Christmas 2021 - Siwa II

Siwa is one of Egypt’s most isolated settlements with about 33,000 native people. It is situated between the Great Sand Sea to the west and south, and the Qattara Depression to the north and east. The Depression on which it stands only reaches 60 feet below sea level. There has been a settlement here for thousands of years. Siwa was the westernmost extent of Alexander the Great’s excursion. The Siwan people have their own language, as well as being able to speak Egyptian Arabic.

On the second day of our trip we went with a guide out to the salt lakes to the east of the town. These are a series of lakes with a very high concentration of salt in them. It’s quite an odd sensation, getting into a very salty lake. It’s quite difficult to swim in because your legs are being pushed up out of the water. Floating on your back is very easy, and it would be perfectly possible to read a book or a newspaper while doing so, so far out of the water are you! After the cold of the salt lake, we went to a hot spring to warm up! Well, Janet did! My excuse was that the salt was making the hot water irritate my skin, but if I’m being honest, it was a bit too hot!

On the third day we went for a trip out to the desert. This was the Great Sand Sea mentioned above. What a beautiful afternoon and evening. Just great sweeping dunes everywhere…with the odd grass patch thrown in. The thing is that because it is a few metres below sea level, the water table is only a little way down, so it’s not too difficult to get to it, so some people have thought it’s worthwhile to drag it up and grow things! An incredible sight when all around is just sand. And then the final magical part was that just as the sun was setting, we parked up, and our guide set up a little fire and made us a cup of tea. Just fantastic!

On the fourth day we went to the Oracle Temple. This temple was reputed to house the oracle Amun, to which Alexander the Great headed directly when he came to Egypt for the first time in 331 BC. Reputedly, it is believed that the Macedonian leader asked the oracle if he was going to 'rule the world,' legend has it that the answer was 'yes, but not for very long.'