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  • The Graeco-Roman Museum

    The Graeco-Roman Museum

    The Greco-Roman Museum of Alexandria is Egypt's most important archaeological museum, displaying a wide and impressive array of antiquities of the Roman and Greek periods, a testament to Alexandria as a hub of culture and civilization in the ancient world.

  • The Hawara Pyramid

    The Hawara Pyramid

    The Hawara pyramid, which can be found near the modern town of Fayoum in Egypt, though less well-known, is one of the pyramids of ancient Egypt that has historical significance. The tomb, built in the reign of the Pharaoh Amenemhat III, offers a fascinating glimpse into the formation of Egyptian tomb architecture and the mysteries that were once puzzling ancient historians.

  • Temple of Khnum

    Temple of Khnum

    The Temple of Khnum in Esna is a great religious monument that stands as a living record of the excellence of Egyptian artists and priests during the Ptolemaic and Roman eras and should attract every lover of Egyptian history and civilization.

  • Beni Hassan Tombs

    Beni Hassan Tombs

    The tombs of Beni Hassan are among the most prominent evidence of the greatness of ancient Egyptian civilization, as they reflect the Egyptians' mastery of architecture and sculpture, as well as the minute details documenting aspects of their daily life and religious beliefs. These tombs, which date back to the Middle Kingdom, are not just burial sites but archaeological treasures that reveal the nature of Egyptian society at the time as well as its political and economic relations.

  • Wadi El Rayan

    Wadi El Rayan

    Wadi El-Rayan is one of the most important natural tourist attractions in Egypt, especially in Fayoum, where there are many wonderful places such as waterfalls and springs for medical tourism, as well as mountains for safari and camping.

  • The Greco-Roman Era in Egypt

    The Greco-Roman Era in Egypt

    During the Greco-Roman period, the people of Egypt shared and transformed their culture greatly. While foreign powers were in charge, Egyptians helped save their ancient lifestyle and came to embrace new traditions. When Greek, Roman, and Egyptian influences were combined, they created a society known for its great achievements and perseverance. You can see its influence in Egypt’s language, religious beliefs, art and overall identity.

The Great Sand Sea in the Western Desert

The Great Sand Sea in the Western Desert, Siwa

  • 05 16, 2023

The Great Sand Sea: Egypt’s Majestic Ocean of Dunes

Extending across the gigantic Western Desert of Egypt and creeping into Libya, the Great Sand Sea remains one of the most magnificent and mysterious dune fields on our planet. This great natural wonder sprawls over an area of about 72,000 square kilometres and is thus among the largest bodies of continuous sand sea in the world. With its wide sweeps of dunes, gleaming sands, and chilling silence, the Great Sand Sea is a real-life world of fantasy and the physical record of colossal geological forces at work.

Geographical Location and Extent

The Great Sand Sea is to the west of the Nile and stretches from just below Siwa Oasis to Gebel Uweinat in the south. It is a gigantic band of dunes, which stretches for hundreds of kilometres along the Egypt–Libya border.

This great sea of sand is comprised of longitudinal dunes that are about 100 kilometres in length and 100 meters in height or more. The uniformity and parallel orientation of these dunes are due to the effect of prevailing winds for thousands of years.

Geological and Natural Features

The Great Sand Sea is an area covered by quartz sand that forms ridges, waves, and valleys due to the process of wind erosion and deposition. Certain regions possess peculiar geological formations, like

Silica Glass Field: In the vicinity of the Gilf Kebir plateau, scientists have discovered Libyan Desert Glass, a strange alien natural glass caused by an ancient meteorite landing. These fragments are some of the purest silica that have ever been found in nature and were even used in ancient artifacts like a scarab that formed a part of Tutankhamun’s pectoral.

Sabkhas and Interdune Plains: In between the vast expanse of dunes, there are low-lying plains and salt flats (sabkhas) that create a strong contrast with the great sand mounds they are surrounded by.

Historical and Archaeological Significance

Unfriendly as it is, the Great Sand Sea has been part of the ancient trade routes and has been surveyed as part of various expeditions, especially in the 19th and early 20th centuries. The area holds:

Prehistoric rock art, with particular reference to the Gilf Kebir and Jebel Uweinat, showing animals, humans, and a part of daily life from a greener Sahara time.

Remains of World War II, such as vehicles’ remains and those relics from the period when the Long Range Desert Group was functioning in the region.

Modern Exploration and Tourism

Although still distant and difficult to reach, the Great Sand Sea has become an object of desert expeditions and 4×4 safaris, as well as a spot for adventure tourists. Guided trips tend to take off from the Siwa Oasis or the Bahariya Oasis, which takes the travellers into the depths of the dunes and remote desert monuments such as

The Gilf Kebir Plateau

Wadi Sura (Cave of Swimmers)

Ain Dalla & Abu Ballas (The Pottery Hill)

In return, visitors receive unequalled tranquilly, stargazing, and the look and feel of one of the last wildernesses of Earth.

Environmental Concerns and Preservation

The Great Sand Sea is fairly immune to human settlement because of its isolated condition. Yet, an increased interest in the tourism of deserts has led to a demand for sustainable travel practices to preserve this delicate ecosystem. The 

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Egypt Tours FAQ

Read top Egypt tours FAQs


The Great Sand Sea is a vast area of sand dunes made up of three sand seas located in the south-western part of the Western Desert. Some scholars say, interpreting the phenomena that make their sand move like waves from the sea, that any large object is also swallowed up since it is formed of layers of shifting sands on a layer of fine lime and a large quantity of underground water, and that this is the reason for this great movement.

Yes, the sands of the desert in the Oases area in Egypt are often soft and fine to the touch.

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