Abu Ballas
Sadly depleted of pots in recent times, this hill was a water storage depot, one of over 27 smaller ones that form the so called ‘abu ballas trail’ which you are, more or less, following down to Uwainat. The water was stored in large amphorae. As you drive you may stop and investigate similar looking ‘water mountains’- given away by crude rock art carvings and shards of pottery at their bases.
Uwainat and Karkur Talh
Unless you have an interest in the old WWII airstrip site of Eight Bells you can head straight down to Uwainat here across flat sand- with the imposing sight of the Gilf Kebir plateau on your right- it is over 1000metres high and rises straight up from the desert.
Soon however you will glimpse the even bigger mountain of Gebel Uwainat- 1900metres high atop a complicated massif of its own. Climbing Uwainat is not an easy option. Allow at least 16 hours for both ascent and descent and of course, plenty of water. If your guide hasn’t already summitted then you might want to take even more time. Most people are in a bit of hurry to see the Gilf as well so at Uwainat they look at the rock art in the valley of Karkur Talh. This valley, named after the acacia trees which still grow here, is home to vast quantities of rock art- both drawings and engravings. Though not as amazing as those of the Mestakawi cave they extend over a much wider area. Guides will know the locations of the best rock art examples- and you may, in the side wadis, even find some new examples of your own.
Wadi soura and Mestakawi cave
Heading north now, past the ‘little gilf’ you arrive at the major plateau known as the Gilf Kebir. This is where Laszlo Almasy, the real life character on whom the English patient was based, discovered, or, more accurately, rediscovered the caves containing the famous swimmers. Probably these are not depictions of actual swimming but people in some kind of shamanistic trance, certainly when you arrive at Wadi Soura, and the impressively large Mestakawi Cave some 30 km further on, you begin to feel you are in the presence of something religious rather than mere secular decoration. These powerful images will stay with you long after your quick stopoff at the Russ Hill Britannia Hotel, Gatwick airport or you land back in JFK. Wadi Soura, the heroine of the English Patient is left to die.
Silica glass- great sand sea
Though it is a 100km off your return route to Abu Mingar most people wish to see the Silica glass area. If you are going on north to Siwa it is of course en route.
Natural silica glass- or tektite- is formed when a huge explosion either from a volcano or from a meteorite landing causes surface temperatures to rise so high the sand is fused. Thought to be caused by a giant meteorite landing about 15 million years ago, the silica glass is spread in surprisingly small an area- about 50 square kilometres or less. The glass is the purest in the world- other tektites in Moldavia and Saudi Arabia all have lumps of the local rock fused into them. A few grains of sand is all you will find in the Egyptian glass. This purity led researchers to believe that King Tutankhamun’s chest scarab was actually made of chalcedony, a form of quartz, until it was revealed it was natural silica glass. How it was transported from that remote part of the desert to Thebes is another mystery. Prehistoric stone rings
Probably running a bit low on fuel and water you will now head back towards Abu Mingar which is on the road to Farafra. You pass by strange mini Stonehenge type circles of low stones- none much higher than your knee -ancient and rare in the Western Desert. You may also skirt the ammonite scarp, named by Rohlfs (here you cross his route to Siwa). Full of fossil remains it is the last big landmark before you hit the road back to Farafra and Cairo.
