 Gebel el-Marsus in the Black Desert | ||
| Black desert · الصحراء السوداء | ||
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The Black desert (English: Black Desert, Arabic:الصحراء السوداء, aṣ-Ṣaḥrāʾ as-saudāʾ) lies in the Western desert in Egypt in the area of the depression el-Bahrīya southwest of the city el-Bawiti. It extends approximately over a distance of 30 kilometers.
getting there
The Black Desert can be easily reached via the trunk road from el-Bawiti to el-Farafra to reach. It expands on both sides of the street.
mobility
The subsoil of the desert is naturally sandy and stony. An all-terrain vehicle (4 × 4) or motorcycle is therefore required for transport. You can of course also walk. Suitable footwear is recommended for hiking.
Tourist Attractions
The sight is of course that Black desert itself. There are numerous witness mountains covered with basalt in the area. The hills are shaped like a cone and reach a height of up to 100 meters. Due to progressive weathering, not only the hill tops, but also large areas of the plain are now covered with rock fragments. So it looks almost black. In places the sand below peeps out.
Volcanic activity took place at various points in the el-Bahrīya depression between the Cretaceous and Oligocene (70 ... 30 million years ago). Basalt or dolerite mounds can be found in almost the entire valley. They reach as far as the Manāgim iron ore mines. The most important hills include the basalt plateaus near Mandīscha, the Black or English Mountain (Engl. Black Mountain), Gebel Maʿsera and the Gebel el-Ḥafḥūf.
Basalt and the coarser-grained dolerite are formed when low-viscosity, low-silica magma pours over the surface of the earth and quickly cools down. These are silicates, the composition of which can vary depending on the geographical location. The lava eruptions in the El-Bahrīya depression took place at different times at different points, so the composition of the basalt and its appearance differ from place to place.
One of the most attractive rocks is that 1 el-Gebel el-Marṣūṣ(28 ° 15 '55 "N.28 ° 45 ′ 9 ″ E), Arabic:الجبل المرصوص, „the pile mountain“, In the north of the Black Desert on the western side of the road, because the basalt columns are quite well preserved here.
This is located about 180 meters west of the road and about 1.5 kilometers before the junction to Gebel el-Marṣūṣ (13 kilometers southwest of el-Bawiti) 2 Tomb of René Michaud(28 ° 16 ′ 19 ″ N.28 ° 47 ′ 5 ″ E). The Swiss came to el-Bahrīya in 1981 for health reasons, and he felt at home here. In el-Bawiti he built the first hotel, the Alpenblick Hotel, and thus became a pioneer of desert tourism. One day after returning from a safari he was found dead in his car with his head on his arms crossed. The cause of death is unknown, maybe it was heat stroke. But you could find out his last will in the Swiss embassy in good time, in which he expressed his wish to be buried in the Black Desert, no matter where he died. His friends, Loṭfī ʿAbd es-Sīd, Aḥmad ʿAbd er-Raḥīm and Muḥammad ʿAbd el-Qādir, buried him as requested and built a hill over his grave. A simple metal plaque bears the inscription René (1929–1986).
activities
It is not uncommon to go here in the late evening to watch the sunset. A little picnic could follow.
kitchen
Restaurants can be found in el-Bāwīṭī or ʿAin et-Tibnīya.
accommodation
Accommodation is usually chosen in el-Bāwīṭī or ʿAin et-Tibnīya.
trips
On a one or two day tour, the white and visit the Black Desert together.
Web links
- Subvolcanic and hydrovolcanic activities in the Baharya oasis depression by Norbert Bruges (in English)
