The Red Desert is a stretch of the western desert of Egypt northwest of the Ashmunain camp, where the green and gold of the Nile valley give way to rust, sienna and a bleached sky. It is the true antagonist of the middle stretch of the journey.
| Type | Place |
| Era | December 1928 |
| Chronicle | ldc |
| Spanish entry | El Desierto Rojo |
Description
The land holds wind-eroded pillars of red rock, plateaus, dry wadis and natural stone bridges over canyons, with no shade, water or landmarks. The travelers cross it in three days, guided only by the dagger vibrating to the northwest. Quicksand nearly swallows Teddy.
At its end stands a forty-meter cliff of red sandstone with the stele of Akhenaten at its base: the door of the Temple of Thoth, guarded by the Bedouin riders of the Guardians of the Desert. The red moon, the guardians’ signal, rises here, and the final battle between Bedouin and Germans breaks out here.
Irti is the only one who knows how to navigate it.