Whales in the Desert, A Royal Retreat, and The Magic Oasis That Links Them
On a team-bonding work trip, I only bonded with Al-Fayoum itself
My first trip to Al-Fayoum was awful. Note to self: If you see an ad on a dubious Facebook group offering a staggeringly cheap all-inclusive trip, maybe don’t pack your bags just yet. It was a hot mess of late buses, cold food, and a rushed visit to a crowded spot.
Fast-forward 2 years later, an email arrived. I was sitting at my office desk reading the subject “Office Team Bonding Trip” or something to that effect. My curiosity peaked. Where? Where are we bonding? Please be a beach resort! I skimmed through the email and there it was, Al-Fayoum. You have got to be kidding.
I was unimpressed with the choice of location to say the least. My prior experience had left me reluctant to join. But the thought of having my co-workers and managers attempt to keep balance on a sandboard, made it a bit more interesting. “Attending” I sighed.
The Valley of Whales
I was standing face-to-face with a perfectly preserved, 40-million-year-old skeleton of a whale laid out on the ground. In the middle of the desert.
We had arrived at this accurately named location, The Valley of Whales (Wadi El Hitan), by a precarious jeep ride through the dunes. There wasn’t exactly a paved way to this place, but it was worth the bumpy ride.
A small domed building appeared in the desert, a museum. Inside was a media-projector room displaying a short film on the history of the area and how this UNESCO Heritage site is host to hundreds of fossils. The rest of the museum show-cased entire skeletons of whales enclosed within glass displays. The outside of the museum, however, was nothing I’ve seen before.
Outside, you could see dozens of whale skeletons protruding from the desert sand. You could walk among the ancient bones using a series of limestone steps that created a guided pathway between the skeletons. A whale cemetery. It was mind-blowing to imagine that this entire desert was one day completely submerged under water.
Crocodilopolis — Yes, that means “City of the Crocodile”
Steeped in pharaonic history, Al-Fayoum was once the center for the biggest cult dedicated to the worship of the pharaoh god Sobek. Depicted with the head of a crocodile and a human body, Sobek was associated with the Nile River. People invoked him to protect them from the seasonal flood of the Nile and the vicious attacks of river crocodiles.
The worship of Sobek manifested in many ways. In a sacred temple pond, lived an actual crocodile that was worshipped, revered, and fed by priests residing in the temple. “By” priests not “on” priests, thought it might be important to make that distinction.
Evelyne Porret — The Lady of Tunis Village
Next on our itinerary, was a visit to a pottery school. Al-Fayoum is quite famous for its unique ceramics and there’s a reason for that, Evelyne Porret.
Evelyne’s story in Al-Fayoum is truly one for the movies. It began with a Swiss-born graduate of the School of Decorative Arts in Geneva visiting her dad in Cairo who was a Christian pastor stationed in Egypt at the time. She frequented pottery workshops in Al-Fayoum and finally moved there in the mid-eighties.
As she watched the local kids play with mud by the banks of Lake Qarun, the idea for the pottery school began to materialize.
Tunis Village was the small town in Al-Fayoum that would witness the impact of this idea. “The Lady of Tunis Village” as she was later dubbed, taught thousands of locals how to make a living using their pottery skills. What began as a way to harness the skills of the townspeople, turned into the creation of an internationally-know hub for pottery & art enthusiasts.
Her death, at age 88, was met with grief from the art community in Egypt and worldwide and was eulogized by the Swiss Embassy in Egypt. Her legacy? An enduring pottery & ceramics culture that turned one of the poorest towns in the country to a national heritage. Her son remains in Al-Fayoum and runs her school.
Lake Qarun
We made our final stop by the sand dunes overlooking Lake Qarun. The sky cast peachy hues over the lake as we neared sunset. As my colleagues tumbled into the dunes with hair of full of sand and bare socks, I sat down on a colorful kilim mat on a secluded part of the shore awaiting our lunch to finish grilling. Looking out at the peaceful lake and the small wooden boats rock softly as they pass by, I felt an inner calm. The kind of calm that a lot of the time escapes me in my busy city life.
Captivated by the serenity of the oasis, I was bound to return.
The King’s Hunting & Fishing Lodge: Helnan Auberge
About 3 years later, I did. This time with my husband and my 1-year-old toddler. Usually, we wouldn’t bother too much with the perfect accommodations, but with a baby we needed to have a comfortable & clean hotel room. The Helnan Auberge was much more than that.
While looking for a decent hotel room online, I didn’t realize I was in fact booking a room in what used to be King Farouk’s hunting lodge and guesthouse for foreign diplomats. One hall is named Churchill Hall in reference to the time Winston Churchill visited King Farouk in Egypt and stayed at this very property. Upon entering the reception of the hotel, you are greeted with pictures of King Farouk along with his guests or hunting on the grounds nearby.
The Helnan Auberge is a relatively small hotel, but what it lacks in number of rooms it makes up for in style. Baroque-styled halls and marbled floors give the hotel an atmosphere of royalty. Perfectly trimmed gardens surround the hotel and make for serene sunset walks.
Staying at the hotel was like stepping into a parallel universe where I was in fact a duchess waiting for my carriage to arrive. My royal bubble was burst when my daughter wandered into the lobby and almost broke what may or may not have been an invaluable vase.
I loved every minute of our family trip there and this time my trip was a lot more kid centered. For us that meant visiting farms, vegetable picking, horseback riding, petting animals and stuffing our faces with the local delicacies.
I am overtaken with the same spirit of the oasis that one day captured Evelyne Porret. There is a strange collision of the widely international meets the intimately local nature of the place. With every visit to Al-Fayoum I felt like I was opening a Russian doll of infinite discoveries.
And just because I don’t want it to get stampeded by masses of tourists, as I sit here planning my retirement, why don’t you and I keep it our little secret, alright?
