Abdullah Abu Deif (Cairo)
Colorful columns and walls with beautiful natural gradations fascinate visitors at a depth of 50 meters in Al-Jara Cave in the Western Desert of Egypt, which is considered one of the most beautiful caves in Africa.
wind and rain
The cave is located in the Farafra Desert, which is one of the richest areas in natural landmarks. Over millions of years, wind, rain and sand have contributed to the formation of a group of caves, mountains and caves that attract natural tourism lovers. The cave contains paintings dating back to the Holocene era, when the ancients left traces of their daily activities, such as hunting and ways of living.
During the past years, an Egyptian artist restored the cave walls to their nature, after they were subjected to deformations without causing any change in the forms of natural deposits.
The German explorer, Gerhard Rolfes, was the first to document the existence of the neighbor’s cave in 1873, and seven years later, geologists conducted a full archaeological survey to discover the secrets of the cave.
water deposits
Dr. Abbas Sharaki, professor of geology at Cairo University, says: Caves are formed by sedimentation of groundwater in the voids of the earth’s crust. As for the internal colored deposits, which are called stalagmites and stalactites, they occur due to precipitation of water laden with calcium carbonate. It is reported that the colored columns inside the caves are formed from frozen water droplets, whether suspended in the ceiling or formed vertically on the ground, explaining that they derive their colors from the fragmented remains of rocks carried by those drops.
The professor of geology believes that natural caves are a treasure for any country, because they are antiques that need millions of years to form in this wonderful form. He called for more awareness about natural cave tourism, as visiting them requires an entry and exit map so that the visitor does not get lost inside them.
Among the natural caves that are close to the beauty of the neighbor’s cave, the Hercules Cave in Morocco, and the American Wind Cave, which emits distinctive sounds due to the wind passing through its sediments.