One Lucky Soul: The Guardian Angels of the White Desert

The Guardian Angels of the White Desert by Omar Cherif, One Lucky Soul

Once around 2005 my two younger nephews and I went camping in the White Desert by the Farafra Oasis (depression). Being the sons of my first-generation cousins, the proper term learned later to describe our relationship is “cousins once removed”. For ease though, we will herein refer to them as nephews. While Skuncle O was then 28, they were barely 23 and 21.

To reach such distant and somewhat isolated parts of Egypt, from Cairo, one has to drive to Marsa Matruh, which is a true Mediterranean jewel with crystal clear blue lagoons and white sandy beaches. Heading South from there all alongside the borders with Libya you reach several Oases along the magical White Desert, ending with the furthest of them all, stunning Siwa, located about 755 Km (466 mi) away — about 8 hours of driving; yet since many travellers tend to take a break somewhere, possibly in picturesque Marsa Matruh, the overall trip could end up being a tad longer than that.

Siwa was not our destination this time so no breaks were needed. As we arrived late at night we were exhausted and, due to the insanely windy outside, and pitch black, we decided to sleep inside the car rather than in our sleeping bags. Of course the music was on the whole night, resulting in waking up to a dead battery. Off-road. In the middle of nowhere. Literally.

When you venture alone into the unknown wilderness, if you are lucky you may bump into guarding angels... when you need them the most one might add. I think it is some kind of reward from Mother Nature. Echoing with “Nature loves courage” by Terence McKenna. This has been an ongoing pattern in my life and in the lives of those close friends who were along, especially in the deserts of Egypt.

Here is a Flashback to elaborate [added in Italic a decade later in 2025]...

I specifically recall during our 20s when the road angels would appear while driving to soothing Nuweiba, Siwa as well. This was usually at night since we would leave Cairo in the afternoon after work to save a bit of time from the mere three-day holiday. After hours of driving following a full workday your body starts to tell you that it’s getting exhausted. Add some mind enhancements to that and the journeys become Fear and Loathing-esque. Pfff. Needless to say, driving is such altered states could be reckless and quite dangerous.

On a number of occasions over the years, however, during this last hour or so when the sandman seemed to be forcing my eyes closed, amid the darkened road in the background a car’s headlight would suddenly materialise out of nowhere and overtake ours. Of course I would gladly let the vehicle pass as to follow its lights. Remember this is the vast desert where it’s all jet black. In such a scenario, your own headlight may not be enough. But when you simply follow the lefts and rights of the car in front, it is like an uncanny cheat code one cannot not cherish with open arms and hearts... and whatever left from your shutting eyes.

Not only did it happen a significant number of times across different terrains, but in actual fact some of the drivers would use their blinkers as to draw me a map of the highway — a certain blueprint. How angelic is that! And again, it happens to occur when you really need the help the most. Once I recall, without the guiding angels or their turning signals, I had to park on the side of the road to freshen up a little. For I was literally sleeping. Oh boy. Absolutely not recommended.

With these materialising drivers, you sometimes come to feel they are there for a reason: And it is to assist you NOT have an accident. Like a cosmic gift from the Youniverse, which acknowledges your state of mind and for some reason decides to encourages you in your adventures and explorations. Whenever we finally make it safely and soundly to the lit road or the actual camp, I am always, always overcome by a warm feeling of utter gratitude towards those incognitos angels — who unbeknownst to them often contribute greatly in reaching our destination in one piece.

When driving solo, these mystifying appearances are naturally welcomed even more. Amid the majesty of nature, adding solitude to the random encounters with fellow travellers tend to include a spiritual element — perhaps along with a sense of human camaraderie between both parties.

To me, such instances are a glimpse of a sort of mystical communion with the Great Beyond; of not being alone even, or rather particularly when we are. Some may dare associate this inexplicable immeasurable presence with the “God Frequency”; I simply choose to stay away from the word due to the heavy connotations it carries. Nature or the Youniverse remain lighter, especially when the intent is to attune. And you my friends are all essentially One with “IT”. It is not outside of you or separate from you; you are actually an integral co-creating part of the “IT”. Time to act like it-IT.

Or so it still feels today when back to having a car after inheriting late father’s following a deliberate 15-year hiatus; and also after actually relocating to Dahab in 2022. Who would have thunk back then, huh.

One thing older me learned though is to avoid night driving altogether. Not merely because I cannot see too well due to the darkness, but because amid the shadows my active imagination can hallucinate stuff, like imaginary roads. True story. ...

*Rereading the above, one feels compelled to add that all these challenges of night driving on highways was before Google Maps. Something else drivers as well as everyone else ought to be grateful for.

The first failed rescue attempt

Of course not everyone is that lucky all the time; for without proper preparation and a clear head one could easily vanish into the deserts, or any wilderness for that matter. In terms of travel hazards, road accidents remain more common. As such, anyone venturing into nature ought to be well prepared as to be able to survive whatever comes their way.

In this particular journey to the Western Oases with my two younger cousins [once removed], the responsibility was more over my shoulders. For I was the explorer uncle leading them to where they had never been before. Looking back, I think they trusted me; so did their parents, my cousins.

Fortunately, random desert guardians were there for the rescue here as well. After a few hours of debating what to do, there they were. Out in the middle of nowhere we spotted a car coming towards us. We had been trying to revive the battery for quite a while but couldn’t do it. We [meaning they] tried again upon their arrival yet to no avail. The then 2004-2005 car was a new model which needed a different kind of cable, or so I remember. The driver eventually said he'll go get something then return.

Skuncle O and Seif with an enigmatic White Desert sunset

We kept waiting but the man didn’t show up. A while later we saw a convoy of three Jeeps approaching our motionless vehicle. More angels. Sweet — different ones though. We felt like Tintin, Capitaine Haddock and Milou in Le Crabe aux pinces d’or (The Crab with the Golden Claws) being rescued.

As they jump-start the battery, we chatted for a bit while bonding with some of the tourists. I took a few photos of the situation [seen above] until they got us out of there to resume our journey.

Later on in the day, we bumped into the first driver out there on the road. He said he came back but couldn't find us. I think he probably wanted gas money as some kind of compensation. Being all Egyptians, we settled it without paying a pound.

The following night was spent at a camp in Bahariya, a different oasis, while during the day we visited the Black Desert. The whole trip lasted about four or five nights before heading back to Cairo.

So here we are many years later, Thank you Guardian Angels of the White Desert... whoever you were. Equal gratitude to those I keep bumping into elsewhere On The Road(s) of life until this very day. I See You As You Seem To See Me.

The Great Pyramid’s Blessed Curse: Climbing To The Top And Beyond is an earlier much more wacky adventure from 1996 along with the thorough research that followed later.

And also from Egypt, Surviving the Madness of Sakarana — Hyoscyamus muticus is an even wackier story and arguably a mythical one that took place about a year later in Sinai, which makes our little White Desert skit here seem like child’s play.

Keep On Keeping On. Onward Forward.

*A final Snapple Fact to leave you with about Oases in Egypt is that apart from the several known ones, there is an oasis called Baris [with a B] and here is an Arabic article about it recounted by my uncle Dr. Abdel Fattah el Bitash — who in the 1940s was sent there to help fighting a Malaria outbreak. Another remarkable story from way back when:

رحلة عبر التاريخ مع الدكتور عبدالفتاح البيطاش: واحة باريس وتفشي الملاريا في الأربعينات