Silence of the desert

Warm desert air and an orchestra of car horns and calls to prayer welcome Adi and Martin when they arrive in Cairo, but today they don't have time to explore the pulsating metropolis. This city never sleeps, and for the pilots the night is over at 3 am. The anticipation of a flight around the monumental building wakes them up more effectively than a mocha ever could. The 4500 year old pyramids glow quietly in the gentle morning sun. After three long, nail-biting weeks of waiting for Adi's permission to fly, he can hardly believe that Martin and he are about to have this ancient wonder of the world all to themselves. The two pilots waste no time, and get ready for their take-off with the motor-powered paragliders.

The paramotors chatter, the carabiners click, the wind is perfect. A mere three sandy paces and Martin and Adi take off into a special dimension, far away from noisy hustle and bustle. It feels surreal. Only now does Adi really grasp the imposing nature of these monuments, when he sees them at eye level through his lens. The pair slowly circle the pyramids and he asks himself whether this view can be bettered. The next morning shows that it can. The pyramids are now enveloped in thick fog. The rising sun slowly forms it into a mystical veil as the pilots take to the air. Like an illusion a surreal sea of cloud appears, out of which the peaks of the wonder of the world rise. Is this for real?

The impressions of these spectacular experiences awaken Adi and Martin's spirit of discovery. Inspired by their enthusiasm, they start making new plans that same evening: an adventure trip through the vast deserts, far away from the crowds. They return one month later. With their guide and their Land Rover they immerse themselves further into the deafening silence of the desert with every kilometer, and leave the asphalted roads behind them. They reach the monoliths of the White Desert at dawn. With their paramotors they take off directly between the white limestone formations. It is as if it had snowed in the desert, so white do the dry rocks shine. The diversity of Egypt's nature becomes really clear to them as they fly low through a desert landscape shaped by wind and weather. Many millions of years ago this was the bed of the ocean.

In the evening, Martin and Adi sit around the campfire with their guide Tamer over mint tea and stew. For their five-day journey across the desert, the three have only stocked up on the bare necessities in the Bahariya Oasis, because the two pilots did not travel to Egypt just for the luxury of large hotels. Each night the three set up their simple camp in a different deserted place, where nature alone has left its mark. In complete isolation, they witness a phenomenon that the region has not experienced for ten years: rain. Adi and Tamer laugh incredulously as Martin wonders if it really was a drop of rainwater he just felt. Half an hour later, they are standing completely soaked in the middle of the pitch dark desert under the clearest starry sky Adi has ever seen. The rare rain has washed all the dust out of the air.

Egypt's contrasts do not disappoint. It can be loud, and deathly quiet. 100 km north of the White Desert the Black Desert formed after thousands of years of volcanic activity, and its black lava remnants give it its name. It’s a challenging place to fly, and especially take off. The sharp-edged lava rock set in the steep terrain is guaranteed to snag your lines or tear your fabric during take-off. Nobody wants to fall over here. This is where the two pilots benefit from their many years of alpine experience and so they blend silently into the tranquillity of the Black Desert, which reminds them much more of the surface of Mars.

They came for the pyramids and had returned for the desert. Just how contrasting this country can be is brought home to Adi and Martin when they return to the Bahariya Oasis with it 30,000 inhabitants. Among date palms and hot springs in this expansive desert landscape, Adi and Martin review their experiences of the last five days. An exciting adventure full of natural wonders that Adi’s childhood dreams could not have imagined as more beautiful.