|
Once Richard had recovered we were on the move again. The extra day at the hotel had meant that I was able to start sorting through the photographs we had taken - the digital camera is fantastic but making time to download and catalogue photographs can be difficult when there are wonderful places to see and interesting people to speak to! Leaving the road just before Domat al Jandar, our first stop was the Standing Stones at Rajajil - very similar to Britains Stonehenge, but there are opposing views as to whether the stones have religious significance or are ancient route markers. Unfortunately for us, the delay in Sakaka meant that we visited the stones on a Friday - the holy day - and so the gate in the chain link fence that surrounded the site was firmly shut. A pity, but still interesting to see.
On to Khoya and out into proper sand - the beginning of the Nefud Kabir, an area that I had wanted to see for as long as I can remember. Just as well we didn't know that ahead of us lay 60 miles of terrible corrugations and areas of powder soft sands that had to be driven through at a speed of at least 40 mph to avoid getting stuck. This was obviously a busy route - tracks lead off in every direction and the way was marked with oil drums - known as balises in the Sahara - positioned at 3 mile intervals .
The soft sand was a welcome relief from the bumps that were trying to shake Florence, and us, to pieces - but both the rough and the smooth are hard work on the car and in the corrugations we had the additional problem of razor sharp flint strewn across our path and intent on ripping our tyres to shreds - the last thing we needed was to have to stop to fix a puncture. This was where the Smartire system really proved its worth - at least we knew the tyres were still intact. I know I shouldn't say this - pride comes before a fall and all that - but Florence plodded on where others fell by the wayside.....
The area we were driving through was breathtakingly beautiful, with the warm orange sand a stark contrast to the icy blue sky. Adfa village appeared on the horizon, a real desert village with no tarmac roads running to it - but instead of tents, a sprawl of concrete houses. And where there are people, there is fuel - a chance to fill up with, thankfully, high grade petrol, otherwise our onward journey would have been interesting with the engine clattering away. We certainly attracted some astonished looks when we stopped at the fuel station as I don't suppose many British cars plastered in stickers have passed through the village recently At the local police station we stopped to meet our guide for the following day. Although Abdullah, our guide and historian, knew where we were heading, the next stage of our journey was to be through an area of apparently very difficult sand dunes (nefud in Arabic) - the real Nefud Kabir - and the local guide would show us the easiest and fastest way Haiyania. The plan for the night was to camp by Kasr Adfa and wells - a few miles on from the village - and the guide accompanied us to show us the rendevous point for the following morning. Once our guide left we had a brief explore as the sun was setting, turning the sands a fiery red. A wonderfully peaceful and atmospheric place away from the rush of modern day life. Very little remains of the castle - only part of one of the towers is left standing - but it is similar to how Shakespear would have seen it in his day. Close by are the wells, now covered over with sand, but you can still see the stones that would have encircled the top of each well, and lying nearby were rocks scarred over the years by the action of the ropes used to pull up the water skins.
With the sun gone the chill of night soon set; we chose our camping spot - next to the ruined tower - but what had been a cheerful place during the late afternoon became rather spooky in the moonlight. Just as we had sorted out our tent, a messenger from the governor of the village appeared, offering us a place to stay for the night - but we resisted - I am sure much to the disappointment of those travelling with us who did not have the luxury of a thick mattress and arctic sleeping bags! |
|||
|
Web design by helen@oceannomad.com |
