We all remember Hassan nursing Salma back to health after a fatal snake bite in Karim Abdelaziz and Mona Zaki's legendary action-romance 'Abu Ali,' overlooking the lake. As Khaled Selim's ubiquitous 'Le Kol Asheq Watan' played in the background, tears streamed down our cheeks as we fantasised about the day we'd get to live out our desert romance. Was it just us? In any case, the Desert Lodge at Dakhla Oasis, where the film was shot, has just been introduced to help make that desire a reality.

When adventurer and engineer Ahmed Moussa came upon this unusual parcel of land during one of his desert adventures in 2003, he decided to establish an eco-lodge with the support of his Al Wadi Co business partners.

“We’ve been an attraction for foreign travellers for years, and won the Best Eco-Lodge Worldwide Award from the German Travel Association in 2007,” Desert Lodge’s project manager Azza Selim told @SceneTraveller. “But more recently Egyptians are learning about eco-lodges and embracing this form of travel, so we’re seeing more engagement from our own communities.”

The lodge, carved from raw stone on the highest point of Dakhla Oasis, looks out over Al Qasr village's traditional dwellings. The rustic inn takes on the characteristics of its surroundings, with all 32 of its rooms borrowing from Nubian architecture and dressing up in the earthy colour palettes of Siwan homes. With its own private hot springs and an artists’ studio, the lodge is more of a healing destination than your average getaway.

To settle in at this desert retreat, you can check them out at desertlodge.net

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