Siwa Oasis, Egypt Attractions & Things To Do, Egypt oases in the Western desert SAHARA DESERTare one of the best attractions and things to see in all Egypt. Oases are “islands of the blessed.” – Herodotus “ This is a place to forget about the outside world, relax and explore some truly unique surroundings.” The historic town of Siwa stands on an isolated oasis is located between the Qattara Depression and the Egyptian Sand Sea, approximately 550 km west of the capital Cairo, 305 km south-west of Marsa Matruh and some 50 km from the border with Libya. Extending some 80 km in length and 20 km in width, the oasis is one of the most isolated settlements in the country. Ringed by salt lakes, dunes and desert escarpment, Siwa is a haven of date plantations and olive groves. It has a distinctive Berber culture, preserved due to its relative isolation – an asphalt road to the coast was only constructed in the 1980s. With the 13th-century shali (fortress) at its core, there’s plenty to potter round while relaxing into the rhythm of life in the slow lane. Siwa’s attractions include springs where you can swim, the remains of the Temple of the Oracle, where Alexander came to confirm his divinity, and some Graeco-Roman tombs. At the edge of town are the towering dunes of the Great Sand Sea. Siwans continued to reject outsiders. Early Europeans wishing to enter Siwa were obliged to disguise themselves as Arabs in order to gain access. They faced instant expulsion and possible violence if their deception was discovered. The first European to visit since Roman times was the English traveler William George Browne, who came in 1792 to see the ancient temple of the oracle. By the 19th century other European visitors, never welcomed by the population described the whole hill as a vast beehive of buildings. In 1820, Siwa came under outside rule for the first time when it was conquered by the troops of Muhammed Ali, the Ottoman pasha of Egypt. With central rule, the defensive needs of the town were reduced and for the first time since 1200 it was permitted to build houses outside the fortifications of the town - though most people were reluctant to do so. A fierce rainstorm in 1926 demolished many houses, however, and made others unsafe, forcing people to leave. The ancient town is now almost in ruins, though its honeycomb nature is still clearly discernible. The Siwan people are mainly descended from the Berbers of North Africa. As a result of this heritage Siwa's character is unlike that of any other Egyptian oasis. The traditions, rites, costumes and language of Siwa are more closely related to those of the coast from Libya to Morocco than Egypt. Nowadays almost everyone in Siwa speaks and writes Arabic but that is a relatively recent change. Ahmed Fakhry, who regularly visited Siwa from the 1930s until his death in the 1970s, wrote that in the past only a few families could speak Arabic and had to act as translators when merchants and visitors came from the east. Little is known about Siwa during the times of the Old, Middle and New Kingdoms of Egypt. There is no evidence that it was colonized during Pharaonic times until the time of Ramses III (around the time Herodotus was writing). It was Herodotus who first used the term 'oasis' when writing about Siwa. Before this the word was not used. After the Temple of Amun was discovered by the Greeks, foreign visitors became more common. Attracted by the Oracle, they were prepared to brave the treacherous journey across the desert from the coast. What can now be accomplished in a few hours once took days and not all who started out on the trek made it to Siwa. Alexander the Great's visit to Siwa nearly ended in disaster. Arrian tells of how the caravan ran out of water, got lost and then encountered a rainstorm that almost wrecked the expedition. Various stories note that Alexander was saved by the appearance of two snakes (or crows depending on the version) which led the party to safety. The Oracle declared Alexander was a god and from that time on his name was linked with Siwa.
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