History: Oasis and Egypt

The Bahariya Oasis

From the dinosaurs to the Bedouins

The Bahariya oasis is rich in history as many different kinds of people have settled here, and subsequently evolved independently from the rest of the world.  Of all of the oases in Egypt, Bahariya is the least modernized, making it a fascinating place to visit and experience.  The desert environment in ancient and relatively modern times was too harsh for hundreds (and in some directions, thousands) of kilometers around the oasis for people to safely and quickly travel through it.  As a result, life in Bahariya is like a time capsule, unchanged for thousands of years until only 40 years ago when a road was installed that linked this oasis with the metropolis of Cairo.

AGE OF DINOSAURS

Bahariya is rich in undiscovered paleontology and archaeology as relatively few excavations have taken place here, but what has been discovered indicates that it was once a historically rich environment and society.  Paleontologists have unearthed dinosaur skeletons, including the largest humerus bone in the world belonging to a long-necked sauropod.  Even more interesting, this particular sauropod was an entirely new species, and it had been subsequently named Paralititan stromeri (Stromer’s titan giant).  Paralititan stromeri is within the family of Stromer’s Aegytosaurus, which is in a group of sauropods referred to as Titanasaurus. The Bahariya sauropod, Paralititan, is the heaviest – and probably largest – dinosaur ever found in Africa; it lived during the Cretaceous period (145 to 65.5 million years ago).  The Western desert is also filled with many, many fossils from land and sea that are far older than this recent sauropod discovery.  For more information on the evolution and geology of the Western Desert, please check back in a few weeks as this page is still under construction.

EARLY HUMAN HABITATION

But what about humans – when did they show up on the scene?  There is evidence in most of the oases of human occupation for at least 100,000 years as many Achulean stone tools have been found.  However, the first human skeleton unearthed was approximately 55,000 years old and from around the Farafra oasis (175 km southwest of Bahariya).  In ancient times, there was a fair amount of rainfall in the Western Desert, enough to sustain human life and provide pastures for grazing animals.  After a period of time, the rainfall dried up and many people probably moved closer to the Nile Valley, but some still remained in their beloved oases.    

ANCIENT EGYPTIAN, GREEKS AND ROMANS IN BAHARIYA

After a time, the ancient Egyptians of the Middle Kingdom (ca. 2000 – 1700 BC) made a caravan route between the Nile valley and the Bahariya oasis, and may have set up some sort of small outpost here.  In some of the other oases there is evidence of ancient Egyptians dating to the Old Kingdom (ca. 2680 – 2160 BC); possibly such evidence can be found in Bahariya in future excavations, but for now the earliest pharaonic evidence dates to the Middle Kingdom. The ancient Egyptian name for Bahariya was “Zeses.”  Although oases were outposts, they were of vital importance regarding military security and trade with Cyrenaica (Libya) and with the Mediterranean.

In the new Kingdom, Bahariya was under control of the government in Thinis (Abydos) in the time of Thutmose III.  The Bahariyans paid tribute to the Nile valley government as is attested to on the tomb walls of Rekhmire (vizier to Akhenaton) in the Nobles’ Tombs on the West Bank of Luxor.  At the village of el-Haiz in Bahariya, grapes were grown and wine produced – wine so excellent that the New Kingdom pharaoh Akhenaton imported it to his palace in Amarna for consumption.

In the Late Period the Bahariya oasis really expanded – especially in the Greek and Roman periods, but beginning with the Saite period.  It was thought that when the Libyan/Egyptian dynasty “took over” it was because the Libyans captured the Farafra and Bahariya oases first, and then used them as strategic “jumping” points into the heart of Egypt – the Nile valley. (The Saites/Libyans then took control of the Nile Valley). Because of military and commercial security, the importance of the Bahariya oasis grew.  Many, many Greeks and Romans lived in Bahariya as attested to by numerous tombs, artifacts, temples -- and the magnificent Valley of the Golden Mummies.

