Cairo and the Pyramids (Rough Guides Snapshot Egypt) by Dan Richardson

Author:Dan Richardson
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781409335443
Publisher: Apa Publications
Published: 2013-03-08T05:00:00+00:00

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The Muqattam Hills and Wadi Digla

The Muqattam Hills plateau, rising beyond Cairo, are seldom visited by tourists but readily accessible on #951 bus from Abdel Mouneem Riyad, or #401 from Midan Ataba. Zigzagging up the hillside past caves and quarries, ruined shrines and guarded outposts, buses terminate at Medinet Muqattam, an upmarket suburb whose avenues are flanked by villas and casinos. The Muqattam Corniche, circling the edge of the plateau, offers spectacular views across the Citadel and most of Cairo – an unforgettable vista at sunset.

People planning self-drive desert expeditions might consider a few training runs below the Muqattam. Victorian travellers used to engage a dragoman to lead them to the Petrified Forests – two expanses littered with broken, fossilized trunks, thought to date from the Miocene Period. The larger one (see map) is really only accessible with a guide, but would-be explorers can easily find the “Little Forest” on the Jebel al-Khasab plateau, north of the Digla–Ain Sukhna road, which turns east off the Nile Valley expressway near a zebaleen village beyond Ma’adi.

The Digla–Ain Sukhna road turns east off the Nile Valley expressway near a zebaleen village beyond Ma’adi. Roughly 25km from the turn-off, you’ll pass the Jebel al-Khasab on the left; if you keep on, you’ll notice various tracks leading off to the right, which eventually converge on a main desert track running east–west. By following it west, back towards Digla, you’ll pass through several meandering wadis before the way is blocked by Wadi Digla. This miniature canyon is good for rock-climbing and birdwatching. Bring water, food and shade.

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