Just under 400 km after Haima, we turn off the mostly excellent main road no. 31 in a northerly direction. Another 140 km to the oasis of Al-Hashman, our destination. The first 70 km must have been recently paved. From the exit of Al-Shisr, the fun is over. The dirt road is so rough and corrugated that we switch to a lane in the sand. This leads away from the road to Al-Hassman at a shallow angle. Driving on this “Bedouin track” is much more pleasant and also leads us into a flat landscape with a wide horizon, which we can certainly appreciate for its monotonous beauty.

Sunset is now not too far away as we approach a sandy field. As it is well tracked, we continue through the sand, hoping to soon rejoin the road to Al-Hashman. However, the sand track turns more and more in a direction that leads even deeper into the sand, but certainly not to Al Hasman. Eventually we turn around and I think I have found a relatively hard place next to the track. Far from it, we get stuck and have really dug ourselves in. Using a shovel and sand plates, we manage to free ourselves in three attempts. We therefore drive back and out of the sand, where we can spend the night on solid ground.

Al Hashman Oasis

The Al-Hasman oasis is located in a wide valley surrounded by sand dunes. In addition to older buildings, the oasis also consists of more modern, standardized houses. Bedouins have set up their improvised animal enclosures on the edge of the settlement. Goats and camels stand in the enclosures or outside. The atmosphere is calm and peaceful and we feel at home here.

In a camel paddock, an older Bedouin tries to have a camel stallion jump on a ready camel mare. This causes a certain amount of unrest in the whole herd. A very special atmosphere, as camels are otherwise rather calm and gentle creatures.
At another paddock, we find a small, wild vegetable and herb garden. And all this in front of the massive and high sand dunes. What a contrast!

Palm garden

We want to explore the small Parmengarten, which is not far from the village, a little more closely. To do this, I have to go under the barbed wire fence. The garden is tidy and the irrigation still works as it did in the old days. A little paradise in the middle of the sandy desert.

Thea & Niek from the Netherlands

For our lunch break, we drive towards an attractive dune that I would like to photograph. Here we eat our lunch: baguette, spread, lots of cheese and the excellent apricot jam from “Bonne Maman” with 30% less sugar. A Mercedes Sprinter camper van pulls up alongside us. Yellow license plates – probably Dutch. We get out, people introduce themselves, small talk, where from, where to and finally we decide to take a drive through the dunes together and spend the night “in the dunes”.

Fasad Dunes

Our journey first takes us across a sandy plain. There is usually a sand bar to cross between the dunes. After a somewhat tricky sand crossing for the Mercedes Sprinter and after Thea’s need to spend the night “in the dunes” has been satisfied, we stand in front of a photogenic sand dune. A cold wind is blowing here, making it unpleasant to be outside in the shade. Nevertheless, we sit together for a while and enjoy the quiet, tranquil atmosphere.

Today we continue through the sand dunes, some of which are 100 meters high and more. As already mentioned, there are always deep sand fields to cross. One of these fields is the end of the road for the Mercedes Sprinter. Although Niek has lowered the air pressure to 1.5 bar, its wheels are simply too small to cope with the sand. We pull the Sprinter out of the sand and drink coffee together from Thea’s Nespresso machine instead. The coffee is so strong that it knocks my socks off….