Middle East - Anthony Ham [142]
Bedouin Oasis Village ( 012 669 4893; s/d E£70/150, full board E£100/200) A relative newcomer on a rise above the town, this pad has well-designed, traditional-style buildings replete with a deluge of domes, arches and vaults. Nifty and arty touches in the humble-but-cosy rooms and in the communal areas really spruce the place up, and the restaurant (dinner around E£20) has splendid views. There’s a ‘Bedouin spa’ (ie a natural spring pool) on the premises.
Al-Qasr Hotel ( 787 6013; Al-Qasr; s/d/tr E£10/20/30) The sprightly and ever-helpful Mohamed captains this great little guesthouse, which sits above a café near the old town of Al Qasr. The bucolically charming rooms have screens, balconies and even fortress views. There’s a breezy upstairs communal sitting area, and for E£2 you can sleep on a mattress on the roof. The ground-floor coffeehouse and restaurant serve good, hearty fare (breakfast E£3 extra). Mohamed rents bikes for E£5 a day and arranges camel tours.
Desert Lodge ( 772 7061/2, in Cairo 02-690 5240; www.desertlodge.net; Al-Qasr; s/d half board €75/100; ) The swishest accommodation in Dakhla also has the best views of Al-Qasr. This thoughtfully designed mudbrick fortress of a lodge crowns a hilltop overlooking the town and comprises 32 large rooms in traditionally styled clusters. The restaurant is adequate, and there is also a bar and many of the services you would expect for the hefty price.
Eating
Ahmed Hamdy’s Restaurant ( 782 0767; Sharia as-Sawra al-Khadra, Mut; meals E£2-15) On the main road west of Mut, Ahmed Hamdy’s popular restaurant serves delicious chicken, kebabs, vegetables and a few other small dishes. The freshly squeezed lime juice is excellent and you can request beer (E£12) and sheesha.
Said Shihad (Sharia as-Sawra al-Khadra, Mut; meals E£6-15) Owner Said is onto a great thing here: grilling up a meat-centric feast nightly to a dedicated following of hungry locals. The lamb shish-kebab is the thing to go for – yum!
Getting There & Away
All buses leave from near the new mosque on the main square in Mut. From here, Upper Egypt Bus Co ( 782 4366; Midan al-Gamaa, Mut) runs a 7pm and 8.30pm service to Cairo (E£50 to E£55, 10 to 12 hours) via Al-Kharga (E£10, two hours) and Asyut (E£20, four hours). Other Asyut buses leave at 6am, 8.30am and 10pm. Different buses leave at 6am and 7pm for Cairo via Farafra Oasis (E£20, three hours) and Bahariya Oasis (E£35, seven hours). There’s a booking office in Mut at Midan al-Tahrir. The Herz Bus Company ( 782 4914; Microbus & Service taxi station) runs a daily bus to Cairo at 8pm (E£45).
Microbuses leave when full from the old part of Mut, near the mosque, and cost E£10 to Al-Kharga, E£20 to either Farafra or Asyut and around E£60 to Cairo.
Crowded pick-ups, Peugeots and microbuses head out from town to Al-Qasr, Balat and Bashendi from in front of the hospital for E£1.
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FARAFRA OASIS
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Blink and you’ll miss the smallest, and probably dustiest, of the oases. Farafra can be an alternative setting-off point for trips into the spectacular White Desert (see box Click here), but is hardly worth visiting otherwise. The only tourist attraction in the town is Badr’s Museum ( 751 0091; donation E£5; 8.30am-sunset). We salute the effort put into this place by enthusiastic local artist Badr Abdel Moghny.
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THE WHITE & BLACK DESERTS
Upon first glimpse of the White Desert (Sahra al-Beida) dreamscape, you’ll feel like a modern Alice fallen through the desert looking-glass. Beginning just 20km northeast of Farafra, the yellow desert sands here are pierced by chalky rock formations, sprouting almost supernaturally from the ground. Blindingly white spires of rock reach for the sky, each frost-coloured lollipop licked into an ever-odder shape by the dry desert winds. The surreal shapes soon start to take on familiar forms: chickens, camels, hawks and other uncanny shapes. They are best viewed at sunrise or sunset, when the sun turns them hues of pink and orange, Salvador