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| 05/09/06 |
TOPOGRAPHICA - Desert Images by Wael ABED © 2006 |
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Zarzora Expedition, the Desert-Travel Company of Egypt, is proud to announce the publishing of some of its most precious desert images, taken over a period of 11 years of traveling through the Egyptian Sahara. We shall add a single image per week, and looking forward to receiving your comments and rating. |
| 05/24/06 |
Prince Charles and Camilla visit Siwa Oasis |
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In March 2006, while Prince Charles and Camilla were visiting the Egyptian Oasis of Siwa, a special 8-day desert trip was organized by Zarzora Expedition in favor of Dr. Fulvio Ognibene. This album shows most of the places visited during the tour (the Pyramids of Giza, the Baharia oasis, the White Desert Protected Area, Siwa Oasis, the Sallum Plateau and the Mediterranean coast of Egypt). The highlights of the trip included visits to the temple of Amasis in Baharia, the temple of the Oracle and the Mountain of the Dead in Siwa, and the viewing of the total Solar Eclipse at sallum. Mr. G. Boscoscuro (Predsident of ASTOI), G. Genegaroli, Dr. Galimberti, C. Calzavara, C. Bettiol, Rita & Marco Dalessandro joined the tour that was led by Mr. Wael Abed of Zarzora Expedition. (Photos by Wael ABED) |
| 05/12/06 |
BBC Balooning over the White Desert Protected Area |
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Aside from their usual expeditions' services, Zarzora Expedition helped in making BBC's project, to fly a baloon over the White Desert Protected Area, a successful one. Using a motorized Cine-bulle baloon, Planet Earth (BBC's Natural History Program) aimed to film the spectacular landscape of the Egyptian Sahara, focusing on wind-eroded limestone and showing the effect of sand-carried grains on the monumental structures of the White Desert. The seven-day-shoot project took place in February 2005 in an area chosen by Zarzora Expedition's Unit 2, some 35 kilometers to the northwest of Farafra Oasis. Zarzora Expedition and BBC remain thankful to the different parties that made this project possible--namely the Ministry of Defence, the Ministry of Tourism, The Governor of el Wadi el Gedid. Special thanks go to Mr. Mahmoud el-Qaisouni, Head of the Sustaiable Tourism and Environmental Affairs Committee, whose care and support were the key to this success. |
| 05/09/06 |
Recent Explorations on top of Gilf Kebir |
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The Gilf Kebir plateau is a desert the size of Switzerland. This far-off region, in southwest Egypt, was first discovered by Prince Kemal el Din Hussein in 1926. In the years that followed the discovery, the Prince mapped only the eastern outliers, while Patrick Calyton sketched the western frontiers in 1931. The northern and southern canyons were later visited by Almasy in 1932 and Bagnold in 1938. The top of the northern part of the plateau is claimed by Samir Lama and Ahmed Mestekawi. Yet, there remained a part of the plateau quite unknown, the table-land of the southern part. And there we went. |
| 05/05/06 |
The Documentation of EGYPT's Neolithic Rock Art (Mestekawi Cave) |
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Discovered by Zarzora Expedition in 2002, the rock-art site of Mestekawi Cave, in northwest Gilf Kebir, is yet to be studied. Due to its remoteness, the site, like several other prehistoric remains, has been visited by only few hundreds of people. Most of those are tourists with general interest in rock-art. however, systematic examination requires sincere efforts, well-fitted logistics and precious time. Zarzora Expedition has led several trips to the area and recently began to document the drawings and look for other, believed to exist, Neolithic shelters. (Photos shown here are by L. Meccoli and W. Abed) |
| 05/05/06 |
Radio Fiasco Expedition - April 2006 |
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Desert could be FUN too. Check these photos taken during a 13-day trip to Gilf Kebir and the Stella plateau in southwest Egypt. The trip was organized by Zarzora Expedition (Unit 2), led by Mr. Wael Abed, in favor of Mr. Vallecci and party. The travel which took place between April 17 and May 01, 2006, was also joined by Mrs. A. Petralia of Trekking Italia and Ms. L. Meccoli of Lokananda and Company. |
| 04/15/06 |
Memoirs of a Mediterranean TOTALITY - Egyptian Sahara, March 2006 |
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An amazing solar eclipse that lasted almost 4 minutes was enjoyed by thousands of people who spread over the tableland of the Egyptian plateau of Sallum. Zarzora Expedition catered for and provided logistics' services to a number of groups and tour operators (including Abercrombie and Kent, Kel 12, Wilderness Travel, MIT and V.C). The pictures shown here are those of the special group of Kel 12. Photos of other operations are published in the Grand Eclipse Operation album below. (Photos by Wael Abed) |
| 04/13/06 |
The Grand Eclipse Operation - Egypt 2006 |
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Zarzora Expedition is proud to publish an account of the company's grand operation during the total eclipse event on the Egyptian Mediterranean. Zarzora Expedition catered for and provided planning, transportation and camping logistics for a number of tour operators (including Abercrombie and Kent, MIT, Wilderness Travel, Kel 12 and VC). The album shows part of the logistics that included three massive, well operated tented camps, a complete hotel kitchen and full camping facilities. The operation was managed by Col. Ahmed Mestekawi and the assistance of 71 crew members. |
| 05/08/06 |
An "unnamed" plateau revealed. |
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Between Gilf Kebir and Uweinat, in southwest Egypt, lies a plateau for which no one seemed to care and where no one seem to go. We often passed to the east of it, on our way to Uweinat, and often referred to it by the name "the unnamed plateau". Desert expert, Wael Abed, first entered the area with Yvonne Nevile Rolfe and party in 2001 and, having found that the place seemed to shelter the last promising population of Barbary Sheep, decided to call it "Wadi el Kebash" meaning the Valley of the Barbary Sheep. They also reported a healthy population of large acacia trees and shrubs strangely surviving the hostile hyperarid climate of the deep Sahara. |
| 03/20/06 |
The Karliks' Hungarian Expedition, 2006 |
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In the winter of 1931-32, the Hungarian explorer, Count Laszlo de Almasy (better known as the English Patient) made his first ever journey to the then unknown Gilf Kebir desert. His expedition, known as “Zarzora Expedition 1”, resulted on significant archaeological finds and provided a comprehensive knowledge on desert geographies. Celebrating the 75th Anniversary of his exploits, Zarzora Expedition and the Hungarian family (the Karliks) traced the steps of Almasy from Dakhla Oasis to Gilf Kebir, and crossed the total length of the Great Sand Sea to Siwa Oasis. The expedition visited the Swimmers'Cave, the Mestekawi Cave, the spectacular Wadi Hamra, carried several observation on the natural resources and made several archaeological finds. We are indebt to Mate Karlik, who provided us with the pictures shown in this album (previously exhibited in the gallery of Budapest) and we thank her and the Karlik family for sharing their experience and for their lovely companionship. A futher journey is planned for the next winer season with the objective of exploring rarely visited sites in Gilf Kebir and Uweinat |
| 04/30/06 |
New Year Trip to Gilf Kebir (2005-6) |
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The trip, aimed to visit the Gilf Kebir's renowned rock-art sites, as well as focusing on documenting the outstanding landscapes there exists. The trip, which took place between Dec.27-2005 and Jan. 07.2006, was operated with three cars and led by Zarzora Expedition's guide, Mr. Wael Abed. The crew consisted of Ahmed Younis, Mohamed Basiouni and Mabrouk, the cook. (Photos by Wael Abed). |
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