the libyan Sahara: Akakus and Owbari

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Libya Akakus and Lakes ...

The review of this journey begins at the Libyan border, reached after crossing the beautiful and always welcoming Tunisia on asphalt.
The Libyan customs formalities are quite complicated, but as always we come into Libyan territory in half the time compared to other groups, due to customs that we are given by our employees in Libya.
After marching Zouara reach the hostel there is a floor and a roof, enough to settle.
In the morning, a beautiful sun makes us hope we rested some not well-prepared crew accuse some 'tired, but we have to step on the road today will be quite long, passing through Ghadames Tripoli achieve one of the most important oasis of the Sahara.
The road runs for hundreds of miles in the middle of beautiful landscapes with incredible rocky mountains alternating with flat expanses that stretch as far as the eye.
Reach Ghadames in the night. In the morning following we give a tour of the city. Ghadames was founded by the Romans and became quickly one of the most important nodes Saharan caravan and site of important trade, is the beautiful old city built below street level to create large areas of shade to protect themselves from the heat of the desert.
We put in motion early in the afternoon, we have supplied gas oil, fresh water and food at last we leave the asphalt just outside the town of compass needles turn decisively towards the south in the direction of Ghat dell'oasi about 700 Km in which we complete autonomy.
We forty km. nell'hammada a desert very hard, stony, flat, turning his gaze to 360 degrees do not see boundaries, some boundaries, as in the open sea.
A puncture in a car there for a short break and will use the opportunity to stretch my legs a little 'legs.
In front of us far away to see something strange, a human figure moving to race in our direction outreach, when we have achieved will understand that this is an unwary traveler whose jeep had ventured with his wife and children and nell'Hammada in the morning the bitter surprise of battery on earth were blocked by the previous day, we immediately allocate them topping their tanks for water taken from the means we sincerely care of their health conditions and address them on the right track for return to Ghadames, thanks and of course tears are wasted.
We continue our journey through beautiful landscapes hard to describe, a picture or a story can not convey the emotions that the desert shall send them, nature is in control is powerful, them you can only pander to and can only be spectators.
In the late afternoon when the sun colors so beautiful rocks and sand, very tired but satisfied we prepare the camp, a good dinner a quick consultation with cards to show everyone the point reached in the desert and then deserved sleep.
In the morning after you wash the area and time to turn the engines start a car but turns off after a few meters, the driver will understand almost immediately that he had a problem for diesel.
It suggests an hour of intense work on the mechanics of the organization after clearing and clean all the equipment they share the car.
In front of us Serir expanses of incredibly large, spend hours in the distance we begin to glimpse the majestic dunes of ERGOSE of Awbari that over time become increasingly large and incredibly beautiful, dutiful a small technical and theoretical preparation for crews a beginner, you deflate the tires to increase the capacity to draft the jeep and then running through beautiful countryside where you almost try to go on tiptoe, as if having fear of ruining those works of art fashioned by the wind. Two days of intensive company where the thrust and called several times to remedy some silting un po 'più decided by the less experienced.
To reach where we Awainat field, enter the following day in what is rightly called the greatest art museum in the open air of the world.
The Akakus and a marvel of nature, giant stone arches and incredible rocky mountains that emerge from the sand of a strong red color on the walls eroded by the time a witness of a past already remote and beautiful graffiti rock paintings representing scenes of hunting animals of each species, the Akakus is more than any other place, the exaltation of the sublime sand and rock
After two unforgettable days we leave behind us the Akakus to cross the Mathen Doush a prehistoric river where its walls are depicted hunting scenes and animals of each species.
Our compasses are pointing towards the North East will soon enter it again in the desert sand of Awbari this time in the area of lakes emerging from millenarians with impressive dune sands that are the background landscapes that seem to come out of copyright frameworks.
Again, the driving becomes more challenging and less experienced again the need of some help. Progressing slowly between the dunes are always discovering new landscapes changing to what we see that the dunes begin to lower the height and difficulty until a flat sandy us to quickly reach the oasis of Sabha.
They reluctantly take the road that we will report in Tunisia during the journey there are those who will offer a second because as we already manifest symptoms of Mal D'africa ... ... ...

E Margherita Coletta Claudio Fenello