{ AT A GLANCE } REGION: North Africa/Middle East COUNTRY: Egypt POINT A TO POINT B: About 500 km (312 miles) DOMINANT LANGUAGE: Arabic, Siwi (Berber dialect) DOMINANT RELIGION: Islam MODE OF TRANSPORT: Bus, bike TIME OF YEAR: Between September & April TRIP SLOGAN: "A traveler has no fixed plan, and is not intent on arriving" (Lao-Tzu) TAKING TO THE UNBEATEN TRACK This month we travel to the land of the Pharoahs to take the road less traveled. You can leave your Nile cruises and Giza camel rides in the overabundant dust, since that would be the beaten path. Starting from Egypt's Mediterranean shores, we venture south, deep into the Sea of Sand in search of Saharan jewels, the oases of Western Egypt. Easily reached from Cairo, Alexandria is POINT A. And although a first class train is usually the ticket, we'd rather have you take the bus for a detour to Wadi Natrun. Set on the edge of the Sahara along the Cairo-Alexandria desert road, this valley is home to four functioning Coptic monasteries dating back to the fourth century. For millennia, it has been Egypt's main source of natron, a substance once highly valued as crucial to the mummification process. For those seeking retreat, you may be enticed to share some solitude with the monks for several days or weeks before heading north. But if its serenity you're after, avoid the rush that is sure to accompany Christian holidays. Even better, plan your trip around spending Christmas in Deir As-Surian; we guarantee a holiday celebration that you won't forget. { JOURNEY CHECKLIST } arabic phrasebook durable camera water bottle mosquito repellant ALEXANDRIA Arriving in Alexander's ancient city, take a walk along the seafront to check out Sultan Qaitbey's Fort, Pompey's Pillar and the newly built biblioteca, meant to be one of the world's premiere libraries, much as its ancient predecessor was the premiere library of its age. Spend a night or two testing the famed friendliness of locals in an Arabic coffeehouse. But to go no further than a stroll through town would be to miss out on buried treasures reserved for those willing to step off the paved corniche; or better yet, dive off: submerged sphinxes and a WWII plane wreck adorn the walkway to Cleopatra's palace, just a few meters under water and not far from the city seafront. You can even check out the remains of one of the lost wonders of the ancient world, the Lighthouse of Alexandria, now home to schools of florescent fish. SIWA DESERT THE SOLITARY ROAD Take a bus along the northern coast to Marsa Matruh, paying homage to the thousands that died at El-Alamein, where Allied forces broke the advance of the Axis panzers and sent them in retreat to back to Tunisia. Along the road, trace the turquoise strip of sea as it winds westward, broken only by the occasional (actually, quite frequent these days) concrete developments where Egyptians come in droves to cool off during the summer. Boarding another bus in Marsa Matruh, take in a couple lungs-full of the cool wet ocean breeze, because where you're going, the only water lies hundreds of meters beneath the ground: the desert awaits. You are now tracing the footsteps of many a king, including young Alexander the Great, who set out across this desert in search of the famed Libyan Oracle of Amun. The desert had turned back several armies sent to subjugate the oasis, some of which were swallowed in the sands of history, disappearing without a trace. But Alexander's entourage did manage to reach Siwa, where the Oracle confirmed his divinity as a son of Zeus. THE OASIS Siwans seem to be less Egyptian than North African, retaining their own language, traditions, rites, and dress. Arabic has only recently begun to take root, competing with Siwa's local Berber dialect. Thanks to its remote location, desert protection, and the fierce defense of its residents throughout history, even Islam was repelled until the 12th century. However, in the face of modern weaponry, the oasis has been successively taken by the British, bombed by Italians, and even occupied by the Germans, when Field Marshall Rommel made a brief visit. { ESTIMATED COSTS } + Bus from Cairo to Wadi Natrun...4.50 EP (80 cents) + Bus from Alexandria to Siwa...27 EP (US$5) + Taxi tour around Wadi Natrun...20 EP (US$3.65) + day-trip with boat and guide...US$110 + Siwa bike rental (per day)...10 EP (US$1.80) + Night in Alexandria...65 EP+ (US$12 and up) + Night in Siwa...20-200 EP (US$5-35) + Alex Street Meal...5-10 EP (US$1-2) + TOTAL: About US$95 for food, travel and accomodation, including 2 nights in Alexandria and 3 nights in Siwa. (One day of diving in Alexandria more than doubles this total.) ARRIVAL After 300 km of utterly desolate steppes, even when riding in the comfort (a relative term) of a West Delta bus, you will consider the sudden sight of palm groves and water a welcome one indeed. You have now reached POINT B: the Siwa Oasis. The bus will drop you off in the town of Shali, where you can wander the crumbling hill-top fort before renting out what will become your best friend for the next few days: a bike. Siwa's ancient sights and springs, as well as the Sea of Sand, are spread along the perfect scale for a bike-ride. Climb the impressive walls of a 13th century Berber fort to reach the Temple of the Oracle, from which you can see the oasis stretching for miles in all directions, an enormous lake of palms flanked by vast encroaching sands. A stone's throw away is the Temple of Amun, of which only one stone pillar remains: an Ottoman governor blew up the rest just to get some building material! Hop back on the bike and head to Gebel el-Mawta (the Mountain of the Dead) to peer into dozens of tombs cut out of the rock. Make sure to check out the one with 1500 year old Graeco-Roman mummies, still in excellent condition. After meandering on your one-speed shockless bike through Siwa's dusty paths, a dip in Cleopatra Spring will be nothing less than heavenly. Definitely plan on having no plan for when to leave Siwa, as you may find yourself wishing to stay longer. { GETTING TO POINT A } By plane: From the States, round-trip tickets to Cairo begin around US$650. { WHAT NEXT } If you can't get enough of the otherworldliness of this oasis, then don't stop here. Hop on the next bus to Bahariya, about 450 km to the southeast. Connecting ancient trade routes from the Europe and the Middle East to Africa, the Bahariya Oasis is also the site where the renowned "Golden Mummies" were found. Wander through bizarre rock formations and wind-carved sculptures in the White Desert, en route to Farafra and Dakhla, each home to ancient Roman and Christian tombs and ruins. The final oasis, Kharga, is only 350 km from Luxor, from which you need only follow the Nile back to Cairo.