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Siwa Oasis

Siwa Oasis is one of the most beautiful Egyptian oases located in the heart of the desert that did not reveal all its secrets so far, and when you visit the unique oasis, which is more than 900 kilometers from Cairo, you discover the new every time as if you are visiting it for the first time.

It is one of the oldest and oldest sites. And around it, many stories, myths, and speculations were woven, which some try to prove and others try to deny. Its remote location in the western desert of Egypt and the customs and traditions of its people different from the rest of the population of Egypt and their own language are all factors that increased the attraction of tourists to it, which encouraged the Egyptian authorities to take steps to facilitate visiting that spot in the Red Land.

Siwa Oasis Location

It is an oasis located in the heart of the Western Desert of Egypt, located 820 kilometers southwest of Cairo near the border with Libya, Siwa Oasis is the farthest between the other oases, Bahariya, Farafra, Dakhla and Kharga, and its inhabitants remained almost separated from Egypt until the late nineteenth century.

Siwa Oasis “… is located in the Matrouh Governorate, 900 kilometers from Cairo, 50 kilometers from the Libyan border, with an area of ​​about 7,800 square kilometers, and includes three sectors, the first is located in the east on the western border of the Qattara depression, with an area of ​​600 km A square, containing each of the pebbles of his jacket, the mosquitoes, the lame, the bahrain, the tobacco, his neighbor Umm al-Saghir.

The second sector of the oasis is located in the west of the Libyan border and includes Umm Ghazlan, Jerba, Shayatha, and al-Mulfa, with an area of ​​about 1,700 square kilometers, while the central sector includes an area of ​​one well and part of the Great Sea of ​​Sand, with an area of ​​about 100 square kilometers.

Siwa Oasis climate

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 Its climate is continental, very cold in winter, very hot in summer, and moderate in spring and autumn, so the best time to visit Siwa is spring or autumn when the people of Siwa hold their celebrations and the air temperature is moderate.

 

What to see in Siwa?

 

The oasis offers everything that teases the tourist’s imagination, including palm trees embracing the fresh and saltwater lakes, giant sand dunes, and the ruins of the remaining mud cities that testify to Siwa’s fame and high status in Greco-Roman times. Some even believe in the presence of the tomb of Alexander the Great in it.

Among the most important tourist and archaeological feature

Siwa Oasis or (Shali in the Pharaonic era) has several archaeological landmarks dating back to the Pharaonic and Roman era, and the most important tourist and archaeological attractions include the Temple of Jupiter Amun, the Temple of the Treasury, the Mount of the Dead that includes Pharaonic tombs dating back to the 26th family, as well as the base in which Alexander was crowned the biggest.

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As for the most important historical monuments in the region, there is the Mountain of the Dead at the top of the list, which is an archaeological cemetery dating back to the fourth and third centuries BC, that cemetery was reused during the Greek and Roman era, in the Second World War, the inhabitants of the oasis were sheltering in it, and they discovered a lot of Tombs carved into the rocks, including “Si Amun”, which is the richest archaeological tombs in the Western Sahara, in terms of the number of mummies and inscriptions dating back to the Pharaonic and Greek eras, and perhaps the most famous scene is the courtroom of Osiris.

 

There is also the cemetery of the priest of the god Osiris “Batahot”, which recorded on its walls the religious songs and ritual known as “the pull of the four bulls”, in addition to the tomb of the “crocodile” that was discovered in 1940, whose walls recorded many scenes of the Book of the Dead, and the tomb of “Miso Isis” which contains On a text describing the god Osiris as the great deity in “Theth”, archaeologists believe that it is an ancient name that was given to Siwa Oasis.

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The Temple of Amun, built by the 30th Dynasty by Niketanebo II, was dedicated to the worshiper of the god Amun, which is located above the Gourmese plateau, and is called revelation and prediction, as it was famous for the fulfillment of his prophecies, and the fate of Cambyses army, which perished after lost its way to the temple, is the most famous prophecy that came out This temple, which prompted Alexander the Great to visit him, this temple perpendicularly to the sun in the spring and autumn, and the temple of “Umm Ubaidah”, which is located near the Temple of Revelation, was destroyed by the ruler of Siwa at the end of the nineties of the nineteenth century, leaving only some of it Stones carved with pharaonic inscriptions.

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Inside the city, there are the remains of the Shali castle, which was built by the people of the oasis at the beginning of the thirteenth century, which is a group of houses and a castle surrounded by a large wall, constructed from a material called “karchf”, which is salt stones mixed with silt, and the windows and doors were made of wood Olives and palms, what made it a building suitable for the continental desert climate, as it soothes the atmosphere in the summer and warms the night in the cold winter.

