safari in egypt ,desert safari ,egypt safari ,western desert egypt

Caravan Routes and Roadways

Darb Ain Amur

Road of the Lovely One passes east through Tineida and the Wadi al-Battikha over the scarp through Naqb Tineida to the Abu Tartur Plateau and Ain Amur, Ain Umm Dabadib, and Qasr Kharga. Used by Archibald Edmond stone in 1819 on his way back from Dakhla and by Rolfs in 1874, it is the shortest distance between the two oases. (See Kharga Oasis for details.)

Darb al-Ghubari

the Dust Road is the second major route that crosses east-west the main road through the oasis. (See Kharga Oasis for details.) There is a cut off from this route that leads to Boris in the south of Kharga Oasis.
The Darb al-Farafra links Dakhla Oasis to farafra Oasis in the north. It begins at Qasr Dakhla where I goes north over the scarp at Bab al-Qasmund, veering west over dunes to Bir Dikker and Qasr Farafra. It continues on to Bahariya, Siwa, and Fayoum.

Darb Abu Minqar

begins at Qasr and moves northwest between Gebel Edmonstone and the northern scarp to Ain Sheikh Marzuqe, and to the northwest of Farafra Oasis. It is the modern roadway. (See Farafra Oasis.)

Darb al-Tawil

the Long Road, bypassing Kharga completely, is the only direct connection from Dakhla Oasis to the Nile Valley. Like most of the desert tracks, it is an old route and there is evidence that it was used extensively during the Old Kingdom. In 1908, Winlock tells us, tea, sugar, and coffee came with the caravans over this route. In this century it was still a viable route, often used by caravans loaded with dates on their way to market in the Nile Valley. The Dab al-tawil has several starting points in the oasis. The westernmost route begins just east of Qasr Dakhla in the western part of the oasis. It quickly climbs the escarpment near Qasr and joins the Darb al-Khashabi, which works its way north from Asmant. Shortly thereafter the Darb al-Tawil turns northeast. At the Naqb Rumi, the Darb al-Tawil is joined by a third route from Balat and Tineida. (Some sources consider this the main route of the Darb al-Tawil in Dakhla.) This route begins at Balat and moves northeast 15 kilometers (9.3 miles) to a bay I n the 350 meter (1,120 foot) scarp. Here it is joined by a track from Tineida.

They climb out of the depression at Naqb Balat and continue northeast along the desert to Naqb Rumi. He Darb al-Tawil, now complete, continues northeast through Naqb Shyshini and heads to Manfalut near Asyout in the Nile Valley. Edmond stone took five days to reach Dakhla, setting up camps along the way. Just as along the Darb al-Arbain, he was struck by the number of dead camels along the way. The trip took him sixty-four marching hours which he calculated as 178 miles.
Darb al-Khashabi, the Wooden Road, begins at Asmant and passes over the scarp at Nawb Asmant, heading almost due north where it seems t disappear. It is named the Wooden Road because it passes through a grove of dead trees.

The Darb al-Tarfawi

is the only southern route in the oasis. Used in 1893-4 by Captain H.G. Lyons, it begins at Mut and heads south through the empty and seldom used southwestern desert to Bir Tarfawi and then on to Merg and l-Fasher in Sudan.
A spur goes to the Gilf Kebir and Gebel Uwaynat. This isolated area is currently the focus of a major development program and plans are underway to launch a large agricultural project in the area. The Darb al-Tarafwi is receiving attention and is now paved for over 300 kilometers (187 miles). It will eventually be a major artery linking Dakhla to the southwestern corner of Egypt.