Kodak Agfa presents : Fayoum’s Magic Lake 2017 in photos

This is the third post in a series of posts featuring my short visit in 2017 with my family to the amazing Fayoum governorate. "Warning: The photos may not be the best"

The first post in the series featured Lake Qaron aka Lake Moeries while the second post featured the Wadi El-Rayan waterfalls.

Now, this post is dedicated also to another amazing place in the Wadi El-Rayan protectorate.

We have not finished yet this protectorate.

Our next stop on that trip was at the Magic Lake region.

This is the Magic lake region

Yes, the Magic lake region is its name and it is one of the most beautiful places in Egypt by far.

That photo was taken from a hill looking over the lakes region, yes, we are speaking about lakes here and not just one.

It is a breathtaking scene.

Again the magic lake region

This is how it really looks like in the middle of the desert.

This is the magic lake and it has its own story.

According to the locals, it is called the magic lake for two interesting reasons. First of all, the locals say that they do not know the source of the water of this lake, it is unclear for them. 

A close look to the waters of the lower lake from a nearby hill 

I do not need to guess that its source of water is groundwater.

The second reason behind this very interesting and unusual name is the fact that the colours of the water change differently due to the time of the day and your location.

Now, this scene is actually another magical illusion because we are speaking about lakes here, not just one. 

The first lake is the lower lake while the other lake is the Magical lake. 

A breathtaking magical view 

I took those photos from a hill. Here it was from below. 

The magic lake from below

It is worth to mention that you need a desert ride to get there. Normal city cars won’t get you there.

The lake’s location from above in the middle of the desert between hills and sand dunes give it more magic. 

Lots of colours and shades here 

The lakes' location from above in the middle of the desert between hills and sand dunes give it more magic.

When I went there in 2017, I have not seen any camps but usually, the area hosts camps in winter and people do sand skiing there. 

The white sand on one side of the lake.

Some even take a dip in the lake but it is unadvisable according to the local guides. I can speak a lot about the wild beauty of that place.

A shot for the hill where we were standing

Again it is like another world.

Now you see the formations below, those are plateaus actually and the one on the far right is commonly known as “Jabal Al-Madawara” or the Round Mount. 

Jebel Al-Madawara at the far right

Interestingly, I found out through the talks with the old generations of Fayoum locals who lived in the villages in the East that did not know that they have this amazingly beautiful lake in the first place.

It turned out that old generations of Fayoumers considered this part of Fayoum as a lifeless desert.

Back to the Magic lake.

More photos when you go down the hill on your way to Wadi El-Hitan "another post or posts" 

The lake and Qosor Al-Arab

Now the lake is located right into another interesting place which is “Qosor Al-Arab”

“Qosor Al-Arab” or “The Arab palaces” is named by the travelling nomads who described the rock formations in the desert as Palace. 

A close up look to Qosor Al-Arab

They do look like some sort of round building or fort.

Their round formation looked like an old fort 

Needless to say that all those formations go back to the time when all this land was covered by a vast ocean. We are speaking about 45 million years ago. 

Pay attention to the strata in the rock formation

You can see the strata in the rock formations crystal clear here.

Here is another shot for the strata 

I am not a geologist and geology was a hell of a subject in high school but remember the strata very well.

That rock which is out of focus feels like a fossil of coral reef.

Maybe a fossil of the coral reef !? 

I know some may find it hard to imagine that this desert was once an ocean but it was. 

The desert with the cars' trails only 

By the way, the “Qosor Al-Arab” site is currently used as a camping site. 

Qosoor Al-Arab from another angle 

Now as the old Toyota SUV was finding its way across the desert to Wadi El-Hitan ,I noticed that scene that can't be ignored. 

The clouds in the desert 

I did not edit that image except removing the dark dots that appeared due to the flying sands as the car moved fast.

Here is another scene from the famous area.

The clouds in the desert 

It is a so-windows-wallpaper-sque scene that can't be ignored 

More beauty in the sky and on land 

I did not add or copy clouds to make it look that, the sky looked like that for real.

As we headed nearer to the Wadi El-Hitan , the rocks and the land formation become more and more interesting that you can not be ignored. 

The hill and the sky

Consider this is like a teaser for the upcoming post. 

Again I would like to remind you that this was an ocean bed from millions of years ago

I am not an expert but those formations gave me the vibe that they were once coral reefs millions of year ago.

Fossiled corals ? 

It was like you are in another alien world on another planet. 

I wanted to stop the car and to photograph those formations up close but I was told that I had to wait for coz I would be amazed more

We are not over yet. 

I took the next photos when we were on the way back from Wadi El-Hitan, which will be our next stop inshallah.

Here are the lakes from far away.

The lakes from far away down from the hill

Some of those photos are out of focus because they were taken while I was in the 4x4 and our guide was driving too quickly.

Here is Jabal Al-Madawara or the Round Mount. 

Jabal Al-Madawara and the lake 

Here is a close-out-of-focus shot for Jabal Al-Madawara. 

Jabal Al Madawara

You can see the name of someone who decided to leave his mark and write his name on that formation. According to scientists, it is a 45-million-years-old rock formation.

Yup , according to scientists all those formations go back to 45-million-years-old.

Back to the magic lake and another mesmerizing scene from the other side. 

It is not the best shot but reminded me of oil paintings

You can see the two lakes and how they are separated here more clearly

A close look 

Another shot and you can spot here also the difference in colour too.

Another photo for the lakes

While zooming in, I noticed some installation inside the lower lake and turned to be fish farms there.

The fishing farms

Here is a very shaking bad video that is making me want to go there to take a better video, hopefully, inshallah I will make it. 

I shared this bad quality video to show that this is how the lake truly looks and it is some photoshop game.

Here is also the full album from Flickr. There are photos there so go right away. 

Again we are not finished yet with this protectorate.

And here is my vintage poster of this beautiful area in Egypt. 

A little vintage travel poster 

To know more about the amazing and ever beautiful as well as wild Fayoum, visit this website :) 

I must thanks its admin Mahmoud for always helping me when it comes to the correct about this beautiful governorate