Unfortunately when the Romans captured Egypt, they were more interested in the rape of Egypt. The armies of Caesar were guilty of overproducing agriculture to such an extent that many farm areas in the oases dried up and turned into desert. However, the Romans did leave one nice legacy – lots of aqueducts and wells.  Many of the old Roman wells are still in use today.  After the fall of the Romans, the Oaseans began reclaiming some of their farming land that was lost to desert, by making good use of those Roman wells and aqueducts.

CULTURAL MIX OF THE OASEANS

Ancient Egyptians, Greeks and Romans were not the only ones to populate the Bahariya oasis. There were also the original desert inhabitants -- the oasis farmers and the nomads.  The oasis farmers (“Oaseans”) spent their entire lives inside the oasis – from birth to death.  The Oaseans also intermixed their blood with several of the desert tribes such as:

§  the Garamantians, who traded with the Romans and Carthaginians, 

§  the Goraans, who were last seen raiding in Egypt’s deserts in the 1930s,

§  the Tebu, whose homeland was in Tibesti,

§  the Tuaregs, were men who covered their faces with blue veils and loved to raid Egypt.  The Tuaregs controlled most of the North African caravan routes,

§  the Berbers were desert wanderers who intermarried with the ancient Greeks; evidence of their culture still remains in the traditions of the Siwa oasis,

§  the livestock of the Kababish used to graze in southern Egypt,

§  and finally there are the Bedouins, whose culture began with the Arab conquest in 643 AD.  The Bedouins still roam Egypt’s deserts, living in their black tents and tending their herds.  Although their nomadic numbers began to sharply decrease in the last 50 years, you can still see an occasional tribe with their camels, camped out along Egypt's north Mediterranean coast.  The rest of the Egyptian Bedouins have settled, mostly in the oases of Egypt.

RELIGION AFTER THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS

Starting in the Common Era the oases were filled with early Christians.  This new religious sect was a nuisance to the Romans in their other provinces (such as Turkey, Israel, Greece, and Rome) so the Romans banished many “rabble-rousing” Christians to the Egyptian oases. However, some Christians came willingly, such as St. Bartholomew (one of the 12 apostles) in hopes of converting the Oaseans to Christianity.  St. Bartholomew got as far as the Bahariya oasis when he met his martyrdom.  The destroyed church in el-Haiz (currently under renovation) has another building close by where St. Bartholomew’s head might have rested; the rest of his body was buried in Sohag (Middle Egypt).  Soon after St. Bartholomew’s death, most of the oases residents converted to Coptic Christianity and renamed Bahariya “El- Bahnasa.”

THE ARAB CONQUEST TO THE 18^TH CENTURY

Just after 643 AD and the Arab/Islam conquest, most of the Oaseans of Bahariya began converting from Christianity or their previous Oasean religion (which was a mixture of ancient Egyptian and desert gods) to Islam. However, there were still some Oaseans still practicing Christianity up until 1931 as a monastery/school was still in operation in Bahariya.   Since that time, all Oaseans have converted to Islam and there are no churches or monasteries in operation today.

There has yet to be discovered any Islamic ruins from the early Islamic and Medieval periods -- except some Islamic glass and pottery sherds that are now covered by a man-made lake.  It has been assumed that Bahariya went into a decline and life stagnated, only to be slightly interrupted by occasional army soldiers who scouted between Libya and Egypt. During the Mamluk period, Bahariya became a part of the Minya governate (Middle Egypt); during the Ottoman period, Bahariya had its own tax collector.  Taxes were collected in the form of dates and olives – it seems that the wonderful wine that Akhenaton imported from Bahariya during the New Kingdom was long forgotten.   However, when Mohammed Ali Pasha took control of Egypt (18^th c), he changed the tax collection from Bahariya from dates and olives to Spanish piasters and later to the higher sum of 20,000 reals – perhaps life in the oasis was beginning to prosper.  Mohammed Ali Pasha also placed higher importance on Bahariya with regard to military security; he stationed 400 – 500 soldiers there as opposed to other oases where he just sent a handful of soldiers.

