Sights in Western Desert
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Fortress of Shali
The centre of the town is dominated by the spectacular organic shapes of the remains of the 13th-century mud-brick Fortress of Shali . Built from a material known locally as kershef (large chunks of salt from the lake just outside town, mixed with rock and plastered in local clay), the labyrinth of huddled buildings was originally four or five storeys high and housed hundreds of people.
For centuries, few outsiders were admitted inside - and even fewer came back out to tell the tale. But three days of rain in 1926 caused more damage than any invader had managed and, over the last decades, inhabitants moved to newer and more comfortable houses with running water and electr…
reviewed
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Qasr ad-Dush
About 13km to the southeast of Baris is Qasr ad-Dush, an imposing Roman temple-fortress completed around AD 177 on the site of the ancient town of Kysis. Dush was a border town strategically placed at the intersection of five desert tracks and one of the southern gateways to Egypt. It may also have been used to guard the Darb al-Dush, an east–west track to the Esna and Edfu temples in the Nile Valley. As a result it was solidly built and heavily garrisoned, with four or five more storeys lying underground. A 1st-century sandstone temple abutting the fortress was dedicated to Isis and Serapis. The gold decorations that once covered parts of the temple and earned it renown…
reviewed
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Sandstone Temple
This restored Roman sandstone temple is one of the most complete Roman monuments in Dakhla. Dedicated to the Theban triad of Amun, Mut and Khons, as well as Horus (who can be seen with a falcon’s head), it was built between the reigns of Nero (AD 54–68) and Domitian (AD 81–96). The cartouches of Nero, Vespasian and Titus can be seen in the hypostyle hall, which has also been inscribed by almost every 19th-century explorer who passed through the oasis. If you look carefully in the adjacent Porch of Titus you can see the names of the entire expedition of Gerhard Rohlfs, the 19th-century desert explorer. Also visible are the names of famous desert travellers Edmonstone, Drov…
reviewed
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Museum
Since the discovery of the Golden Mummies in the 1990s, growing interest in Bahariya’s ancient past has led to the opening of this new museum.This is where the mummies come to rest. Some of the 10 mummies on show are richly decorated and while the motifs are formulaic and the work is second-rate, the painted faces show a move away from stylised Pharaonic mummy decoration towards Fayoum portraiture. Underneath the wrappings, the work of the embalmers appears to have been sloppy: in some cases the bodies decayed before the embalming process began, which suggests that these mummies mark the beginning of the end of mummification. Sadly, the exhibit embodies that spirit, and…
reviewed
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Oasis Heritage Museum
You can’t miss Mahmoud Eed’s Oasis Heritage Museum, about 2km east of the town’s edge on the road to Cairo: this hilltop bastion is announced by massive clay camels gazing longingly onto the street. Inspired by Badr’s Museum in Farafra, its creator wishes to capture, in clay, scenes from traditional village life, among them men hunting or playing siga (a game played in the dirt with clay balls or seeds), women weaving and a painful-looking barber/doctor encounter. There is also a display of old oasis dresses and jewellery. Look for the sign saying ‘Camel Camp’, which is the plain and overpriced accommodation that’s also offered here.
reviewed
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Bir al-Gebel
Set among breathtaking desert scenery, Bir al-Gebel has been turned into a day-trip destination where blaring music and hundreds of schoolchildren easily overwhelm any ambience it might have had. Sitting on the edge of a small palm-shrouded oasis, surrounded by rolling dunes and towering desert cliffs, this still has to be one of the most beautiful dipping-spots in the oases. It’s best to come in the evening, when it’s quieter and the stars blaze across the night sky. If you arrive during spring peak hour, there’s a serene natural spring about 500m before Bir al-Gebel on the right, concealed behind a brick pump house.
reviewed
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Qila al-Dabba
Qila al-Dabba is Balat’s ancient necropolis. The five mastabas (mudbrick structures above tombs that were the basis for later pyramids) here, the largest of which stands over 10m high, date back to the 6th dynasty. Four are ruined, but one has been restored and is now open to the public. Originally all five would have been clad in fine limestone, with three thought to have belonged to important Old Kingdom governors of the oasis. Opening hours are 8pm to 5pm October to April and 8am to 6pm May to September, but you may need to find a guardian in the nearby buildings. You’ll need a private vehicle – or plenty of endurance – to get here.
reviewed
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Badr’s Museum
Badr Abdel Moghny is a self-taught artist whose gift to his town has become its only real sight, bless ’im. Badr’s Museum, surrounded by a desert garden, is worth seeing for the enthusiasm that Badr puts into his interesting work, much of which records traditional oasis life. His distinctive style of painting and sculpture in mud, stone and sand has also won him foreign admirers; he exhibited successfully in Europe in the early 1990s and later in Cairo.
reviewed
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Temple of Umm Ubayd
Dedicated to Amun. This was originally connected to the Temple of the Oracle by a causeway and was used during oracle rituals. Early drawings have revealed that the structure was built by Nectanebo II during the 30th dynasty. Nineteenth-century travellers saw more of it than we can: a Siwan governor in need of building material blew up the temple in 1896 to construct the town's modern mosque and police building. Today only part of a wall covered with inscriptions survives.