 

Among the Islamic monuments inside the castle, the ancient mosque that was built at the beginning of the twelfth century, and the great mosque that the foundation stone was laid for King Farouk, unfortunately that castle was destroyed in the thirteenth century, and is still being eroded and decomposed after the torrents, it is well known that the people of the oasis are related to the saints’ Righteous people, there are 35 shrines on their land, the most famous of which is the tomb of Sidi Soliman, who was one of the judges who sought to spread peace among the tribes.

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At the outskirts of the southern oasis, and on the opposite side of the mountain of the dead, the “Dakrour” mountain is located with its hot sand, which is intended for those who wish to heal from rheumatoid and rheumatic diseases, and the oasis’s residents organize harvest and tolerance parties on the Shazili way.

Siwa as a resort for medical tourism:

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The oasis is characterized by its hot white sand, which has many properties that make it capable of treating many rheumatic diseases, joint pain, and spinal pain. The most important eyes and wells in Siwa are the bath of Cleopatra, Ain Arayes, Fintas, Mallol, and mothers-in-law, as it has a dry climate throughout the year.

The hot water in the oasis is divided into two types: ordinary hot water and sulfur hot water, such as those available in it, especially at an area (18 km. M) from the heart of the oasis, and those sulfur water is scientifically used on a large scale in the world where a special type of mud is treated with this water and is It is used in the treatment of many skin diseases and skin problems, and it can also be used in the treatment of the respiratory system.

The weather factor has a very important role as it is characterized by dryness and absence of moisture, which also helps in the healing and treatment processes, especially for those suffering from respiratory diseases.

Studies and research have also proven that the sand in Mount Dakrour in the Siwa region contains radiation that helps in the treatment of rheumatism, polio, psoriasis, and the digestive system, as a large number of Arab and foreign tourists, as well as Egyptians, come to it for recovery during July and August of each year, and Ain Kivar The Karlie Vivari well area is similar to one of the world’s resorts that are used for treatment and one of the sources of tourism income for the Czech Republic.

For these advantages, Siwa Oasis is considered a natural resort for healing and a destination for treatment seekers, and the ancients discovered since ancient times the elements of medical tourism in that oasis, and it is, according to the testimony of specialists worldwide, that it is the ideal place in the world for this type of treatment.

How did Siwa get its name?

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The pharaonic inscriptions in the temple of Edfu came to reveal that the oasis had existed since the pre-dynastic times, that is, before 3200 BC, and it was called “Binta”, and later it was called the oasis of “Jupiter Amun”, this name that continued until The Ptolemaic era, then the Ptolemies called it “Sentria”, a typed name from the name “Sakhit Am” given to it by the pharaohs at one time, meaning “the land of palm trees.”

 

It was stated in al-Maqrizi’s manuscripts that the Arabs called it “Al-Waha Al-Aqsa,” meaning the most remote Oasis, while some historians believe that the name “Siwa” came from “Tansiwah”, which is the name given to it by the Tunisian historian Abd al-Rahman bin Muhammad bin Khaldoun in the late fourteenth century AD, which is a reference to the name of a branch of the Zintana tribe in North Africa.

 

The indigenous inhabitants of the oasis belong to the African Berber tribes, who reside in North Africa, their number is estimated at about 35 thousand people, they make up 11 tribes, each tribe has a sheikh, families, and individuals, these tribes adhere to their customs and traditions inherited through time, even in politics they had their own Senussi policy Until Muhammad Ali came in the modern era, and sent a military campaign to impose Egyptian influence and subject it to him.

Geological and Biological Diversity in Siwa

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The reserve is characterized by a biological and geological diversity in terms of sand dunes, plateaus and wetland, and scientists have spotted more than 40 types of plants, as it contains more than 70 thousand olive trees, and nearly 400 thousand palm trees, and there are apricot, pomegranate, guava, lemon and fig trees, and among the plants Medicinal and aromatic, there are mint, wormwood, drunken, um al-nada, castor, mucilage, algae, licorice, marjoram, and basil, which are free of agricultural pesticides, while the plants that are used as sand repellants include Acacia and Athl trees.

 

The oasis is rich in many types of wild animals, including the red deer and the white deer, and the cheetah was spotted near the Qattara depression, in addition to the jerboa, the hare and the wolf, and there are some rare species that are threatened with extinction, including the Phoenician fox, the gazelle with slender horns, and types of cats.

 

Scientists also monitored 164 species of birds, including houbara, quail, lunar and crowned lark, in addition to the bisharush bird that was sacred by the ancient Egyptians. There are also 32 types of reptiles and invertebrates. In the past, the area was the bedrock of the ancient Teths Sea, and many excavations have been discovered in it indicating On that, the remains of Nutlus marine snails and fossilized coral reefs, and the largest whale structure in the world dating back to the Cretaceous period 73 million years ago, in addition to three other whale species, water snakes and shark teeth.