The vast Western Desert, which blends into Libya and beyond, is Egypt’s great unknown ... so secret you won’t find it on Google Maps, lures humans looking for a swim or photo op.

Most foreign visitors to Egypt stick to the Nile Valley or the Red Sea coast, but that's to miss the bulk of this huge country – the deserts that stretch westwards from the river to the Libyan ...

It has been building new cities for decades, with multiple generations of new urban projects expanding far into the desert surrounding Cairo. Egypt’s New Capital is the latest of these projects ...