Advertisement
Siwa Oasis
Ancient Fortress of Shali from the entrance Ah Siwa - it is now the third day (can you believe it after all the writing i've done??!!) of my trip. I think I'll try to be a bit more brief as I am sure that my lack of insight is making for some tiresome reading.
Yet another ordinary breakfast - the meals here in Egypt seem to be unendingly ordinary, not bad.... just ordinary. But for those who know me, you know that I'm a bit of a foodie, so i'm just being snobbish, and given that we are staying in 'budget' accomodation, I'm not really expecting much so I'm not complaining, just stating a fact... hehe.
Anyhow, this day was action-packed. First stop was the Ancient Fortress of Shali, and place built in a time that I forgot (i've got it written somewhere) where the Siwans built a town to protect themselves from Bedouin marauders which attacked and stole their possessions and occasionally their people. Most of this place lies in ruins, however a single chimney-shaped minaret still remains intact, and is still used my a single muslim for the call to prayer. Indeed this place is quite impressive (what's left of it) as once
Siwa Oasis
Mostafa and I on top of Shali again the Egyptians somehow basically built a manmade mountain to house it's inhabitants. Atop Shali, their's a great view of the region - the distant sand dunes of the Great Sand Sea abutting the two salt lakes and their changing hues (depending on the salt content of the water), contrasting with the lush greeness of the date palms and olive groves which are a specialty of the region.
Next up, we move to the Mountain of the Dead - a remnant and combination of Greco-Roman and Egyptian burial practices, stemming from the time that Alexander the Great moved through this area. Carved into this mountain are various tombs and some roman style catacombs, where bodies of well-to-do Siwans were mummified. There are a number of tombs where there lie real mummies, and we are warned by Mostafa that we shouldn't stare at their eyes, or they will come to you in your dreams. You can guess at what I did when I finally saw a mummy. We were greeted at the mountain by a local guide by the name of Mohammed who had worked there for some 20-odd years. He invited us for tea, and we escaped the heat
Siwa Oasis
Cleopatra's Pool of the day for a bit in a little cave, where we looked out over Siwa over some tea he made. Here was another glimpse of a simpler life, a life so tranquil that you hope that pervasive engine of tourism doesn't reach this corner of the world.
I was to pay later for drinking tea made from a dubious water supply over the next few days......
Anyhow, leaving the Mountain of the Dead, we head for Aghurmi, another fortress town made by another Siwan Tribe, however, more importantly, this place also houses the Temple of the Oracle. Alexander the Great visited here after getting lost in the desert and it is said that the Temple of the Oracle grants the person who enters it the answer to any one question that that person poses. No one knows what Alexander the Great asked, but it is postulated that he asked for the identity of his father's murderer. Alas, he died before returning home to his mother to tell her the answer....
Leaving Aghurmi after buying some handicrafts from a blind man at the entrance, we head to Cleopatra's Pool for a quick dip. The water in
Siwa Oasis
In the Great Sand Sea - walking amongst the dunes the pool bubbles, and long ago it was said that it reflected the temperature during the day (i.e. more bubbles meant it was hotter during the day and then colder at night). After a quick dip, we settled to the cafe/restaurant that was next to it for some tea and relaxation. Mostafa, our guide, taught me how to play backgammon, the egyptian version of which equates to a set of rules called '31'. We only played one game, which got a little competitive as Mostafa was trash-talking about how good a player he is, and i only lost by one point and a crappy roll of the dice. He got very nervy near the end of the game, but in the end it was all well natured.... if I ever play him again, I will certainly kick his ass.
After Cleopatra's Pool, we chilled out in the afternoon and in the evening, hung out on the roof terrace of a bar in town, watching the world go by below. There was an engagement party in the town, and their was a convoy of utes, trays packed full of people hooning around town, horns blaring, fireworks lit. Was quite a
Siwa Oasis
Hot Spring in the Great Sand Sea show!!
On to day four, and as I eluded to earlier, that tea has got the better of me. Stomach cramps, diarrhoea - i was feeling absolutely shite (pun intended). Not particularly interested in breakfast, luckily we had the morning off before the 4WD desert safari in the afternoon. I basically slept and shat all day (I knew I should have brought some Norfloxacin before I left Melbourne, and now I'm in the middle of the desert).
Anyhow, feeling slightly better by 4pm, we set off on our safari. Truly the pictures do not do it justice (they never do). But the feeling on unrelenting space, tranquility and utter amazement of the sea of sand giving way to tiny oases was awe-inspiring. Highlights of our desert sojourn included visiting a hot spring (found serendipitously when drilling for oil or something), a cold spring, scouring for shells and fossils (the area used to be underwater and actually lies around 28m below sea level), and finally watching the sunset over the horizon. Truly memorable....
We were to leave Siwa the next morning after a quick donkey ride and a visit to the "Centre for Production of Invironmental Industries" (aka
Siwa Oasis
Cold Spring the carpet factory), where a number of young women worked the horizontal and vertical looms to produce, well, carpets. There were some showrooms out the back and some intricate designs, however, I don't think I had the backpack space to bring back a 6m runner for my hallway.
So back across the desert we drive - off to Alexandria, and I slept and slept....
Advertisement
Tot: 0.066s; Tpl: 0.011s; cc: 8; qc: 56; dbt: 0.0428s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.2mb
Nico
non-member comment
Desert Paradise
Dude! Some awesome pics... appears you are getting a roasting over there. Or is that the dirt that has accumulated over the last ten days? The Oasis is incredible, I can just imagine nights out there... But man, I feel for you about the stomach pains - all because of tea?! Keep us abreast of your adventures Egyptian backgammon master (in the making) and I don't know... it'd look pretty interesting if you carried back a carpet on your backpack. -N