White Donkeys

The original donkeys were grey with black stripes on their legs, a black bar over their shoulders and a black stripe down their back. Somewhere along the line in Egypt the predominant colour for donkeys has become white and I have no idea why. But this had to have been one of the whitest donkeys I've ever seen

Living In Tents

For years I've noticed a group of people who would appear here in our area with herds of cattle and unusual patterns of dressing. They often split up into small groups of cattle who graze on the stubble of the corn fields and they told me that they were from Zagazig in Sharkeya province. On our ride to Dahshur we came upon this camp under the palms near the lakebed. Our hostess for lunch told me that these were the cattle people, a group of Bedouin who travel throughout Egypt in a huge loop and have a base of sorts near Zagazig. The army apparently rents the lakebed to a man who has been harvesting the reeds from it until the last couple of years when the lake wasn't filled. This year he rented the lakebed as grazing land for a few weeks to the Bedouin.

Walking In Circles

A blindfolded donkey walks alone around the track pulling the wooden bar that turns a sakia, a water wheel in a palm grove near Dahshur.

Black Pyramid on a Winter Day

Riding near the Black Pyramid at Dahshur is an amazing experience any time, but yesterday was one of those crystal clear days with high rain clouds passing by. Truly incredible.

Early Spring Mimosa

We haven't really had a winter, unless you count a random hail storm last Thursday. The temperatures have been in the April range all of January and February. This gorgeous mimosa tree in full bloom on the road along the road by the lakebed at Dahshur is eloquent testimony to the off-season warmth. Photo by the Photography Elf...I'm on a horse.

Tea Break at Dahshur

Some of the tourist police and their camels take a break in the afternoon in the shadow of the Bent Pyramid at Dahshur. This pyramid is interesting for its sort of squashed shape (the builders used too steep an angle initially and then had to lower it) and for the fact that it is one of the only pyramids that still has its facing stones.

Just Look For The Orange House

What can I say? If you wanted to sleep outside, the colour would probably keep you awake. The villagers do like their colour!

Climbing

Palm trees are more work than houses. The fronds get trimmed a couple or three times a year, the blossoms must be fertilised, the fruit protected and then picked...and all of this is taking place about 10 to 15 metres off the ground. What's a guy to do? Climb! The harness is made of palm rope and cotton rope and it enables the workers to scamper up the trunk and then, in this case, work away with an axe to chop off the extra fronds and remove the extra fiber. Fronds will be come mats, boxes and furniture while the fiber is woven into ropes.

Filling The Lake

Centuries ago the lake at Dahshur was filled every summer during the inundation. When the Nile stopped flooding in the 70's it became necessary to fill the lake with the Nile water with a canal. This is the channel that feeds the lake now.

Real Palms Mirrored

On a drive to the lakebed at Dahshur we stopped by an irrigation canal to admire a scene of sunset, pyramids, desert, and water.

That Time Of Year

Each fall they open the canal between the Nile River and the lake at Dahshur to flood the lake bed for the migrating waterfowl. It isn't entirely altruistic as the military have duck blinds on the lake that are rented out for totally exorbitant rates, but the rest of us and the birds that are lucky enough to avoid the hunters do appreciate it. The village boys are probably less thrilled since their goalposts are clearly visible on their now very soggy playing field. The lake bed will slowly dry over the winter.

The Eyes Have It

An interesting young man has been building a place near the lake at Dahshur...and he's been doing it all himself. I'm not sure that a normal builder would want to build eyes into a wall.

The Twisted Tree

The lake at Dahshur is one of my favourite places to photograph all year round. Now, as summer approaches, the lake is drying up to a few ponds and the animals are grazing on the grass that grows from the moisture still present in the lakebed. We rode across the lakebed on horseback listening to the songs of larks, bulbul and the European rollers who were scooping through the air above us.

Not Buried But Not Moving Either

I took some friends out to the desert to see the sights and we found a delightful 10 cm x 3 mm piece of steel that had been anchored in a block of cement, probably as a surveying tool for some of the antiquities people. No, we didn't take it away...never fear, but we did find that rebar can shred a tire nicely. A quick call to a neighbour with a jeep to arrange that the rescue was on hand to help change the tire in the sand and we were on our way after an hour to enjoy the sunshine and rock collecting. This is what neighbours are for out here.

Time Out Of Time

I'm not a great celebrator of New Year's Eve....too many years spent working them as a college student with a night job in hotels and restaurants, I suspect. But New Year's Day I took a visitor to the lake in Dahshur on horseback to experience the villages and desert. On a day when time is on our minds, sometimes the very old things are a good reminder.

The National Sport

If ever a country was made for photography, it is Egypt. Not only are there so many subjects available, but the light itself is extraordinary.

The Greatest Pyramid

This isn't the pyramid that everyone takes pictures of, not one of the "three" that most of the world associates with Giza. The Great Pyramid at Giza is a wonderful sight, but for my money the Red Pyramid at Dahshur is the best. This was taken from the desert at sunset, something that is basically impossible to do if you are on a tour. The buses stay on the asphalt roads and they leave long before sunset. A local like myself with a jeep knows the odd ways in to be able to take this shot.

The pyramid itself was built by Sneferu after a couple of false starts with the pyramid at Meidum about 60 km south and the Bent Pyramid which is only about 300 metres south. It is made of red Aswan granite and somehow sits in the desert with much more comfort and authority than the Great Pyramid at Giza. Maybe it's the lack of all those horrible little men selling bad t-shirts and camel rides....

Most Scenic Football Field Ever?

Egyptian boys of all ages adore football...or soccer as it's known in North America. They play in the streets, empty lots, proper fields, anywhere they can. The sorts of places that people gather in for a game fascinate me so I'm collecting a group of pictures of football games in odd places. This, however, must be one of the most scenic spots for a football pitch in the world. The day we came by there were three separate games going on the grassy parts of the lake at Dahshur. As we were taking one shot, a nice new Mercedes pulled up next to us and a fairly well-fed gentleman stepped out in a galabeya. He went to his trunk, opened it, and pulled out shorts, a football jersey and some very nice shoes, smiled at us and strolled over to one of the games.

By the way, thanks to everyone who has visited my blog and commented. I've finally gotten a decent web connection and can return the favours.

The Silver Lining

A day of dust was followed by a night of rain, complete with thunder and lightening, which the horses found exciting and the dogs found frightening. Who knows what goes on in the animal brains? The result for humans was that anywhere we hadn't cleared the dust, we now had clay. Brilliant. But it was back to our usual wonderful sunsets like this one behind the Bent Pyramid at Dahshur.

Pure Magic

During pharoanic times there were a series of sacred lakes that could be found at the foot of the Sphinx in Giza, between the pyramids of Abu Sir and Sakkara and just south of the pyramids at Dahshur. Today only the lake at Dahshur remains and it exists because every fall the canal to the Nile is opened to bring water in to fill the depression for the migratory water birds. From the south end of this small lake you look north across the shining water and lush green plants to the sands of the desert and the Bent Pyramid, the Red Pyramid and the Black Pyramid of Dahshur. The views are so spectacular and unique that it is a favourite riding trip for clients of mine who travel on horseback down the line of pyramids from Abu Sir to Dahshur through the desert and then return, after a lunch in the palm groves, through the villages that hide among the date palms.

The Black Pyramid is only accessible by four wheel drive, foot or horseback and is unique in that it was constructed of millions of handmade mud bricks and then encased in limestone. The limestone casing has long since been scavenged but the sheer number of the bricks has ensured the survival of the pyramid.