The bus ride to Siwa was 8 hours long, at first following the sparsely populated coast along then eventually turning south into the unpopulated desert. We drove for hours with the view unchanging. Finally, out of the distance, rose up exactly what one would expect to see from an oasis. Palm groves, irrigation canals, and mud brick buildings neslted inbetween the Qattara depression (desert) to the east and the Great Sand Sea (more desert) to the west. On one side of the town there is a great salt lake but the rest of the water there, which comes from deep wells and springs, is fresh and clean.
On arrival we were greeted by the predictable gaggle of men with donkeys and carts offering to take you to a hotel. We got a ride and by the end of it had somehow agreed to be taken to watch the sun set over the lake that evening. We watched the sun set, drank lemon juice and ate dates picked fresh from the trees before going for a swim in a deep pool.
Siwa has a long history of independence, an individual culture and its own language called Siwi, all of which the isolation of the town has protected. The site is known to have been settled since the 10th millenium b.c. and, later with the arrival of Pharonic culture, was the site of a great temple complex which included the Oracle of Amun, one of the most important oracles of the ancient world. It was here that Alexander the Great was pronounced to be the son of Amun, descended from the gods and true ruler of Egypt. He is said to have found the oasis by following birds across the desert.
Siwans fought against the introduction of Islam and are thought to have continued worshipping the Egyptian pantheon until around the 12th century.
The next day we woke and visited the ruins of the fort. Standing in the middle of the town, these ruins stand above most other buildings and are visible from almost everywhere. In the past all of the residents in the town lived within the fort and it stood strong for hundreds of years. However, although the mud brick walls had withstood attacks and dangers for centuries, three days of rain in 1927 was enough to crumble most of it.
That afternoon we rented bikes and went out to a spring outside of town. We lounged in the sun and dived into the deep water until the children crowding around us were replaced by men coming from the mosque after prayers.
The next day we arranged to go out into the desert, later in the afternoon once the summer heat had subsided slightly. A driver was to take us in a 4x4. We drove out, leaving views of the town behind us until we were surrounded on all sides by dunes. We were then taken first to a small hot spring with a ring of grass and palms around it, beyond which was just sand. The water smelled faintly of sulphur but was beautifully warm.
Next, we went to a cold spring. The water was deep and cool, the reeds around swayed in the desert wind and fish swam around you when you wallowed in the shallows.
Finally, having charged around the dunes in the land rover, we came to the top of one of the larger ones and got out the sand board we had brought with us. Although the experience would have been made alot easier by a chair lift (sand dunes-not easy to climb) this was great fun. We then settled in to watch the sun set and relax with a cup of tea before returning to the town.
It was in Siwa that we felt Ramadan at its strongest. In Cairo and Alexandria it had hampered us but not too much. Siwa however seemed very different. Through alot of the day the town was very empty, shops shut, people at home asleep. If you hadn't bought your lunch the night before then you, like the residents, wouldn't be eating til nightfall. But, when that time did come, the town came alive. The streets were crowded and lively and people ate and drank in the cafes.
On the last of our three days we rented bikes again and went on a longer round trip to take in two of the three main sites in Siwa, the other being the fort. These are the remains of the Temple of the Oracle of Amun and the Temple of Amun itself. Not much remains of these once splendid sites except for a sense of its former glory. The temple of the oracle still stands taller than all of the buildings around it, built from great blocks of cut stone. Even less remained of the Temple of Amun, chief god of the Egyptian pantheon, with the exception of one wall with spectacular carvings on plaster still easily visible.
Before going back we stopped off at another large spring, 6 or 7 metres deep and 4 wide, the largest we had seen, with nice fresh water and a cafe next to it.
Later that night, our last night in Siwa, we met the same boy who had taken us to the lake on our first night. He took us out to another spring beside the salt lake and cooked dinner over a fire. We swam in the salt lake which was warm and shallow, salty enough to float in, before cooling off and cleaning up in the freshwater spring. We ate after the sunset and stared at the night sky, a thousand stars shining brightly down.
We left the next morning on a journey back to Alexandria which took far longer than it should, but safely. Siwa was a brilliant place to get away to for a few days: the hot dry weather; the cool fresh springs and the local people.
On arrival we were greeted by the predictable gaggle of men with donkeys and carts offering to take you to a hotel. We got a ride and by the end of it had somehow agreed to be taken to watch the sun set over the lake that evening. We watched the sun set, drank lemon juice and ate dates picked fresh from the trees before going for a swim in a deep pool.
Siwa has a long history of independence, an individual culture and its own language called Siwi, all of which the isolation of the town has protected. The site is known to have been settled since the 10th millenium b.c. and, later with the arrival of Pharonic culture, was the site of a great temple complex which included the Oracle of Amun, one of the most important oracles of the ancient world. It was here that Alexander the Great was pronounced to be the son of Amun, descended from the gods and true ruler of Egypt. He is said to have found the oasis by following birds across the desert.
Siwans fought against the introduction of Islam and are thought to have continued worshipping the Egyptian pantheon until around the 12th century.
The next day we woke and visited the ruins of the fort. Standing in the middle of the town, these ruins stand above most other buildings and are visible from almost everywhere. In the past all of the residents in the town lived within the fort and it stood strong for hundreds of years. However, although the mud brick walls had withstood attacks and dangers for centuries, three days of rain in 1927 was enough to crumble most of it.
The next day we arranged to go out into the desert, later in the afternoon once the summer heat had subsided slightly. A driver was to take us in a 4x4. We drove out, leaving views of the town behind us until we were surrounded on all sides by dunes. We were then taken first to a small hot spring with a ring of grass and palms around it, beyond which was just sand. The water smelled faintly of sulphur but was beautifully warm.
Next, we went to a cold spring. The water was deep and cool, the reeds around swayed in the desert wind and fish swam around you when you wallowed in the shallows.
Finally, having charged around the dunes in the land rover, we came to the top of one of the larger ones and got out the sand board we had brought with us. Although the experience would have been made alot easier by a chair lift (sand dunes-not easy to climb) this was great fun. We then settled in to watch the sun set and relax with a cup of tea before returning to the town.
It was in Siwa that we felt Ramadan at its strongest. In Cairo and Alexandria it had hampered us but not too much. Siwa however seemed very different. Through alot of the day the town was very empty, shops shut, people at home asleep. If you hadn't bought your lunch the night before then you, like the residents, wouldn't be eating til nightfall. But, when that time did come, the town came alive. The streets were crowded and lively and people ate and drank in the cafes.
On the last of our three days we rented bikes again and went on a longer round trip to take in two of the three main sites in Siwa, the other being the fort. These are the remains of the Temple of the Oracle of Amun and the Temple of Amun itself. Not much remains of these once splendid sites except for a sense of its former glory. The temple of the oracle still stands taller than all of the buildings around it, built from great blocks of cut stone. Even less remained of the Temple of Amun, chief god of the Egyptian pantheon, with the exception of one wall with spectacular carvings on plaster still easily visible.
Before going back we stopped off at another large spring, 6 or 7 metres deep and 4 wide, the largest we had seen, with nice fresh water and a cafe next to it.
Later that night, our last night in Siwa, we met the same boy who had taken us to the lake on our first night. He took us out to another spring beside the salt lake and cooked dinner over a fire. We swam in the salt lake which was warm and shallow, salty enough to float in, before cooling off and cleaning up in the freshwater spring. We ate after the sunset and stared at the night sky, a thousand stars shining brightly down.
We left the next morning on a journey back to Alexandria which took far longer than it should, but safely. Siwa was a brilliant place to get away to for a few days: the hot dry weather; the cool fresh springs and the local people.
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