January 8, 2008—A bird's-eye view shows the farming village of Abu Minqar in Egypt.

The village is one of the extreme examples of the country's plan to ''green'' its deserts and transform the barren areas that consume most of the landscape into productive farms and fields.

Though the policy has been going for decades, it is now achieving large-scale success.

Close to the Libyan border, Abu Minqar is far more remote than majority of desert farmland in Egypt. Its existence is proof that Egypt can set up farms anywhere.

"There is no desert left at all," said Mohsen Nawara, manager of South Tahrir Station, a research farm founded by the Desert Development Center (DDC) of the American University in Cairo. "It's all green now."

• More Photos in the News
• Today's Top 15 Most Popular Stories
• Free Email Newsletter: "Focus on Photography"