Libyan Desert - Gilf Kebir

Gilf Kebir

The Gilf Kebir plateau rises to around 1100 metres in the south and lies in the southwest corner of Egypt. It is similar in structure to the other sandstone plateaus of the central Sahara, with its southern rim rising in sheer cliffs separated by wadis. The northern part is more broken and supports three large wadis of which Wadi Hamra and Adb el Malik are the most distinctive. There is sparse xeric vegetation.

There is a profusion of Neolithic artifacts and rock art. The southern Gilf Kebir and Uweinat are among the richest troves of rock art in the Sahara. The 'Cave of the Swimmers' petroglyphs featured in The English Patient film are in Wadi Sora, discovered by the non-fictional László Almásy in the 1930s. The 'swimming figures' are in poor condition now. In 2002 a new cave was discovered nearby, with hitherto unseen prehistoric petroglyph images.