The Lost Oases

by A.M. Hassanein Bey

In The Lost Oases, Egyptian diplomat Ahmed Hassanein tells how he set out by camel from Egypt’s Mediterranean coast west of Mersa Matruh, heading for the oases of Siwa and Kufra and into the unknown reaches of the Libyan Desert. His perilous eight-month journey in 1923 took him around the western edges of the Great Sand Sea to El Obeid in the Sudan, a distance of 2,200 miles, and led him to the discovery of the lost oases of Arkenu and Uweinat at the extreme southwest corner of Egypt. At Uweinat, Hassanein was amazed to find rock drawings of animals, including lions, giraffes, ostriches, and gazelles. He was deep in the trackless desert, but what he had found was evidence of a flourishing human existence ten thousand years ago, and proof that the Sahara was once green. Hassanein’s discovery excited the imaginations of later European explorers such as Ralph Bagnold and Ladislaus Alm?sy, the model for the eponymous character in The English Patient. But Hassanein was there first, traveling by camel with Bedouin guides, encountering the mysterious Senussi brotherhood in Libya, and confirming the existence of the long-forgotten oases. First published in 1925 and long out of print, The Lost Oases is now available for another generation of readers in this new edition, which includes a foreword by author Michael Haag on Hassanein, his life, and his accomplishments. Copiously illustrated with Hassanein’s own photographs, this is a gripping travel narrative by one of Egypt’s most important explorers.

Genres: Travel, Libya, Egypt, Nonfiction

316 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1925

Reviews

[Nihal · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite books ever!

[Jennifer deBie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating account of a trek across the desert, at a specific crossroads in eras. Hassanein (Bey is a title rather than a surname) takes his readers through the different cultures he interacts with, not neglecting his own departure from his home in Egypt and the significance surrounding the beginning of a long journey there, and the ways in which he and his guides navigated those cultures.

Hassanein was a scientist first and foremost, looking to accurately map the desert and take various readings along the way, but when describing the land he's traversing, he does so with the beauty of a poet. Through him readers experience the starkness of the Sahara, and the way living under such unforgiving conditions effects a person's relationship with their God. The way they make peace with their deaths.

It's a hard thing and a harsh climate, but the book is impressive, the journey was significant, and the man who took it would eventually become the king of Egypt. An amazing life, written in small snapshots.

[Nicholas Foster · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the classic accounts of desert travel to discover, or rediscover, the lost oases of Uweinat and Arkenu, written by an Egyptian exploring his own country. This is a beautiful book. Ahmed Hassanein Bey's love of the desert shines throughout his description of his journey by camel into the unknown. An 'unknown' which, only 20 years after his journey, would be criss-crossed by the tyre-tracks of the Long Range Desert Group and Lazslo Almasy.

[Mohamed]

i think its very nice book

[Ryan Murdock · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this highly readable account of the 1923 camel expedition of Hassanein Bey, on which he discovered Jebel Uweinat. Must-read for any Sahara aficionados.

[Amr Abdulwahab · Rating 5 out of 5]

this is a very interesting book