Monday, January 11, 2010

'Sobek'

The name of the ancient Egyptian crocodile god, and also the name of the camp in a lovely little village called Tunis in Fayoum where I stayed for the last couple of days…..

Tunis is now famous for its pottery, and the story behind how that came about is a nice one.

A Swiss woman, Evelyn, decided Tunis was the place she wanted to live, and she set up a pottery school to teach locals a useful, creative and marketable skill.



We had a tour round the school… which is small and interesting.. And I learned how the clay has to sit in the sun for months to dry out before it can be used etc.




The village is small and friendly and these kids loved posing for my camera………….




Sobek, the camp, is small, but growing. Currently sleeps up to 10 people and provides tasty meals too….
The atmosphere is relaxed, casual and comfortable.

It’s a short walk down through fields, to the lake and fabulous for chilling around a fire in the evenings. The owner, sherif, is friendly and cares that you enjoy your stay.This is a photo of him posing with his camp's namesake, Sokek, in an ancient temple we went to visit nearby....

Sobek’s link to ‘the Swiss woman’ is that she designed the camp, and her husband built it.I look forward to sometime meeting this phenomenal woman! If she is even half as amazing as her own private garden...........

with swimming pool...........

...which we had the good fortune to be shown around, then she is a remarkable, tasteful and talented woman!

The temple we went to see was a temple to the gods horus and sobek, in the middle of the desert...

a fabulous place for meditation and peace.....



I suspect Fayoum, and even Tunis itself, is a place I’ll be back to, possibly in the near future… Its only a 2 hour (150le) taxi ride there and the air is clean and fresh and you really feel like you are stepping into another Egypt. Wonderful.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

sounds amazing and so tranquil. Hope it's been just the re-charge you need and you're feeling better. Speth x

M said...

That swimming pool! Even I would get into a bikini for that one!
*former flatmate* ; )

Unknown said...

I own boxes of that Fayoum pottery, and I love it! Next time you're out there, try Wadi El Hitan - just make sure you've got a four-wheel-drive, plenty of sunblock, and someone who can make sure you're excited about fossils. I had a great time there. I had a bit of a chuckle at the waterfall at Wadi El Riyan, but lots of fun offroading there too.