I often reiterate my conviction of the importance of traveling within our country, Egypt, before we go out for tourism abroad.
I thought that I have traveled Egypt from its east to its west, and I did not think that I forgot a cherished part of the land of Egypt that I have not visited yet, which is the New Valley (El -Wadi El- Gedid) Governorate, which includes three oases (Kharga, Dakhla, Farafra), along with five administrative centers: Kharga (which is the local capital), Dakhla, Farafra, Paris, and Balat.
Within eight hours by an air-conditioned bus while standing in two rest houses, it is the time required to reach the virgin land full of positive energy, palm trees, water wells, kind faces, art and artists.
These are the oases emerging from the province of the New Valley City.
I was invited to visit the region by the daughter of the valley, and the oases ambassador Samira Shawky, who she loves the land of her ancestors and invites enthusiast tourists s to visit this wonderful land.
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Samira Shawky[/caption]
* Land of artists
When you set foot in the land of the valley, you will feel prestige, purity, clarity and a strong desire for creativity, and perhaps this explains the existence of art and numerous artists there.
As you go round the valley, you will notice murals with beautiful drawings spread in most of the streets of the city of Kharga, the capital of the New Valley Governorate. I saw drawings that reflect palm trees, people, doors and old houses in environmental colors.
The current Governor of the New Valley, Maj. Gen. Muhammad Salman Al-Zumlout, had noticed that the wall of some rural houses and the pens appear inappropriately on the road leading from the airport to the city.
So a wonderful idea came to his mind.
He directed concerned officials to paint the wall of these houses and pens with artistic paintings produced by artist Eid Janeb, who signs his paintings the as the "artist of the Oasis".
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Panitng by Eid Janeb[/caption]
Really, he is a creative artist, who works during the daytime as a principal of a primary school.
As for painting, it is his hobby- he develops and beautifies the houses and factories of dates and the beautiful city murals.
It is also wonderful that General Zumlout who is interested in making a walkway in every neighborhood so that everyone can practice walking or cycling as well.
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Painting by Moawad Nafie[/caption]
While I was walking near the main street that includes the governorate building and the office of the Tourism Activation Authority, I saw an open shop and a notice hanged on the which reads "Corner of Tourism and Antiquities on it".
As soon as I set foot in that shop feet, I found a simple gallery that includes paintings produced a great artist called Moawad Nafie, who has distinguished talent of art like art giants in Egypt such as Hussein Bikar and Mahmoud Saeed.
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Me with artist Moawad Nafie[/caption]
M. Nafie was sitting in a nook of his shop, painting with patience and deliberation, conveying the most accurate details of the life of a town and its history.
And he paints the joys and night of henna and exquisite paintings by a high-class artist.
* Clean date ground
I traveled at a time when it was not the date harvest season, but I enjoyed the palm tree extending as far as I could see, and you could walk around the country with utmost comfort.
It is clean and cheap there, so the taxi moves from place to place costs only ten pounds.
The hotel expenses are moderate, and during my stay in the hostel there was very clean and very friendly of those who work in it.
A single-bed costs forty pounds for one night.
A bed costs fifty pounds in an upper room, and it is the first time that I went down in the youth hostel, but I found in it very good place and it differs from what is said about the youth hostel in the countries of the world.
The activities are varied from visits to various antiquities and camping in the desert and grill or eat mandi with their distinctive music concerts.
* Bear Jinnah
The New Valley Governorate is famous for its sulfurous water springs that come out from the ground hot and loaded with minerals that ensure healing of bone pain, rheumatism and humidity.
Therefore, it is a therapeutic and recreational place to which the whole family goes to the water for treatment and children play among the palms and on the soft sand.
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Bear Jinnah[/caption]
In the governorate, there are a number of springs I visited which Including the spring of Jinnah, which is run by the girl of the valley, Samira Shawky, and because she is one of the oases, she is well aware of the greatness of this land and is working to bring tourists to it from Egypt and all the resident foreign communities in the country to reveal to them a new tourist treasure in our land, the land of the Pharaohs, the ancient desert of Egypt.
At the end of my trip to the city of Kharga, I was preparing a new program for my next visit to the rest of the valley centers from Dakhla, Farafra, Paris, and Palat, and I'll see you following my upcoming trips about our beautiful Egypt.
Contributed by Ahmed Moamar
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