THE SANUSI AND WORLD WAR I

In the 18^th century life changed drastically for many Bedouin whose faith in Islam had diminished or had been corrupted.  An Islamic mystic named al-Sayid Mohammed bin Ali al-Sanusi Khatibi al-Idrisis al Hasani, appeared from Algeria and spread his fundamentalist teachings of Islam across North Africa to the Western Desert Bedouin tribes of Egypt.  Al-Sayid became known as “al-Sanusi al-Kebir (The Grand Sanusi), and his new Bedouin (and other) followers formed a new tribe called the “Sanusi.”  This tribe quickly grew in followers and power, creating zawyas (mosque, schoolroom, guest house) at important caravan junctions.  An original zawya and mosque still stands in the village of Bawiti, in the Bahariya oasis. 

The Sanusi became a very powerful group and ferociously defended their deserts and oases.  When Mohammed Ali Pasha reigned he did not require that the Sanusi fight with him for Egypt, because Mohammed was well aware how well the Sanusi protected the Land of the Pharoahs in the Western Desert, cutting off any attempts to enter Egypt from this direction. 

Al-Sayid al-Sanusi (The Grand Sanusi) was succeeded first by his son, then his nephew, and finally the son of his nephew, Sayid Mohammed Idris, who lived in Egypt and became the Sanusi leader after WWI. 

In 1916, during the British occupation of Egypt, the British surrounded a large contingent of Sanusi warriors in Bahariya and attempted to annihilate them.  Instead they bombed a herd of cattle, thinking it was a group of Sanusi warriors. The British also constructed a lookout/fort for Captain William on top of one of the highest peaks at the eastern entrance to Bahariya (English House/Mountain) from where William was to monitor the Sanusi’s movements.  There got to be too much competition between Sanusi and British so the British exiled all the Sanusi from Bahariya and the Western Desert, but many, such as al-Sayid al-Sanusi, remained hiding in caves. After the Italians defeated the Sanusi in Libya, claiming the land for Italy, Sayid decided that the best plan of action would be to align the Sanusi with the British so the Sanusi could openly live in Bahariya once again, and be protected from possible Italian invasion.

 

BAHARIYA TODAY: 40 YEARS OF CHANGE

REAQUAINTING WITH THE OUTSIDE WORLD

Life in Bahariya began to change about 35-40 years ago when the dirt track (and later road) was put in between this oasis and Cairo.  Previous to this advent, one would travel to Cairo via camel caravan, a trip that took anywhere from 15 to 25 days. This trip could also be made via an army type 4x4, then the trip was about 7 days.

When people traveled to Cairo they usually stayed for a month or two and then returned to the oasis  so the whole trip could take from 3 to 4 months.  As a result, the majority of the Bahariyans never saw Cairo or the outside world -- the ones that did were men and were lucky to have made this trip maybe 2 or 3 times -- the women never saw Cairo.  A more frequent, but still not well-traveled trip was to the two closest oases: Farafra and Siwa. Even when the road was established between these two points, it was still a pretty rugged trip and took at least a couple of days.  The road between Bahariya and Farafra was only paved about 15 years ago, but 30 out of 100 people seemed to know where the White Desert was. 

When the Cairo/Bahariya road was installed, transportation inside the oasis was still by camel or donkey – there were not more than 2 cars/jeeps in the entire oasis for a long time.  In the past 5 years, motorcycles have replaced donkeys, for the most part, and camels are used primarily for tourist trips. Twenty years ago there were lots of Bedouin nomads living in the desert complete with camels and tents -- now there are practically none, except on the north coast.

All of the Oaseans were very adept at navigating by the stars, the winds, familiar landmarks, and the sun in combination with their body’s shadow that was cast by the sun.  After the road was put in, this talent has not been used much – until the Oaseans reconnected with their Bedouin ancestry and started taking 4-wheel drives into the desert.  Now many are adapt once again at desert navigation although very, very few use the stars but rather the sun, the winds, landmarks and that wonderful modern invention, GPS.

