Balat Things to Do

From the side we approached Balat, turning off the road from Mut to El Kharga, Balat looks like fortified town.
At the other side of the town the houses were more scattered and from the alleys we had some nice views at the surrounding desert.
It was interesting to discover these differences.

The oases have a very old history. The towns are mostly founded on older foundations.
Balat was the site of an important Kingdom town. In the neigbourhood of Balat you can find some sites, which date back to the pharaonic times.
The Al-Abana tombs are 1 KM into the desert.(turn off 200 M east of Balat).
Ain al-Asil is 2KM south of the tombs.

The mud architecture gives the oasis town its ancient look. That's why I enjoy visits to places like this. It's like walking in another century.
The entrance of this house looks wonderfull by its organic sculptural forms.
That's is what mud architecture makes possible.

Inspite of the remoteness of these oases in the Western Desert, the area has a rich history. Recent research unearthed a wealth of prehistoric artefacts. Old north-south trade routes in Africa passed the Western Oases from the Mediterranean to the deep south.
It was an interesting thought to imagine this, when we walked around.

In the old town of Balat are many narrow covered streets. These narrow streets retain there coolness in the hot summers and give shelter against the burning sun and desert sandstorms.
It is not always easy -as a visitor- to find your way in this labyrinth of streets, but it was very exciting to walk around and to find out.

It was nice to walk around in the labyrinth of streets of the old town of Balat,.
The medieval atmosphere of the mud architecture reminded how all the villages have looked like in this oasis in ancient times.
In the sun It can be very hot in town, but then you can easily search the shade, in the narrow covered streets of the town.

Balat and Al-Qasr are two towns in the Dakhla Oasis, who have retained the medieval character.
The towns were built in a way to keep sandstorms and invaders out.
When we approached Balat, we saw a mud walled town and houses with large mud walls for protection in perfect harmony with its surroundings.