Last Year (2019), Young Pioneer Tours ran the first-ever group tour to the only terra niullus in the world, Bir Tawil. Heres is Bir Tawil: The Strange Tale of Unclaimed Land
Bir Tawil is the only truly unclaimed piece of land in the world, a not so tiny pinch of African land disavowed by both Egypt and Sudan, and generally only claimed by eccentric Micronationalists (more on that later).
Bir Tawil lies between Egypt, and Sudan, with map discrepancy being the reason for neither side wanting Bir Tawil, but both of them claiming the Halaib triangle (more on that later).
As countries go, if Bir Tawil were ever to become independent, it would bar far from the smallest nation on earth. Bir Tawil is 2060 square kilometres in size. Take that Vatican City!
Being a piece of land, no one wants in the middle of nowhere, and it is rather hard to get here. One of the options is obviously to join our tour there or alternatively hire some local guides and a 4X4. Bir Tawil is not easy to reach.
But as hard as it might be to get to, Bir Tawils status as the only true unclaimed land in the world has led many a person to make this journey. In 2014 the first recorded visit from someone wishing to claim Bir Tawil occurred when Jeremiah Heaton went there at the behest of his daughter, who had asked him if she could ever be a real princess. Short of her marrying a prince, Mr. Heaton felt this the next-best option, and upon arriving in Bir Tawil, planted a flag for the Kingdom of North Sudan.
For most normal thinkers, Mr. Heatons now-famous endeavours were viewed as a bit of fun and with the necessary pinch of salt although (obviously) many accused him of neo-colonialism, and that other favorite of the latter-day guardian of vicarious offence: cultural appropriation. Weve held out high hopes on being able to have a good chat with Mr. Heaton after his trip, but found him rather rude!
Heaton also had genuine recourse for claiming the land: due to a historical anomaly, neither Sudan nor Egypt claims the territory. The discrepancy arose because of two different maps drawn during the colonial era one essentially in Egypts favour, and the other in Sudans. Whichever side claims Bir Tawil effectively loses its right to the much more lucrative Halaib Triangle. Thus no one claims Bir Tawil, and it is, in effect, what is known as terra nullius, or nobodys land.
One would, therefore, assume that now the Kingdom of North Sudan had been claimed, surely the UN would have been notified, and all other claimants would go away, thus allowing the construction of a great nation. Alas, trying to start a nation is simply not that easy, and the response of the UN, Egypt, and indeed Sudan has been muted at best.
Also, no new idea ever goes unnoticed, nor without emulation, and there are at least five claimants to Bir Tawil, with some not even bothering to go there. The micronational world is indeed an interesting one!
And why, might you ask, would Young Pioneer Tours wish to drive for days on end to visit Bir Tawil, camp out and then drive for even more days whence we came? Id say its that almost a case of why do people climb Everest? Because its there.
But an excellent second response would be when I first started to excitedly plan our tour to Bir Tawil, and I met some resistance from some of my colleagues. One of my colleagues stated, this trip is only for travel geeks. Yes, he had hit the nail on the head: Bir Tawil is indeed a trip for travel geeks, and YPT is a company by travel geeks and for travel geeks.
And it doesnt get geekier and off the beaten track than planting a flag in the worlds only unclaimed land.
Many people claim that Bir Tawil is uninhabited, but frankly, it is anything but uninhabited. The Ababda tribe considers it their native homeland and are fiercely protective of it. Regarding Mr. Heaton, they described him as that silly man during our conversations with them
The Ababda Tribe claims it as the Aababda Emirati. We see no reason in arguing with people that have guns.
There are numerous camps and mines, mostly staffed by people from Darfur, as well as the most prominent settlement that we nicknamed Bir Tawil Town (not that imaginative). There were shops, restaurants, satellite homes, and it was pretty buzzing. Bir Tawil street food was particularly good.
There are no bars in Bir Tawil, but you can drink nonalcoholic beer.
Our tour to Bir Tawil was honestly one of the most amazing things I have done, beautiful desert scenery, friendly people, and truly getting off the beaten track.
Truth is rarely as exciting as fantasy, and Bir Tawil is no different from that. There are people who live in and claim Bir Tawil, and theres also the fact that it not only falls under the de-facto control of Sudan but also theres Egypt who would probably not be so keen on someone popping and starting their own country.
Forget Bir Tawil, and join the Principality of Islanda, AKA Lets Buy An Island.
And that is the ever so strange tale of Bir Tawil, how to visit the place, and why you cant just randomly claim it.
Gareth Johnson is the founder of Young Pioneer Tours and has visited over 150+ countries. His passion is opening obscure destinations to tourism and sharing his experience of street food.
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