16 CultureShock! Egypt
slightly increased the amount of arable land in the area. Local
entrepreneurs have begun developing small fish farms along
the shores of the Mediterranean near Port Said. One new
corporation, using modern scientific methods, developed
an experimental shrimp farm that was quite successful. This
ecologically sensitive project, designed to be a long-term
sustainable enterprise, is now being expanded to provide a
vital new use for salty lowlands.Upper Egypt
The area from Cairo south to the Sudanese border is called
Upper Egypt. The green area from Cairo south is mostly a
narrow band of irrigated land along the Nile’s shores, rarely
extending in breadth for more than a couple of miles. The
Western Desert (Libyan Desert) regions of Upper Egypt have
begun to experience some development. A lot of government
attention is presently directed to the new cities with special
emphasis given to the master development plans for the
‘New Valley’ in southern Egypt. The four New Valley oases
are situated along a dead, prehistoric branch of the Nile. They
depend on springs and wells tapping into water under the
desert. The four oases are isolated from each other but may
be reached via a loop road starting at one end in Cairo and
ending in Luxor. The government has undertaken several
agricultural initiatives to encourage settlement near oases
and desert reclamation projects.
In 2001, a great archaeological find was announced in
Bahariya Oasis, about 380 km (236.1 miles) west of the
Pyramids at Giza. The tombs in the Valley of the Golden
Mummies were discovered in 1996 when a donkey, ridden
by an antiquities guard along the dusty road to the small town
of Farafra, tripped after its leg slipped into a hole leading to
the entrance. An entire undisturbed forgotten population of
mummies in porcelain caskets or canvas wrappings were
found. The mummies are covered with a thin layer of gold
and wear gypsum masks. Sumptuous gilded death masks
depict lifelike faces of real people, rather than stereotypical
images. It is estimated that as many as 10,000 mummies
may be found once the necropolis is totally excavated.