ELECTRICITY AND TV

Electricity was not hooked up to Bahariya until 20 years ago; previous to this event gasoline generators were used to charge batteries and create electricity.  Everyone had electricity for only 4 hours per day so most of the cooking and heating still came via campfire or wood stove.  Many of the homes had holes in the ceilings so the smoke could escape.

No modern electronic items could be found in Bahariya so when the electric lines were finally established in the oasis, it opened many doors to the outside world and the wonders of electrical appliances.  It shocked people to hear voices coming out of telephones – how can voices travel through wires ?&$@?  Are there people stuck in there, can they get out, or is this some djinn who has stolen my friend’s voice?

Regarding TVs, the reception was so bad at first that a person might see one picture every ½ hour on an otherwise static-filled screen.  But when reception improved and the Oaseans could actually see people inside these small boxes, it scared them.  “How can those poor people get out of that box? Are they in jail or put there by djinns?  If we break the ‘box’ will all the people fall out?  And if so, are they good people or criminals?” Imagine what it was like to see someone’s face – a body-less head – inside a TV box – pretty spooky!  The Russians also had similar responses to the TV– they thought that there were body-less living heads locked inside of a box, caught there for eternity. 

Even after the Bahariyans understood the concept of TV and filming, they still believed that the people inside the TV could see out and actually look at the viewers.  When oasis women first saw a man’s face in the TV, they immediately covered their faces with veils -- it is still tradition in the oasis that only other women, or close male family members, can look at a woman’s face.

THE NIQAAB

The niqaab, the black female head covering in which only the eyes are visible, did not come to Bahariya until about 15 years ago; before this time the women rarely went outside of their homes or gardens.  When they wanted to go and visit a friend, their visits were nocturnal and they were completely wrapped up in a blanket and led by a family male member because even their eyes were covered so they could not see.  So even though many Westerners see the niqaab as a restrictive device, for the Bahariya women it is helpful as it enables them to go outside during the day and male escort is not always necessary.

Funny thing: I have asked several of the guys why they think it is necessary for their wives to wear a niqaab; they responded that they tell their wives that it is not necessary, but their wives do it voluntarily.  This is because the women grew up with the custom that the niqaab protects purity.  The women feel that if they didn’t wear it outside their homes that other men would think they are ‘loose’ and this might bring disgrace to their father’s and husband’s families.

In addition, it is forbidden for anyone to say a woman’s personal name in any public place; this is done out of respect as a woman’s purity is a very cherished thing.  Instead they would refer to a mother as “Ahmed’s mom” (Umm Ahmed), or a daughter as Magdi’s daughter (bint Magdi) and if a family member such as a son or brother wanted to get the attention of his sister or mother from the street, they would usually yell out her husband’s name from the street. If she knew who they were she would answer.  If she didn’t, she would stay silent.  This is a very strict rule; for example, if a man asked a child what his mother’s name was, the child could hit the person and would walk away unpunished -- completely justified.

Usually with regards to foreign women, everybody just speaks her first name as they know that oasis traditions don’t apply to foreign women. However, when you live here long enough, they will call you by the house owner’s name, out of respect.  So when I was working on my PhD at Nadr’s house I would constantly hear men coming up to the gate and yelling out “Nadr” (Nadr’s house didn’t have any doorbells).  As Nadr was usually not at home, I wouldn’t answer.  It took a while to figure out that they were actually calling out to me.  So we all reached a compromise, when they yell out “Doctoora” then I know they are asking for me, and they are still giving me the same respect because they are not saying my actual name in the streets, only my title.

WEDDINGS

Engagement and Wedding customs in Bahariya have not changed for centuries; what was practiced 100 years ago is practiced today with only minor variations.

