El Gulf El Kebeer

Date of Announcement : 2007
Area : 48523 km2
Type : Natural and Cultural National Park Protected Area

The western side of the Gilf Kebir was explored in 1932 by the Clayton-Almásy Expedition, headed by Sir Robert East Clayton and Count László E. Almásy, and accompanied by Patrick. A Clayton, Squadron Leader H. W. G. J. Penderel, three Arab car drivers and a cook. The expedition explored the area by Gypsy moth plane, by car and on foot.
The Uweinat mountain range at the very south of the plateau is shared between Egypt, Libya and Sudan.
In 2006, Gilf Kebir Desert was the site of an extreme sports record from Italian runner Stefano Miglietti. On the 14th of December, 2006, Miglietti crossed this egyptian desert by foot. He spent only 3 days and 5 hours to cover the full 340 km trail, running at an average speed of 9 km/h. He started from Wadi Mashi and arrived at Silica Glass, a desert close to the Gilf Kebir desert.
The plateau was the site for various British logistical operations during the second world war, and due to the extremely dry conditions and lack of population, remains of this occupation are often found intact. A large airbase, including huge navigation arrows laid out in army petrol cans, can still be seen.
It was also the site of the recent discovery of a bag which had been lost in the second world war by a dispatch rider (Alec Ross) of the long range desert Group, part of the British Army. This contained the rider's personal letters and photographs, and had been well preserved.
The Gilf Kebir is known for its prehistoric (Neolithic) petroglyphs
• Karkur Talh and Karkur Murr: major eastern valleys of the Uweinat contain one of the richest concentrations of rock art in the whole Sahara.
• Western Uweinat: Shelters under the huge granite boulders in the western Uweinat contain numerous paintings, including the famous sites of Ain Doua.
• Jebel Arkenu, Jebel Kissu & Yerguehda Hill, the lesser granite massifs around Uweinat have many smaller sites.
• Mogharet el Kantara in the southern Gilf Kebir contains only one known rock art site, a cave discovered by Shaw & party in 1936.
• Wadi Sura in the northwestern Gilf Kebir: the "Cave of swimmers", discovered by the Hungarian Count László Almásy The English Patient), plus many other paintings nearby.
• The North-western half of the Gilf Kebir aside from Wadi Sura has only a few scattered engravings, of an apparently very ancient age.
• In January 2003, Zarzora Expeditions and Jacopo Foggini independently announced the discovery of a major new rock art site in the Western Gilf Kebir.