The Lost Oases

by A.M. Hassanein Bey

Despite their dangerous appeal, there are a few desolate places in the world that call to a man, daring him to return to their deadly beauty again and again. The world's last unexplored desert held such an allure for the remarkable author of this book. At the dawning of the 20th century the vast desert of Libya remained one of last unexplored places on Earth. Because travel was restricted by the distance camels could trek between wells, vast portions of the Libyan interior were still blank spots on the map. Enter Sir Ahmed Mohammed Hassanein, the dashing Egyptian diplomat turned explorer. Having befriended the Muslim leaders of the elusive Senussi Brotherhood who controlled the deserts further on, Hassanein became aware of rumours of a "lost oasis" which lay even deeper in the desert. In 1923 the explorer led a small caravan on a remarkable seven month journey across the centre of Libya. More than two thousand gruelling miles later he emerged with marvellous tales of having not only located the "lost" oasis of Uweinat, but having also discovered a cave which contained ten-thousand-year-old drawings. Attributed to djinns, these Palaeolithic images depicted a flourishing, but now extinct, pastoral world inhabited by giraffes, ostriches, gazelles, even cows, but no camels. Yet the most startling image depicted human beings swimming in what had become a forbidding desert. Amply illustrated with photographs taken by the author, this is a timeless account of a hazardous journey across the great sand sea.

Genres: Travel, Libya, Egypt, Nonfiction

520 pages, Hardcover

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