The father of the family will decide when and to whom his children will marry.  If he wants one of his daughters to make a match, he and his sons will consider the qualities of the available single men and interview those that they don’t know well.  If the family is searching for a wife for their son, then the mother and her daughters (sisters of the groom) will search for, and consider, all of the available young ladies for face, form, personality, and wifely qualities.   Once a bride or groom is decided upon, both sets of fathers meet to make final arrangements that include setting the date for the engagement party, wedding, and discussing dowry.   

The actual marriage is not performed in a mosque but in the home of the father of the bride or groom.  Both sets of parents sign the contracts for their children in front of witnesses.  Today the bride and groom will not see each other’s faces until the night of the engagement party – and then only briefly.  They will not look upon each other again until the wedding.  

From about 25 years ago and going backwards in time, the first time the bride and groom saw each other was in the groom’s bedroom directly after the wedding took place.  Both the bride and the groom were both excited and fearful about getting married.  Marriage means children (and Egyptians love kids) but it also means going through the mechanics of making children.  In the old days, the bride or groom may have had a general idea about how sex worked, but not specific.  So the bride’s mother or aunt would explain things to the bride about an hour before the wedding was consummated, and the father or uncle would instruct the groom.

The majority of marriages (now and in the past) in Bahariya take place after the Eid (Feast) of Ramadan. In the past, most girls were married at 12 or 13, whether their female cycles started or not.  Now it is against the law for a girl to marry before she is 16 years old.

                                            Wedding celebrations

There is a lot of celebrating both before and after the wedding.  For three days before the wedding, lunches and dinners are served by the families of the bride and groom to all of the occupants of the Bahariya oasis.  Once the contracts were signed, the bride’s uncle (her mother’s brother) would carry the bride on his shoulders (tightly wrapped in a blanket) to her new home, usually a room in the house of her husband’s family.  The uncle doesn’t just take the bride to the living room – he deposits her directly in the bedroom that she will share with her new husband.  

On this trip to her new home, under the blanket the bride wears her wedding dress, which was the traditional black djellabiya (aka abaya for women) that was brightly embroidered in red, green and black thread with coins sewn all over it.  As the years passed, the uncle’s shoulder was replaced with a camel and more than one bride was knocked off her camel when a careless guide led the camel under a tree and the bride got stuck in the tree limbs.  After a while, a big lorry-like truck would be rented and an artificial garden of palm fronds, olive wood and flowers would be made in the trunk.  The Uncle would take the bride to the groom’s house in this simulated garden in the lorry. 

Today, the bride and groom see each other’s faces at the engagement party, the bride wears a traditional white western wedding dress on the eve of her marriage, and the groom takes her to her new home that same night in a car, with lots of honking and reckless driving.

                                                   The honeymoon

The husband and wife do not leave their new house for the next 15 days.  During this time the bride’s family brings over all sorts of delicacies, such as chicken, duck, sheep, and other grains, rice, tea, sugar, dates, etc; the family does this on a daily basis for 15 days.  Also during that time, the bride usually has her nose pierced with a gold hoop/dish (Atara) that indicates that she is married; this practice stopped about 30 years ago.  Some women even had small tattoos applies to their chins or wrists.  Not a lot of women did this because tattooing is against the rules of the Quran. 

In addition to the gold nose hoop, the husband usually buys his bride traditional gold jewelry – rings and bangles – but it is the sister of the groom who places the husband’s gift on the bride’s wrists and fingers.

Traditionally, weddings take place on Fridays.  On the day after the wedding (Saturday) about 3 girls and 2 boys would bring fresh water, balanced in pots on their heads, to the bride and groom.  On the third day (Sunday) the bride’s family comes to visit the bride, usually arriving about 10 am and not leaving until late evening.  They want to make sure that their daughter is happy and recovered from her wedding night.  Her family also comes to view the cloth with the virginal blood on it not only to be reassured as to their daughter’s purity, but also so that if anyone in the future tries to disputes the purity of the bride as the marraige was consummated, her family can firmly state that the accusers are wrong – and then bring their family against the person who doubted such a thing, and maybe knock some sense into the loud mouths.

