hart.beth's blog
Egypt Desert Life Getting There
Start out in Bahariya Oasis, about 350km S.W. of Cairo in the western desert.
White Desert
Egypt Desert Life Things to Do
-Learn the variety of the desert: The white desert with fossils and limestone, the black desert, the crystal desert, small oases, and rolling dunes of the great sand sea
-Eat Bedouin cooking over open fire
-Join in Bedouin music and dancing at night
-Sleep under the stars
-Get stuck on sand dunes and help push the jeep out
-Look for ‘desert roses’
Egypt Desert Life Your Host
Travel through the desert with Samy Badri and his Bedouin friends and family. In Bahariya we are only around 37,000 people.
Egypt Ancient Monuments Getting There
Luxor is located in Upper Egypt, about 10-12 hours by train south of Cairo. The Nile divides Luxor into two parts- the east bank and the west bank. The East bank is the main city, with train and bus stations, airport, market, pharmacies etc. Most of the ancient monuments are on the west bank. Both banks have loads of hotels.
Amun el-Gezira is located on the west bank of Luxor in the village Bairat El Gezira. Take the public ferry from the east bank, and then a twisty walk through the village. There are signs for the hotel, or you can ask people.
Egypt Ancient Monuments Your Host
Amon el-Gezira hotel (Also spelled Amun el-Gazira) run by the friendly Ahmed Suleiman. Stay on the west bank. Have tea and share stories with Ahmed and family. Fill up on ful and falafel in the Egyptian breakfast. Taxi with Ahmed's brother to the nearby monuments. You will soon realize family is the most important, and there is always someone in the family who does what you’re looking for!
The Death of Lola
On December 5th 2006 Lola, a '93 Ford Escort station wagon (green), was officially declared dead. Lola was brought in to a ford dealership for regular inspection before another of her many road trips, only to find that she had already driven her last. The mechanics declared that the radiator absolutely had to be replaced (severely leaking), and that oil was leaking out of the engine. These were only the most dire of a series of ailments. Various belts were cracked, spark plugs needed to be changed and whatnot for a total of $2000 repair cost.
Beth Hart's Bio
Beth Hart received a BA from the University of Michigan in 2004, with a concentration in Anthropology and a minor in Near Eastern studies.
Beth spent a year living in Cairo and studying at the American University in Cairo. After that she worked two field seasons as an Archaeologist with the University of Pennsylvania-Yale-NYU Institute of Fine Arts expedition to Abydos.