An article that suggests that Bahariya has become far more tourist-orientated than it was ten years ago:
"On our next morning, it was time to prepare for the off- road part of our trip. Our journey would include the Black Desert, the Pyramid Mountain, the dune system of Agabat, and finally the White Desert where we would set up camp for the night. It was on this day that the impact of the elapsed years became truly noticeable. On the previous night, it had been a pleasant surprise to find that Shadia, who had sold me my favourite galabiya in the whole world eight years ago, had now set up her own little business with the help of a Japanese grant for small enterprises. She still has fingers to make Arachne jealous -- her embroidery only having improved with time, while her prices remained extremely reasonable.
But what an unpleasant surprise it was, on the other hand, to realise that the fire wood we used to gather ourselves en route to the White Desert for warmth and light at night is now only available for LE5 a batch. You can no longer hop down the jeep and scrape your fingers collecting the dried branches. You can no longer load it over the roof of the vehicle yourself. You can no longer have fun seeing who will gather the largest amount. You can only purchase the fire wood.
Then, another instance of change hit me in the face. I thought we would open a few cans of tuna for lunch in any sheltered spot on the way in the desert, just like in the old times, then pack up and resume our course. But no, now you stop at a cafeteria for the same cans of tuna, some fruit and a cup of tea. The cafeteria is laid back and clean. For some visitors it may even offer a welcome final stop of civilisation before the camp site. But to this visitor, it was certainly an unwelcome development that interrupted the sense of abandon which takes over with the turn of the jeep's wheels in the sand off the road."
But what an unpleasant surprise it was, on the other hand, to realise that the fire wood we used to gather ourselves en route to the White Desert for warmth and light at night is now only available for LE5 a batch. You can no longer hop down the jeep and scrape your fingers collecting the dried branches. You can no longer load it over the roof of the vehicle yourself. You can no longer have fun seeing who will gather the largest amount. You can only purchase the fire wood.
Then, another instance of change hit me in the face. I thought we would open a few cans of tuna for lunch in any sheltered spot on the way in the desert, just like in the old times, then pack up and resume our course. But no, now you stop at a cafeteria for the same cans of tuna, some fruit and a cup of tea. The cafeteria is laid back and clean. For some visitors it may even offer a welcome final stop of civilisation before the camp site. But to this visitor, it was certainly an unwelcome development that interrupted the sense of abandon which takes over with the turn of the jeep's wheels in the sand off the road."
See the above page for the rest of the story.
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