            If there is no virgin’s blood then the bride is returned to her family who might not re-accept her as their shame would be too great.  If they do accept her, they will find the man who took her virginity and force the two to get married.  Otherwise the girl cannot remarry as her purity was previously taken.

The wedding, and the following 15 days when the family constantly delivers food to the bride and groom, is the only vacation the bride will get in her life.  After this 15-day period is up, she is occupied with housekeeping for her husband and his family, cooking, and having and raising children.
                                                            Divorce

If the husband abuses the bride, she returns to her father’s house and all the men in her family come against the new groom.  If it is a situation that can be worked out, the bride will return to her husband. If her family feels that the groom will continue to mistreat her, they will annul the marriage and take back her dowry from the new husband.  If there are children involved, they stay with their mother and the father (her ex-husband) must monetarily provide for them.

MEDICINE

The first hospital ever in the Bahariya oasis was not built until about 30 years ago; it was mud brick and thatch.  At that time only about 4000 people lived in Bahariya and there was only one doctor for all of them; he diagnosed conditions, prescribed drugs, and performed all operations. As the doctor was male, women's breasts and feminine organs were not examined at all.  She had to figure out natural remedies on her own or with the advice from her female relations or the tribal wise women.

For women in childbirth, a female midwife was used -- a male doctor is forbidden.  The new infants were protected from the djinns with amulets made of coins and string, which were presented by relatives and friends. Concepts like the “evil eye” are still very strong in the oasis; sometimes figures from tree leaves are made to deflect the “evil eye.”  When someone purchases something expensive and coveted such as a new car or house, he/she will sacrifice a sheep or cow, put their hands in the blood and make blood prints on the car or house, and then donate all of the meat to their neighbors. All of this to avoid the "evil eye."

Before the hospital and doctor arrived to the oasis, medicines were from local herbs, “special” foods, and usually made by local sheikhs.  Sheikhs could be men or women and they could also help people find missing items and perform psychic readings and healings.  Sheikhs are still used today on a regular basis.

DEATH

When someone dies it will be announced from the minaret at the local mosque.  Family members and friends must congregate outside the dead person’s house and spend 3 days in prayer.  Burials occur the same day as the person dies.  Cremation is forbidden, as the Oaseans believe that the person’s soul will be destroyed forever and ever – only very bad people are cremated so their souls will be unable to return and do more bad deeds.  Any women related to the deceased wears black mourning clothes for 1 year.  In addition, anyone from the dead person’s family could not watch TV, listen to music, get married, or celebrate any Eid (the big feast after major holidays such as Ramadan and The Prophets birthday) for 3 years.

LANGUAGE

The Bahariya oasis was so isolated from the outside world that Arabic was not spoken here until 30 years ago, when the new road was put in.  The Bahariyans had their own tribal language, which they have spoken for centuries, and they still speak it today.  I had to learn some of it because I really wanted to be able to understand the tribal elders – they are wonderful, interesting people with the best stories.

Having a separate language is a really neat thing – it is like a secret code; it works very well when you want some, but not all, people around you to understand what you are saying. There are many different Arabic dialects in Egypt; you can tell where a person is from based on his/her dialect or social class.  When I go to Cairo, and I forget to use the Cairo dialect, the Cairenes have a difficult time understanding me as most foreigners speak the Cairene dialect and not the  Saidi or Oasis dialect. It is pretty funny to see the expressions on their faces.

The people of Siwa have a similar issue: their tribal tongue is based in Berber but it is also something else – Siwan. Those who speak the old Bahariya tribal dialect could understand some of the Siwan language; those from Cairo could understand some of the Bahariya language.  But those from Cairo cannot understand Siwan and the Siwans who don’t speak Arabic, cannot understand the Cairenes. 

