The secret of the mysterious whirlpool that appears from Google Maps in the Egyptian desert

ArabiaWeather.com - Omar Dajani - At first glance, whoever discovers this strange vortex in the Egyptian desert through Google Maps may think that it is a landing pad for a spacecraft coming from outside the Earth, or an entrance to another world, or a mysterious archaeological place that appears only from space.

The place has gained wide popularity among believers in conspiracy theories, after it spread as one of the 10 strangest places that can be found through the Google Earth map system, but the truth is that this place has nothing to do with the issues of space oddities or archaeological sites, as it is nothing but an environmental artwork. It has been admired by tourists since its inception in March of 1997.

The vortex as it appears to users of Google Maps

This project is from the ideas of three artists from Greece, and it took several months to work on it in the scorching summer weather in eastern Egypt.

This environmental artwork is called "Desert Breath" and it is a work of great beauty carved in the desert lands of the Egyptian region of El Gouna overlooking the Red Sea on the eastern edge of the desert.

The choice of building materials came in harmony with the innate rhythms imposed by the desert, such as the conical sand dunes formed by the winds, and a small mirror was placed on top of each sandy cone as a representation of the mirage phenomenon.

Vortex model as seen close up