Astrophotography in Egypt: The White Desert, Siwa and Sinai

Where to see the Milky Way in Egypt

The best places to see the stars in Egypt are the White Desert near Farafra, the Great Sand Sea at Siwa, and the mountains of South Sinai around Saint Catherine. October to April is the desert season; the Milky Way core is a summer target.

Cairo is one of the largest and brightest cities in the world, and the Nile valley is lit from Alexandria to Aswan. Almost everything either side of the valley is desert, though, and some of the darkest skies anywhere are a day’s drive from the city.

The White Desert

The White Desert National Park, north of the Farafra Oasis, is chalk rock weathered into mushrooms and spires standing on a flat floor. It is the most photographed desert in Egypt for a reason: the white rock catches starlight, so a nightscape needs no extra light at all. Trips run from Bahariya or Farafra with a guide and a four-wheel drive, and camp among the formations.

Suits: nightscapes with the rock formations, and the Milky Way over a floor that glows on its own.

Siwa and the Great Sand Sea

Siwa is an oasis near the Libyan border, with the Great Sand Sea beginning at its edge. The dunes are enormous and the nearest glow is the oasis itself, which is small. Stay a night out in the sand with a guide and the sky is as dark as the desert gets.

Suits: Milky Way over dunes, and long sessions far from any town.

Sinai

The mountains of South Sinai around Saint Catherine rise above two thousand metres, and the altitude takes the haze out of the sky. The monastery town is small and the glow of the Red Sea resorts stays behind the mountains. Nights are cold at that height in winter.

Suits: deep-sky work from altitude, and the sharpest sky in Egypt.

Timing a night

October to April is the season for the deserts, when the nights are clear and cool. Spring brings the khamsin, a hot wind that carries dust for days, so check the forecast. Summer is for the mountains, or for very late nights.

What to shoot from Egypt

Egypt runs from 22 to 32 degrees north. From Aswan and the southern deserts, Omega Centauri and the Carina region clear the horizon in spring, and the galactic core stands high in summer. In winter Orion and the Pleiades are up all night everywhere in the country.

Processing what you bring home

Akastroid stacks and finishes your frames on your own computer, with nothing uploaded, so a desert trip can be processed on the laptop that came along. The free download processes five sessions and allows two exports, enough for one White Desert night. If you buy a licence later, PayPal works for paying from Egypt, with a PayPal account or a debit or credit card.

Across the Middle East

The same guide for the rest of the region: Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq, Turkey, Israel.