Expedition Journal of the Desert in Egypt Kamal IV

Expedition Kamal returns to Gilf Kebir and does precisely in Wadi Sura, the famous Valley of the images to baptize Laszlo Almasy in the thirties and found that more than thirty caves with prehistoric rock art the best of all the Eastern Sahara during the Holocene. For the first time have access to the Cave of Swimmers, which reconstructs the film "The English Patient" and, above all, the various theories pounced clarified that ten thousand years ago this was not a desert but rather the opposite.

ECCMID 2016

Euro PCR 2016         EFORT   2016        EHA 2016 EULAR 2016        ESHRE   ACC 2016 AAD 2016 NAVC 2016

 

What the swimmers presence painted on the rock of the cave is? What does the headless beast all around? With several archaeologists dig at one of the mysteries of the Neolithic in one of the most fascinating valleys of the entire plateau of Gilf Kebir, where there are still remnants of the first expeditions of the thirties and the sandstone mountains have unprecedented ways .

IMPORTANT INFORMATION AT THE END OF ARTICLE

March 20, 2014: Day 8

A day full of emotions

On this trip to the Western Desert of Egypt, commonly known as Libyan Desert, every day is better than the last. When I thought the magic of Jebel Uweinat was incomparable born today in my life Wadi Sura. I intend to write at night from a valley of infinite forms and rocks at such great ground like a house, similar to those of Wadi Rum in Jordan or even to the heart of Petra rocks but everything much more vast, empty and without any artificial seasoning.

In the west of the Gilf Kebir plateau born Valley images, Wadi Sura in which Almasy found the famous Cave of Swimmers and where possibly one could seriously consider that it is the open-air museum most amazing rock art the African continent. This is much better than we had dreamed, infinitely superior to any thorough and proud description situated in the pages we left the Hungarian explorer. A Polish journalist for National Geographic with whom I talk a lot in the expedition told me it could be a work of genius Salvador Dali. But no, the genius is only because Nature herself, to the evaporation of a green landscape to be the spitting image of a wild and lonely planet with extreme weather conditions.

Mark Borda cave with Peter & Paul

But one thing at the beginning, because the morning woke up with emotions. Just two minutes from our camp in the area of ​​the two volcanic mountains Peter & Paul, called and remember the great domes of St. Peter's and St. Paul's in London, we stopped to witness our first cave really. Anything from a mountain ledge or shelter, that was a prehistoric cave with all of the law. As Tarek often not open his mouth until it stands on the site and see that we are aware of what it will say. He asked us to agachásemos us and we were crawling slowly backs. If you thought the Jebel Uweinat paintings were the best we had seen so far on this trip, which we witnessed in this cave discovered just five or six years ago by Mark Borda Maltese adventurer returned to give a twist to our intense journey through art drawn on the rock.

The details of some scenes, mostly found in human and animal figures involved makes archaeologists say that we are facing the experience of those who saw their ancestors paint before, which improved the technical printing more detail each image. This narrow gorge on a mountain ridge reminded me of a chicken is a treasure trove of prehistoric art, but with the difference that it is really difficult to place on a map and there just who visit.

Ostrich eggs in the middle of an esplanade

Found on the floor a bit almost frozen ostrich egg, animal that had abundantly in the green valleys of the most fertile Sahara could exist. Although it would be during our journey north where we would find not one but five or six practically intact ostrich eggs located in the middle of an esplanade. by the man who inhabited this area over five thousand years ago, who had them as small reservoirs to store water had been used. Surprisingly, have been preserved in the middle of a route during wartime was quite busy military vehicles British, French, German, Sudanese and, of course, Egyptians. Not to mention the decades of explorers.

We stumbled upon a truck of World War II

We have been gaining speed since the road was flat with little bumps or inconvenience that had to overcome, and we felt that we were on a road. Actually we were not wrong, because every hundred meters approximately a gasoline blackened (not rusty) emerged as a beacon within a certainly usual route west of Gilf Kebir. I kept imagining the stories repeated Almasy in search of Oasis Zerzura or even if he manages to infiltrate Egypt two spies in Nazi Germany even to sabotage "the enemy vehicles" stealing fuel and putting in place kilos and kilos of sand. And just when I had just lost between military conspiracies and archaeological surveys with toy cars out of nowhere a truck Sudanese Allied Forces of the Long Range Desert Group ones traveling between Kufra supply and Aswan. Would this be one of those vehicles sabotaged and rendered useless by Almasy?

This jewel of automotive age alone, although it is acceptably better than you might expect from a vehicle used in World War II. No doubt these cars stuck in the desert is one of the most original cards that I'm taking this trip. It is an absolute indicator on where we find ourselves.

