Northern Africa and the Middle East - Clean Breaks: 500 New Ways to See the World - page 124

property its name, meaning “white mountain”.
Before the sun sets you are shown directly
to your candlelit room (there's no reception or
electricity here). The rustic cave-like interiors
are simply furnished with fixtures crafted from
olive wood or - curiously - salt, including salt
bedsteads and side tables.
The brainchild of Dr Mounir Neamatalla,
Adrère Amellal is just one element in a grander
plan to safeguard Siwa's heritage and culture,
with an eye on environmental conservation.
Dr Neamatalla has also invested in projects
and provided micro-financing to the Siwans to
develop organic farming and renewable energy
sources, to preserve traditional local crafts
and to start small businesses, such as an olive-
processing factory.
Simply prepared meals made from local
produce are served on a terrace, by a pool or on
the sand. In between you can explore Siwa or
relax with a good book in the nooks and crannies
about the property, each boasting sweeping
views of the town. If you tire of the panorama,
you could take a dip in the Roman pool, have a
stroll through the palm-shaded gardens (yes,
Siwa really is an oasis), visit the Temple of the
Oracle of Amun, or ride the smooth waves of the
grand sand sea by 4WD on a desert excursion.

northern side of the Mathews Mountains. That
would be majestic enough for any setting, but
there's more - the infinity pool overflows down
to a watering hole where many animals come
to drink. So you may find yourself enjoying the
view and the ambience with an elephant or two.
Sarara Camp is in the 300 square kilometres
of land protected by the Namunyak Wildlife
Conservation Trust, the largest community-
owned conservancy in Africa and one of the
best places to see leopards and wild dogs. The
focus of the camp is on walking safaris led by
game scouts from the Namunyak community,
and if the opportunity arises, take the chance
to experience the local herdsmen singing when
they ceremoniously pull up water from the wells.

The infinity pool at Sarara
Camp is filled with natural
spring water and overlooks an
elephant watering hole

Need to know You can reach Siwa from Cairo by
taxi or private car with driver (US$170 each way)
or take an air-conditioned bus (US$10 each way).
Details of rooms, excursions and cuisine are at
W adrereamellal.net; T [phone]. Rooms
start from US$660, not including meals. For further
info about Siwa see W www.siwa.com. Cheaper
eco-friendly accommodation at Siwa includes
Albabenshal Hotel and Shali Lodge (doubles around
US$120; see W www.siwa.com for details of both).

155 pool wITH A vIEw, kEnyA

Surely this is the best pool view in Africa. When
you take a dip in the spring-fed natural pool
at Sarara Camp in northern Kenya, you look
out onto an arc of forested peaks on the remote

Need to know Fly from Nairobi (Wilson Airport)
to Lewa ( W www.safarilink-kenya.com; T +254 720
888 111), from where staff will collect you. For
prices and bookings see W www.sararakenya.com.