MONEY AND CRIME

Bahariyans, up until about 25 years ago, did not use paper money or coin – every “purchase” was done through barter and trade.  When money finally arrived, 50 piasters could buy you a lot of candy 10 years ago.  Today, it is not enough to tip a bathroom attendant.

As there was not any money 25 years ago, that means there weren’t any banks or safes to rob, so thieves stole “things” – and woe to those who were caught!  They got to keep their right hand but they had to go through another form of social punishment that was based on tribal rules. If a man stole a goat, for example, then all the tribe would gather along the main street, play drums and clap as the man had to carry the item he stole (a goat in this case) up and down the street, again and again, so everyone could see who it was and what he stole.  Public disgrace such as this is huge – remember there were only 4000 people living in one place – if you stole something then everyone would know about it.  No one would allow their daughters to marry someone like that; no one would want to socialize with the thief because others would look down on him as well, and the family of the thief would be hugely shamed before their friends and acquaintances.

This custom has not died.  Although the Egyptian government set up offices in the oasis, still many disputes were settled in the traditional manner.  In the year of the revolution (2011) the oasis completely reverted back to the old tribal system because the Egyptian government and police had no power to enforce their rules and regulations.  In fact, they pretty much bailed on the Bahariya oasis and we were left to settle things our own way, so tribal justice was re-instated.  A very good example of tribal justice occurred in late September 2011.

     A microbus driver of a big bus (holds up to 24 people) was transporting passengers from Cairo to Bahariya.  This particular driver had a reputation for unsafe driving and a bad temper.  While in Cairo he attempted to push a lorry off of a freeway bridge -- a lorry that was packed full of furniture and other breakable items, not to mention the driver and his passenger.  The crazy microbus (MB) driver crept closer and closer to the lorry until there was only 1 inch between the lorry and the bridge and 1 inch between the lorry and the microbus (MB); when the lorry would slow down, the MB would slow, when the lorry speeded up the MB speeded up.  Finally the MB passed in front of the lorry so close that the lorry had to turn to avoid the MB crash.  The lorry went on 2 wheels to one side, bounced to 2 wheels on the other side, and barely escaped falling off of the bridge.  The MB took off.

     The lorry stopped at a gas station and the MB snuck in behind.  The MB driver told his male passengers something awful but untrue about the lorry driver and his passenger.  So 15 of the MB passengers and the driver got out and attempted to start a fight with the 2 guys in the lorry.  The army/police intervened and sent the MB on its way.

     Unfortunately for the MB driver, he had many existing enemies in the oasis and the lorry driver and passenger have very big, extended families.  The passenger called his family and friends who in turn called others who in turn called others. As a result, almost 3000 friends and family members as well as the MB driver's enemies gathered at one point in the oasis, awaiting the MB driver's arrival.  The MB driver discovered of this mass, hostile gathering and asked a friend to meet him on the desert road to exhange his MB for a different one, with differnet colors and license plates.  The original MB driver was able to drive the replacement MB unmolested to his home between the Dakhla and Farafra oases, leaving the second driver to take the original MB and its passengers to the oasis.  The first driver got through okay because everyone was looking for a MB of a specific color and license plates.  But the second MB driver made a quick turn around to Cairo when he saw that the road was blocked with 3000 angry people, awaiting the driver of that specific MB. On his mad rush back to Cairo, he came upon the lorry on the steep oasis/desert pass and tried to run the lorry off the road by threatening a head-on collision (the old "Chicken" game).  The MB pulled out of the way at the last minute, going into a 360 spin and then continued to try to make his escape from the oasis -- with all of the absolutely terrified passengers inside. One was a 7-year old girl with a respirator -- she was knocked unconscious and had to be hospitalized. The "replacement" MB driver made it to the final check-point before entering the desert when the guards and residents of that area blocked the road and pulled the driver out of the bus and into the office.  By this time the mob of 3000 arrived and drug the driver out of the office and proceeded to beat him up.  The army/police finally interfered and took the driver to jail.  The mob then took the passengers to the hospital (taking gentle care of the 7-year old) or to their homes.

