El-Waha El-Bahariya "the northern oasist"
The capital of Bahariya itself is the main town you drive through, Bawiti. There are other smaller villages clustered within the depression of the oasis, many of them mentioned in Roman times. Bahariya has been inhabited for many many centuries and it was here that the so called Golden Mummies were unearthed a few years ago. These are mummies in gold painted sarcophagi dating from the Ptolemaic period- which dated between 332BC to 30BC. Some of the mummy cases can be seen in the museum in Bawiti which you drive past on the way in.
The hills behind the town include Gebel Dist- this was where important dinosaur remains were found by German paleontologist Eric Strommer nearly a hundred years ago. He discovered a tyrannosaurus-like carnivore called Spinosaurus.
An American team came back in 1999 and uncovered more dinosaur remains including a giant new species- Paralititan.
When one tires of sightseeing the oasis is well equipped with hot springs that gush from the earth and cleanse you of the sand of desert traveling.
Temple of Alexander
On the road going in the direction of Siwa is the temple dedicated to Alexander- the only one that still exists in Egypt- and even this has suffered erosion since the 1930s when the inscriptions of dedication were recorded. It is worth a visit as the temple is clearly part of a much larger yet to be excavated. Was Alexander ever here? Perhaps he came back through Bahariya after visiting the oracle at Siwa.
Burial gallery of the Sacred Ibis
Located under a modern cemetery about a half kilometer from the military intelligence office in Bawiti, the burial gallery of the Sacred Ibis was thought at first to contain the remains of hundreds of chickens. Only on closer examination did these small bundles of linen and natron prove to be animals of all varieties. The burial chambers are reached by shorter tunnels that extend from a longer tunnel that goes far into the hillside, making this the largest ancient site in Bawiti. Some of the animal mummies were buried with sacred amulets and statues which makes one think this was more than an elaborate pet cemetery. These animals were almost certainly of sacrificial status- and mummification was simply the only acceptable way to dispose of them. The burials are thought to date from the 26th dynasty to the Roman period.
After the dusty atmospheric town of Bawiti one drives through the black desert, called this because the air has oxidized the manganese in the rocks making them black. On the right you pass the Bedouin village of El Hayz, which is where all the desert guides buy their wood for desert camp fires.
Did you know?
The Bahariya villages of Mandisha and Zabu are threatened by encroaching sand. A huge wave of a dune has already engulfed many houses and now looms over a street of small buildings. The cause is believed to be a change in the general wind direction caused by the planting of a new plantation of date palms.
