Daraw Camel Market

Daraw is where camels brought north from Sudan enter the Egyptian market, and it is the first major trading point on that route, with Birqash near Cairo the second. The animals are walked and trucked up the Forty Days Road and sold here in an open ground of pens and dust on Tuesday and Sunday mornings, alongside a general souq selling goats, donkeys, produce, rope and equipment. It is a working market, loud and crowded, with brokers moving between groups and deals done by hand signal. Most of the animals go on to be sold for meat. It is smaller and less overwhelming than Birqash and easier to visit from Aswan, but the handling of the animals is the same and is hard to watch.

What you actually see

• Camel pens on market morning - herds arrived from the Sudanese route.
• Brokers working the ground - deals struck by hand between groups.
• The general souq alongside - goats, donkeys, produce and equipment.
• The Forty Days Road trade - the northern end of an old caravan route.

When to go

Tuesday and Sunday mornings, early, and it winds down by late morning. October to April for the drive and the dust. Half a day from Aswan including travel.

Honest expectations

Animals are handled roughly and some visitors find it distressing; if that is you, do not go. It is dusty and chaotic with no facilities. Photographing traders can cause friction and permission should be asked. Arrange a driver who will wait.

Nearby

Kom Ombo is north; Aswan is about forty minutes south.