White Desert, Egypt
Egypt’s White Desert is truly awe-inspiring. And the experience isn’t lost on the kids. Bizarre white chalk formations and inselberg monoliths, the result of thousands of years of mechanical weathering, will soon have them shouting, ‘Hey mom, look over there!’ Mushrooms, camels and fields of marshmallows are but a few of the rock-sculpted shapes on show. Crystal mountain, an outcropping made entirely of quartz crystal, can’t help but get them wondering, ‘How did this lone mountain get here?’ Seashell fossils and black iron pyrite litter the ground and will keep the kids talking long after the setting sun turns nature’s hand first orange and then pink. Yet before you make the trek to this unique Western Desert destination, take note. It takes more than a day to fully explore this 300 square kilometer protectorate. What's more, a 4x4 vehicle and professional guide are a necessity for all off-road desert safaris.
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History & Culture
Family travel to the White Desert provides an opportunity to introduce the kids to the effects of weathering on the land. Find out how mechanical weathering has shaped White Desert limestone and white chalk into bizarre landforms.
Maps
Online maps are a great travel planning resource and a great way to get the kids involved in a family vacation. Use online maps to pinpoint family vacation destinations and create a travel itinerary. Map the Western Desert and identify points of interest from Siwa south to Sudan. Plot your route along the caravan route and discover Egypt's desert oases. And when maps fail use no-maps such as waypoints and satellite images to get a lay of the land and find your way in remote and poorly mapped places. You may find that your children are innate navigators.
Map of Egypt
Tehuti Research Foundation Siwa Map Siwa Oasis Bahariya Map MyWay Travel Saharan No-Maps Sahara Navigators Books
Books are a great way to introduce younger children to a new adventure and get teens and tweens ready for a family trip. Learn more about Egypt through guidebooks, novels and historical fiction and embark on a different kind of family journey. Find recommended reading lists for adults and kids.
Music & Sound
The ancient Egyptians invented writing and were the first culture to erect a stone monument. And they were the first people to incorporate music and dance into religious ceremonies and everyday life. While little is known of the rhythm and sound, the importance of music is evidenced in wall paintings and the evolution in the instruments played can be followed overtime. Harps, flutes and double clarinets were played in the Old Kingdom. Percussion instruments, lyres and lutes, likely borrowed from neighboring cultures, were incorporated into ancient Egyptian song during the Middle Kingdom. But whether ancient Egyptian music is a precursor to modern Egyptian song remains a mystery. The Arabic music played in Egypt today is believed to be rooted in the courts of Islam between the 7th and 13th centuries. Sufi and Greek influence is noted in the music of that time but the hand of the ancient Egyptians is, as of yet, unproved.
Egyptian Music
Tour Egypt Listen to Music Online The Egyptian Castle Children's Songs & Nursery Rhymes Mama Lisa's World News
Read Egypt newspapers online and brush up on Egyptian current events from politics to economics and sports to entertainment before you depart on a trip with kids. Get Egypt news and discover what Egyptians are reading. Daily Egypt News is only independent source for Egyptian news. Al-Ahram Weekly is a widely circulated government affiliated newspaper. Egypt Daily News aggregates the local news.
Kids' stuff
Online resources make learning about the White Desert lots of fun. Did you know that weathering, as the process of breaking down rocks is known, is responsible for the White Desert's bizarre landforms? Do you know the difference between weathering and erosion? Read up on weathering and do fun geology experiments before you depart on a White Desert safari.
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