"To wake up every morning in various points of the immense desert… To exit from a tent and behold the splendour of a new day: to distend arms, to iron oneself in the cold and pure air, to be filled with light and space, to know, upon awakening, the extraordinary inebriation of breath alone, of just living...", PIERRE LOTI
A journey through the desert is an unforgetable experience and the desert of Lybia offers a very special atmosphere. It's one of the last stunning places in the world. The 'erg' of sand is a mesmerizing vision in its facets of colour.
The country offers a couple of the longest treks of sand desert in the world and as I headed out into the Ubari Sand Sea, I could get the perfect desert landscape. Right there in the middle of the soft dunes, lakes emerge as the true miracles they are. There are at least 11 lakes in this area, deep out into the softest and largest sandy desert. The salt levels are extremely high and can be compared with the Dead Sea.
Below, you see Mavo Lake that is reknown for changing colour (from blue, green.. even red). It's rimmed with lucky vegetation. Unfortunately, I was not as lucky as the vegatation and saw it in no other colour but blue, only.
Near one bank of Lake Gaberoun (below) lies a ruined town, fittingly called Old Gaberoun. I saw a lot of wrecked houses.
A necklace whose beads are made out of the desert sand. I bought it from the above man
The Lake Umm el-Maa (below) is still water reflecting the surrounding landscape
By the lake there were not many but a few natives selling handicrafts, all were very colourful.
In the silence and emptiness of the desert, the beauty of nature exists... undisturbed!
Thank you!
Oh, Leonor, you have been very active on here! Great, otherwise I wouldn't have the chance of enjoying this colourful and interesting blog. A journey into a desert is a journey that whoever loves travelling should never miss doing in her life. In my personal case, it was an experience that helped fortify my view that sometimes simpler is better... Have a nice weekend!
ReplyDelete“I have always loved the desert. One sits down on a desert sand dune, sees nothing, hears nothing. Yet through the silence something throbs, and gleams...”
ReplyDelete― Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince
Beautiful pictures and thoughts...Thanks for sharing such a places where I've never been...
The only desert I had visited is Cairo's desert.
ReplyDeleteWe reached a small community by about 2 hours drive from the Pyramids, There were pristine buildings but with completely barren surroundings. when I went inside one of them, I realized it had so little of what a simple living needs.
Thank you for sharing your trip to desert with us, and these are very unique captures.
I have experienced the fascinating desert atmosphere when I lived temporarily in Israel, so your blog has a special meaning to me. Very good shots! Love the top one as in my modest opinion, it really depicts the true feel of a desert. Those two jeeps look like ants lost in the vast sand area. Thanks for sharing on here this excellent post.
ReplyDeleteSo lucky you are to have reached these places and experienced lots of things. Keep posting, I'm also lucky to have found your blog. I can feel like I was in places you have been to by just looking at your pictures and reading your posts. God bless you and more journeys to come on your way.
ReplyDelete