[travel] Stranded in the Sahara

[mattbell]

For security reasons, Egypt restricts tourist travel in many sections of Egypt to convoys.  When you're in a convoy, you can't stop by the side of the road and take pictures of the amazing scenery... unless the bus at the head of the convoy breaks down.  I feel really bad for the people in the bus.  They missed getting to Abu Simbel (an all-day trip) and had to sit in the middle of the desert with no air conditioning for some period of time.

I will say that even in springtime, the desert is extremely hot.  A direct overhead sun is noticeably hotter than the puny ~30 degree angle sun we get in the summer. 



Oh, and here's the world's loneliest bus stop, as seen through a very tinted window.  Aside from the power lines and road, there were no signs of civilization for 100km in either direction:



The driver said that nomadic tribes use them to get into the city.

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The Nile really is the lifeblodo of Egypt.  Without it they'd be Libya.

Here to illustrate that is my best attempt at the cheesy quintessential Egypt photo... the sort of thing they'd put on the cover of Lonely Planet.

Comments

[miriam-thisflighttonight.blogspot.com (from livejournal.com)]

It would be in one of the inside pages, I think. The cover would feature a scruffy but well-fed local child weilding a basket of local produce, or perhaps playing in the street with some other urchins.

Nice pic of you at the top. VERY rugged and dangerous.