Welcome to Wadi Sura

We have spent far hills dubbed by Almasy as "three castles" advancing to mimic the curvature of Gilf Kebir at the point at which opens to the west. A huge natural walls of sandstone eroded either made their way in some gaps through which were introduced the 4 × 4 leaving and forgetting the flat and empty desert we had been watching for hours. Mohammed, our driver, has pronounced the words "Wadi Sura" and a chill has ruffled my arms. I could not believe that we had reached the famous Valley of the images, the heart of the film The English Patient and the area Almásy ran passion to discover the cave of swimmers and shake up the archeology of prehistoric times. The Sahara since that time was no longer the same and began to accept the idea that before desert was a green lung for the running lions, giraffes, zebras, ostriches and gazelles that were well guarded by hunters who inhabited this part of Africa.

That landscape was a mixture of the Valley of the Kings, Petra and Wadi Rum, mingled with the feelings of the little beaten both places I long to know. Yellow rocks were so capricious that it was not difficult to find the shape of a sphinx, one Dali statue or even a moai of Easter Island. It was enough to look good and, of course, have a little imagination.

Wadi Sura 1: The Cave of Swimmers

Suddenly a rocky hill wide and not very high, showing an opening at the base of just under eight meters from side to side and three meters between floor and ceiling. It was the cave 1 of Wadi Sura, the mythical dream Cave of Swimmers. We have begun to move slowly and when we realize we wanted we were looking for the schematic figures of those characters that seem to be swimming ... in the Sahara Desert? And very quickly we found these scenes of swimmers and the "beast" whose red contrasted with the white of a detailed network covering a mysterious headless body.

As if we were in a movie you have been heard inside the cave the archaeologist Luc Watrin shout "Watch out, a snake" and see on the ground to flee one of the known sand snakes that frequent the Libyan Desert. It was fine but quite long and I have the impression that she was more frightened than we were those who were occupying the Cave of Swimmers at that time.

I do not like to talk about disappointment, but in this case I could not help telling myself that "it was not what I expected" because the condition of the cave found by Almasy leaves much to be desired. Apparently the film The English Patient starring a very young Ralph Fienness was dented in 1996 and not a few stupid illiterate accelerated approached the cave damaging the artistic composition by means of incomprehensible graffiti and, even worse, starting literally painted areas to take home as a souvenir. Of course no one act in time to save the cave of such atrocities.

But disappointment then, would disillusion. How one of the great masterpieces of prehistory had succumbed to neglect and vandalism? - I asked me again and again. But the cave is so special that the minutes have been garnishing my sorrow and I finished getting lost in scenes that are still standing (do not know if long) trying to understand why so many men swimming in the desert ... then it was not, who or what is the headless beast that is repeated hundreds of kilometers and how would that time when Almasy first entered the cave.

The most delicious was sharing ideas with archaeologists who excited as if it had found themselves on their way to the most important pictorial scene Wadi Sura 1, the Cave of Swimmers. Just with a few gestures were able to discern which paintings were earlier or later in a collage of overlapping made over several years. Luc Watrin, who is known by heart, is always very cautious when talking about swimmers since according to him who says they are not floating in the air. Try to give logic to everything is complicated, but in this case the hypothesis about why there swimmers in the composition of rock art are quite imaginative and vastly interpretable. I may be wrong but it almost the best part is that we will never discover many whys. It's been too long and get into the heads of those men and women of the Neolithic in North Africa is the less impossible.

Disappointment, therefore trailed off until completely forget everything and concentrate more deeply into human drawings (and animals) or both negative painted hands on the wall and ceiling. The energy of the place is wonderful and, despite the most remarkable decline, the traveler ends up realizing that it is one of the great landmarks of archeology not only in Africa but in the world. No English Patient romanticism is necessary to love this place, just go to the real story more exciting than the US film and understand their circumstances in a valley of sand and rocks with unpredictable landforms in which much remains to be revealed.

The mysterious paths of Wadi Sura

After nearly a rather intense and warm when we left the cave, but Wadi Sura. A light meal and mint tea served to be strong again and continue work in the labyrinths of the geology of the valley, throwing hypothesis air, seek like rocks or surprised how mountains are constantly crumbling blocks more than three meters wide and three high that should fall in this process whose end is in the sands.

We have reached the Chianti camp used by climbers from the thirties who found numerous caves in Wadi Sura (by something called the Valley of the images) and that seems to have been as it was eighty years ago. Surviving the cans with adventurers fed and even places where fired. As such, it has not moved an inch. Trash was never really seemed as interesting as me this time.

Wishing to come down more sun to colorease fantastic rocky landscape we had before us we went with vegetables, our luggage and groceries to prepare and place tents in another camp that is not the Chianti but has absolutely nothing to envy. Andrew and I have come to us from the main concourse to an area somewhat apart in less wind striking and seems quieter. I still do not believe I'm writing under starry sky like leaves peek tentatively grotesque stone columns.

Sunset Valley pictures

I can not believe the evening I lived after touring some of the alleys eroded by the wind and which in antiquity came to pass a river and even falling water cascades. All this before a powerful rapid climate change in just over two hundred years completely dried these places. Well, what I will sound that climate change?

I've gone far enough camp and clumsily climbing a rock from which you could witness the full extent of the place have breathed it deep, I open arms and I closed my eyes to capture the energy that breathes this arid place. Wadi Sura, will not have been a dream? If so I would never wake up from it ...