 |
Al-Ahram Weekly 29 July - 4 August 1999 Issue No. 440 
|
||
Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
| ||
|
Al-Ahram Weekly 29 July - 4 August 1999 Issue No. 440
|
||
| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
| ||
Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Profile Travel Living Sports Time Out Chronicles People Cartoons Letters A Farafran affair
By Paul Garwood
From a hilltop in the tiny oasis village of Farafra, you can tell just how vast the Western Desert is. In almost every direction, your eyes meet flat desert plains extending until they meet the horizon.
Space and silence. These were the first things that struck me on arriving in Farafra three months ago when the weather was a bit cooler than it is at the moment. Farafra's silence is almost deafening. There is hardly any traffic at all to speak of, that is if you don't count a handful of men strolling up the middle of its asphalted main road or a half a dozen donkeys standing idly by the roadside.
Here in the smallest of the Western Desert's four main oases lives a community relatively untouched by time, work and pressure. Farafrans are mainly Bedouins who lead an existence centred around the land. You can see this for yourself on the eastern side of the town. There are scores of fields with many different trees carrying produce like olives, dates, figs, guavas, oranges and apricots. Near the farms is a small hot spring in which you can bathe and along the main street are a handful of small shop stands from where ta'miyya and fuul are sold.
Much of the fruit and vegetables on sale is locally produced. In almost every sense Farafra is self-sufficient. A local man who recently graduated from Cairo University with a law degree said, "I had to come back to Farafra, I have everything I need here." In this sense he could have been referring to many things. His family and roots are there, as is the unique lifestyle.
In ancient times, Farafra was called Ta-hit, or Land of the Cow as it was referred to in the 3rd century BC in Old Kingdom texts. At one time it was occupied by Libyans and even today many of the people you speak to in the town talk of their neighbour to the west in glowing terms.
Farafra has now aligned itself with another four-legged beast -- the camel. I met Saad Ali, a local-born man, who has built his own Farafran empire from the ground up, literally, on the back of a camel, or more to the point, over 40 of them. An extremely enterprising man, Saad runs scores of treks into the fabled White Desert using camel trains as his main mode of transport. He also owns a number of four-wheel drives for tours. Closed for business during the searing hot summer months, Saad is now preparing for yet another busy season, which is set to start later this year. His base in Farafra, a building in the dome-style of the late famous architect, Hassan Fathi, is his El-Badawiya Hotel -- the only such facility in the town. It offers cool, comfortable accommodation and healthy, tasty local food at very reasonable prices.
Saad's operation is one of a number that sprang up in recent years around the desert oases. Adventure travel is now a big industry within Egypt, with travellers from all over the world coming to places like Farafra and the fabled White Desert to take in wondrous sights and camp out underneath the stars. No wonder that this appears so attractive to tourists. During the day, the sky is a bright, clear blue and at night it shimmers with the light of a million stars -- a stark contrast to the brown film which envelopes Cairo.
"I grew up with camels, following them through the desert for months on end, and learned everything about them. It was because of this that I have the knowledge of the desert that I have today," Saad said.
Born into the culturally rich Bedouin society, Saad has better understanding than most people about his surroundings, history and, especially, camels.
Farafra's camels are treated to loving care from their owners, who understand the importance of keeping the beasts healthy for their long desert treks
It was from this unique background that he built a highly profitable and popular business which has taken Farafra to the world. Just 10 years ago, a tourist in this smallest of oases was like a modern-day pioneer. During this year's tourist season, over 2,000 people made their way to Farafra across the desert solely because of the services Saad offered.
"When I was nine years old, I started to cope for myself in the desert," Saad said. "It was my and my brothers' job to look after camels in the desert for months on end and follow them everywhere. We had to make our own bread and drink the milk from the camels. This is how I got my experience about the desert.
"I started out in my business by buying a donkey. One day a tourist came to Farafra and asked if I could take him into the desert on the donkey. This was my first trip. With the money I earned this way, I bought a camel, then another one, then a car. It went from there.
"I buy all my camels from local people in Farafra. The camels in the desert are much healthier than those you buy in Cairo. The air and environment are cleaner and the water is better in the desert so there is less chance of them getting sick. Most of the camels that are sold in Cairo come from Sudan. I have to get the best camels because I use them for long trips."
Once in the White Desert, you experience one of the true wonders of the natural world. The beauty and bizarre forms of the limestone and calcite rock formations are awe-inspiring. "It is a natural gallery," Saad says of the rocks formed into a vast array of shapes by harsh desert winds over the ages.
Linked by road to Dakhla (300km to the south) and Bahariya (185km to the north), the 2,800 people who live in Farafra are among Egypt's remotest dwellers. Their homes are mostly small, mud-brick dwellings with wooden doorways above which are painted verses of the Koran. Many of Farafra's houses are painted blue to ward off the evil eye. Some are also decorated with drawings of landscapes, birds and animals, the handiwork of local artist, Badr.
Like the other Western Desert oases, Farafra is famous for its crafts. The difference, though, is that the women of Farafra make their beautifully embroidered clothes mostly for their own use and very rarely for sale. They don't anticipate hordes of tourists to pass them by on shopping sprees.
Spend two days in Farafra and you'll be disappointed. It takes this much time for the village to start to wind you down. Before you know it you're getting back on the bus or into the car again for that seven-hour trip back to the big smoke. One or two weeks spent in this oasis will leave you refreshed and relaxed and maybe even wondering about living there. At least you'll be definite about coming to Farafra again.
photos: William Conroy
