Day 2, thursday 30 november 2017.

Program today: Wadi El-Hitan, Wadi El-Rayan and the pyramid at Meidum.

After the disagreement between the hotel owner we obviously could not have breakfast at 6 o'clock but only at half past eight, of course we did not wait for that and we went to the village to get some goodies at the local supermarket. Last evening we also slightly adjusted our goals because of this, that is, the trip to the dripstone cave has been moved to the Friday, so that today we could search for fossils, waterfalls and a pyramid.

After a ride of about half an hour we arrived at Wadi El-Rayan, to continue on the first asphalted road, to follow after about 20 minutes the exit to the right towards the Wadi El-Hitan, this is a paleontological site lying in the Wadi El-Rayan about 150 kilometers south of Cairo.

The road you turn up is a paved sandy road straight through the desert of about 35 km, the best is to do this with a 4WD, but we did not have that with us and so we dared to make the gamble and as I still have wrote this story, apparently it all went well. It was a bumpy ride but the reward at the end was definitely worth it.

In the valley, which was included on UNESCO's World Heritage List in 2005, fossils of the earliest whale species hundreds of millions of years old have been found.
The first whale fossils were discovered in 1902-1903. The fossils reveal the final stages, the disappearance of the hind limbs and of how the whale developed from a land animal to a marine mammal.
The whales already had the streamlined shape of the current whales but also exhibit primitive features in the skull and tooth structure. The whale valley is the most important site in the world where this evolution can be seen. Other fossils in the valley make it possible to reconstruct the habitat of the whales.

Arrived at 0815 hours in the valley, it turned out that we were a bit too early, opening hours were between 0900 and 1500 hours, the manager had to be awakened by us, but apparently he did not mind because he did not often saw other people here.
First we had to take a look at the film about the Wadi in the cinema, followed by a visit to the museum.

Click on the picture to see more of the museum.

After the museum visit it was time to move into the desert to see the 18 places where the fossils can be seen by the public. Since you had to go straight through the desert, I was glad that I was here in the winter, because I can imagine that the temperature in the summer is rather hot.
The walk is about 2 to 3 km long and definitely worth it, but judge yourself based on the photos.

Click on the picture to see more of the open-air-museum.

Whow that was another special experience, fossils in the desert, who would have thought so. I am glad that I have taken the trouble to see this, they will not take that away from me anymore.

Then it is time to go to search the waterfalls of Wadi El-Rayan, but we where lucky because meanwhile there was an inspector arrived at the site and he was so kind to drive with us so we could not take a wrong turn.

Wadi El-Rayan is a unique protected area in El-Faiyum of about 1759 km², of which approximately 113 km²consists of water in the various lakes. The area is located about 65 km southwest of Faiyum and about 80 km west of the Nile.The waterfalls lie between the two large lakes of respectively 51 and 62 km² in size.
The waterfalls are considered to be the largest in Egypt.

Click on the picture to see more of the waterfalls.

So after these beautiful waterfalls we first eaten and drunk something there and then continued the journey towards Meidoem to find an old acquaintance from 2012 and if there is still time left also to go to El-Lisht .... ......

The pyramid at Meidum, is the pyramid from Huni, at least that is still mentioned on the sign at the entrance.
The scholars are, however, under the assumption that this pyramid belongs to Snofroe, just like the red and the bent pyramid at Dahshur.
This means that the funeral site of Hoeni is not (yet) known, in other words, it still has to be found.
During my trip in 2012 I had already been here, but I have absolutely no regrets to be here for the second time, it still is an imposing sensation to be here.
Originally this pyramid was about 93 to 94 meters high with sides of 137 meters.

Click on the picture to see more of the pyramid.

If you have not had enough of it yet and would like to see my 2012 photos of the pyramid and mastaba, click here, then you will be referred to the report that I made at the time.
Meanwhile it was half past four and we wanted to hurry to the pyramids of El-Lisht, but Olette, my tour guide and the driver had spoken extensively with the police and the military and they told us everything will be closed at 1600 hours and that El-Lisht is closed anyway, this last thing we took for knowledge.
Given the time we decided to go and look for our hotel in Beni Suef because tomorrow is another day.
The City Center hotel in Beni Suef was a relief compared to the hotel in Faiyum, the reception was very warm, the room was good enough as well as the breakfast.
Because we were relatively early, we agreed with our guide for tomorrow to have a beer somewhere, something that can not be done everywhere in Egypt.
In another hotel run by non-Egyptians we then had a delicious drink and talked extensively about what awaits us tomorrow and that turns out to be quite something.

See you tomorrow.