      Word of this incident quickly traveled to the Farafra and Dakhla oases -- by quick I mean within hours, not days or even weeks.  Word travels so fast in this country that I have always been of the mind that no one really needs telephones here -- Egyptians have their own special telepathy.  Anyway, the family and the people in the first MB driver's village immediately began harassing and condemning the MB driver.  The father took the man's keys away swearing that the driver would never drive that MB OR ANY other vehicle again and his neighbors supported him.  They all then forced the driver to return to Bahariya where he was immediatly taken before a "council" of tribal elders and those that the MB driver had wronged.  A shunning process had started, just as if the driver had to carry the stolen goat on his shoulders up and down the street before onlookers, showing that he was a thief.  Just like the "goat thief" of earlier time, this MB driver/thief will have a very difficult time in the future making friends or finding a wife as now, all the oaseans know who/what he is and will NOT put one of their precious daughters into his keeping through marriage.  

     And the wronged passenger in the lorry who was almost killed twice in one night?  Well, he was instructed by the tribal elders to take 5 referees and the MB driver out to the desert where the passenger's job was to beat-up the driver.  The referees were there as witnesses and to make sure the passenger didn't get carried away.  The passenger didn't get carried away but did his job well.  He returned home satisfied.  The tribal elders were satisfied.  The crazy MB driver's passengers were satisfied, and the first MB driver is humiliated and penitent and will probably go through the rest of his life as a farmer, walking to his field.  The second MB driver was released from jail after the first driver appeared. He received the same treatment as the first driver but, as the mob already beat him up, it was not necessary to do this twice.                              

Justice out here is swift -- but fair.  

UNUSUAL WEATHER CONDITIONS

Every year one or two great sandstorms come to the oasis, a few from November to January, but more frequently between February and April during the hameseen season (the “50 days”).  First, an unusual golden light comes into the atmosphere, and the hairs on your skin start to rise and you develop goosebumps.  This is probably the result of a big drop in Barometric pressure.  Then – whoosh – here comes the wind and a never-ending blanket of sand.  Visibility is completely cut off.  If you are in a car in the desert, people take out their dish soap and smear it on the outside to protect the paint, and everyone starts heading for home. 

Sandstorms are really awesome events – they kind of remind me of the lighting storms we used to have in Tucson, Arizona during the monsoons, but instead of electricity filling the sky, in Egypt there are heavy winds and lots of sand. Everything pretty much shuts down and all doors and windows get closed.  Computers, televisions and any other electronic equipment are covered in blankets and plastic. After a sandstorm you must do a thorough house cleaning as sand comes in from every single tiny opening.

Heavy rainstorms are completely unknown in the oasis – until about 15 years ago.  A very, very heavy rain and electrical storm came to Bahariya – it only lasted about 2 hours but it was so intense that people actually thought that the end of the world had come.  Seriously.  They had NEVER seen anything like it before. 

As all the houses were made of mud brick, most houses collapsed, destroying all the contents inside.  People were bailing the water out of their destroyed houses with buckets.  The White Desert turned into a big lake – it was completely filled with water. The Oaseans had never seen or imagined anything like it before, even though they had TV.  But, in fear that something like this would come again, they have built their new houses out of large white concrete blocks or red bricks – not the traditional, mud brick.  Too bad because the mud brick houses have very thick walls and excellent insulation – the mud brick houses stay cool in the summer and warm in the winter because the insulation was better. 

TOURISM

Bahariya is the most undeveloped oasis of all the oases in Egypt.  Siwa was actually closed to the outside public until about 25 years ago, but when it opened up, tourism really exploded there, just as did in the Dakhla, Farafra, and the Kharga oases.  In a way this is good for Bahariya and the tourist as many of the old Bahariya oasis traditions are still preserved and this oasis’ way-of-life has changed very little over the centuries.  In Bahariya, the visitor can still experience an authentic Egyptian oasis town, operating as it has for hundreds of years previously.