Fragile, beautiful and surreal, almost alien environment of the White desert.
The word Sahara in Arabic means desert, so the mention of the name “Sahara El Beida” the first thing you imagine is sand, sand and again sand. But on the horizon, this area seems to be looming icebergs.
In fact these formations of chalk found bizarre while under the influence of the wind. The area is quite isolated, the nearest town qaşr al farāfirah is 45 miles. But millions of years ago the White desert was the sea floor. Solid layers were formed for a long period of time, when they die back of marine fauna and flora. The ocean dried up, and in its place was formed the Savannah, which wandered herds of elephants and giraffes.
With the change of climate gradually changed and the landscape. Loose eroded surface, leaving layers of harder rock.
In a large part of the White desert is accessible only by four-wheel drive vehicles or camels. The further you go in this dazzling white landscape, the more and more boulders. They form the most diverse and every visitor can see them in the shapes of animals and people or the vast sea, where drifting icebergs. It all depends on the imagination.
It was an amazing sight. Huge blocks of weathered rocks seem to be trapped in the sand sea. They can’t withstand the wind and sand. Forming, over time, will inevitably collapse and turn into sand.
Visitors are advised not to approach the rocks too close and certainly not to touch them. Due to thousands of years of erosion, many of them highly unstable, any touch may inadvertently become destructive.
Distance from White desert to Cairo was a long one, distance ensures that offers tranquility and no crowds. The one-way journey will take from five to seven hours.
Most people out to visit for two days. The road from Cairo is quite long, besides most of the tourists prefer to stay overnight to enjoy amazing landscapes bathed only starlight and moonlight. Those who do not wish to challenge the desert night, you can spend the night in the nearby town of qaşr al farāfirah, where it is possible to rent cheap accommodation and taste the marvelous cuisine of the Bedouin.
See also: the Magic of Sugar: bright landscapes, the largest deserts in the world. Photo
When the sun goes down you can finally meet with a time of desert. It’s Fox Fennec Fox in search of food suitable to humans but wary, standing off to the side.
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