Cairo in $710s-$770s RT

Cairo's hustle and bustle is a thrill, but sometimes you need an oasis from all the chaos.

Just spitballing here, but maybe something like this actual literal oasis might do the trick :-)

Introducing Al Fayoum, a desert jewel only two hours from Cairo! Relax by the shores of the appropriately named Magic Lake, try a little sandboarding down the endless rolling dunes, then stop by Tunis Village for a handcrafted pottery souvenir (or check out the Pottery Festival in the first week of November). There are also plenty of temples and ruins for you history buffs—Fayoum was once a hotspot for the cult of the crocodile god Sobek.

But our favorite spot in the oasis has got to be Wadi Al Hitan, also known as the Valley of the Whales. The desert here is dotted with the enormous skeletons of ancient whales, their sun-dried bones jutting eerily out of the sand.