very important stop for caravans as it's the only water source in the Great Sand Sea. A small border police force guards the well, as it's still an important gate to the Great Sand Sea. If you pass by you better have a permit :). The water from the well is so pure it taste weird. This is the only water source I know where the water is truly tasteless and odorless. Can you see the paved road crossing from north to south?

Bahariya Oasis

Bahariya is the first Oasis you'll encounter when traveling on the Oasis route.
Clearly visible is the Bahariya depression and the vegetation. The area is rich
with Iron and contains one of Egypt's most productive iron mines. The red in
the southeast shows the rich iron content in the soil. The train tracks that
you've traveled along all the way to Bahariya is dedicated to transporting the
iron rich soil to a factory in Helwan and can often be seen amazingly pulling 40
carts of iron rich soil.

Dakhla Oasis

The richest of all the Oasis. At last count it had more than a thousand wells.
The dense vegetation is clearly visible and amazingly compares well to vegetation
from the Nile Valley. Still this is in the middle of the desert and the wind
blows the sand through the oasis and form sand dunes in and around the oasis
as if it doesn't exist.

Farafra Oasis

The road crossing from north to south on the right edge of the image is the
main oasis road and continues south to Dakhla. You can clearly see the farms
and crops borders. The plateau on the left is the Quess Abu Said plateau.

The Great Sand Sea

Covering an area the size of England, the Great Sand Sea’s majestically
sand dunes stretches from Siwa in the north to El Gelf El Kebir Plateau in the
south. Alien, inhospitable and mostly impassable, many have vanished and swallowed
by it’s shifting dunes; Bedouins, explorers, smugglers, and entire armies
(Cambyses 50.000 strong Persian army in 525 BC). The image shows the dune belts
stacked one behind the other and stretching for hundreds of kilometers.

Kharga Plateau

The sand carried by the wind dribbles down the plateau into the depression
like paint. The result is a huge sand field with many small impassable dunes.

Siwa is perhaps the most famous Oasis of all. It sits right on the edge of
the Great Sand Sea, which is visible in the south, separating it’s distinct
dune architecture from the featureless landscape to the north. The road heading
north is the road connecting the oasis to the north cost.