Egypt Guide
The Western Desert Oases
Bawiti
BAWITI harbours a picturesque nucleus of old houses on a ridge overlooking luxuriant palm groves, but that's not what you see on arrival. The lower ground beside the Cairo– Farafra road is littered with half-finished New Valley projects, disrupting donkey traffic but not the ramshackle shops and cafés that enliven Bawiti's main street, Sharia Masr/Sharia Gamal Abdel Nasser. Buses from Cairo or Farafra drop you right in the centre, where you'll immediately be besieged by touts from rival outfits who'll try to get you to stay at their place or sign up for trips.
Before terminating at the bus ticket kiosk, buses from Cairo may be boarded by tourist police who ask foreigners where they're staying in the oasis – just give the name of any hotel or campground and they'll be satisfied.
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