reviewed
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Tomb of Bannentiu
Consisting of a four-columned burial chamber with an inner sanctuary, it is covered in fine reliefs depicting Bannentiu in various positions with the gods. The most interesting pictures flank the entrance to the burial chamber. On one side, the journey of the moon is shown, with the moon, in the form of the god Khons, depicted as a source of life and flanked by the goddesses Isis and Nephthys. The other side of the entrance is decorated with the journey of the sun.
reviewed
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Qasr al-Ghueita
The imposing Roman mudbrick fortress has survived millennia and still dominates the road to Baris. Its name means ‘Fortress of the Small Garden’, which seems a misnomer for a place surrounded by desert. But in antiquity, Qasr al-Ghueita was the centre of a fertile agricultural community renowned for its grapes. Soon, Ghueita may overlook an even more surprising patch of greenery: the golf resort that’s planning to open nearby sometime in 2010.
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Ethnographic Museum
Dakhla’s wonderful museum, attached to Dar al-Wafdeen Government Hotel, is only opened on request: ask at the tourist office or at the Cultural Palace, where the museum’s manager, Ibrahim Kamel, can be found. The museum is laid out as a traditional home, with different areas for men, women and visitors. Displays of clothing, baskets, jewellery and other domestic items give an insight into oasis life.
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Tomb of Zed-Amun-ef-ankh
The rock-cut Tomb of Zed-Amun-ef-ankh is a fascinating glimpse of Bahariya in its heyday. It appears that Zed-Amun-ef-ankh was not a government official but was given the richness of colourful tomb paintings anyway, hinting at his wealth and importance. Researchers assume he was a trader, perhaps a wine merchant or landowner making money out of Bahariya’s thriving wine-export business.
reviewed
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Gebel al-Mawta
A small hill at the northern end of Siwa Town, Gebel al-Mawta – whose name means Mountain of the Dead – is honeycombed with rock tombs, most dating back to the 26th dynasty, Ptolemaic and Roman times.The tombs were used by the Siwans as shelters when the Italians bombed the oasis during WWII. Many new tombs were discovered at this time but were not properly excavated.
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Ain Bishay
The Roman spring of Ain Bishay bubbles forth from a hillock on the northwest edge of town. It has been developed into an irrigated grove of date palms together with citrus, olive, apricot and carob trees, and is a cool haven amid the arid landscape. Several families tend the crops here; you should seek someone out and ask permission before wandering around.
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Temple of the Oracle
Built in the 6th century BC, probably on top of an earlier temple, it was dedicated to Amun (occasionally referred to as Zeus or Jupiter Ammon) and was a powerful symbol of the town’s wealth. One of the most revered oracles in the ancient Mediterranean, its power was such that some rulers sought its advice while others sent armies to destroy it.
reviewed
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House of Abu Nafir
Of interest is the restored House of Abu Nafir. A dramatic pointed arch at the entrance frames a huge studded wooden door. Built of mud brick, and on a grander scale than the surrounding houses, it incorporates huge blocks from an earlier structure, possibly a Ptolemaic temple, decorated with hieroglyphic reliefs.
reviewed
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House of Siwa Museum
House of Siwa Museum contains a modest display of traditional clothing, jewellery and crafts typical of the oasis. It was inspired by a Canadian diplomat who feared that Siwan culture and its mudbrick houses would disappear in a flood of poured cement and modernity.
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Ain Segam
Just past the village of Mandisha, near the Bahariya-Cairo road, huddles Ain Segam spring. Hidden behind a large pump house on the edge of a lush palm grove, this is a great place to have a dip or bring a picnic and laze in the shade of the swaying palm fronds.
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Tomb of Kitines
The sandstone Tomb of Kitines was occupied by Senussi soldiers during WWI and by a village family after that. Nevertheless, some funerary reliefs have survived and show the 2nd-century AD notable meeting the gods Min, Seth and Shu.
reviewed
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El-Beshmo
The closest springs to central Bawiti are the so-called Roman springs, known as El-Beshmo. The view over the oasis gardens and the desert beyond is wonderful, but unfortunately the spring is not suitable for swimming.
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Tomb of Sheikh Nasr ad-Din
There are 37 lintels in the village, the earliest of which dates to the early 16th century. One of the finest is above the Tomb of Sheikh Nasr ad-Din, which is marked by a restored 12th-century mud-brick minaret.
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Qasr az-Zayyan
About 7km further south from Qasr al-Ghueita are the remains of Qasr az-Zayyan, another fortress enclosing a temple. The fort is still situated beside a small but thriving village.
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Tombs
Heading back to Mut from Al-Qasr, take the secondary road for a change of scenery. You can visit several Tombs near the ruined village of Amhadah, dating from the 2nd century.
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Ethnographic Museum
Occupying Sherif Ahmed’s house, which itself dates back to 1785, the museum’s everyday objects try to give life to the empty buildings around them.
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