Sahara el Beyda, the White Desert Protected Area, is a national park in Egypt, which lies about 450kms south west of Cairo. The white sands of the desert manifests itself as rows of white piles scattered across orange sandy base landscapes, rock spires, and unusual white rock formations making for excellent foreground subjects for astrophotography. The dry desert skies are ideal for astrophotography even though there is haze at the horizon due to the disturbed sands of the desert, affecting seeing conditions. One of the first location a tour operator would take you is to this chicken and mushroom rock formation which has become an icon of sorts of the White Desert