#1: [28-Dec-02]

30-Apr-2004 -- We were heading to Sīwa for the 3 day weekend to visit this famous oasis and have a look at the great sand sea. We set off on Thursday afternoon and overnighted in al-`Alamayn. The next day we drove west till Maṭrūḥ and then south to Sīwa. The Western Desert between Maṭrūḥ and Sīwa is a largely featureless gravel plain.

Opportunities for lunch and picnic sites are further limited in the northern section by the presence of minefields and ordnance dating back to the second world war. Many cleared corridors, marked by stone cairns, were visible from the blacktop. These are from the oilfield operations that cover large parts of the northern Western Desert. Hence the only logical stop for lunch was Confluence 30N 26E!

It is located just a couple of hundred meters from the main blacktop road. Hence 4 cars filled with 18 people from 9 countries homed in on the Confluence and set up lunch stop. The wind was blowing, so we had to dismantle the cairn put up from the first visit to anchor the ground cloth, but we re-erected it after we ate.

Having sated the hunger pangs and thirst we packed up, hit the road and went looking for the famous well/pools of Sīwa. It is difficult to imagine the relief that travellers of old must have felt on reaching Sīwa, after only driving a few hours in an air-conditioned vehicle to get there. But the palm trees and pools were a welcome sight just the same.