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Siwa appears at first as a sweet and innocent place
deep in the desert which has just opened its eyes to
the modern world and still let's itself be amazed.
Which is not wrong, the asphalted road opened first
in 1984.
But the history goes deep beyond the earliest
civilizations, to Paleolithic times. In the 1st
millennium BCE, Siwa was famous with the ancient
Egyptians, thanks to its oracle. The oracle was
though to be so true and powerful that generals
feared its predictions. Both when the Persian king
Cambyses invaded in 525 and with Alexander the Great
before his expeditions into Asia in 331 BCE, was the
oracle consulted.
During these times, Siwa was a wealthy place, well
illustrated by the Gebel al-Mawta and its rich
tombs. In early Islamic times, Siwa went into
decline and sometime in the 13th century was down as
little as 200. Today the population is on the rise,
and has since long passed 20,000. Most live in the
town Siwa, the rest are spread across over 10
smaller villages.
The ruins of Shali dates back to the 13th century,
and was in full use until 3 days of heavy rain
destroyed it in 1926. The houses were originally
built to last a couple of decades, then be rebuilt
or fixed after light rain. The building material was
kershef, a mixture of salt and clay. It is not
water-proof.
Shali is supposed to have risen 60 metres above the
ground level of the oasis, helped by the two
mountains here. It must have been a fabulous sight.
It still is, but none of 5 story houses still stand.
Shali today offers great view, the ruinous state
have created many fine views. But surprisingly, you
will find that some of the houses are still
inhabited, although this only applies to the ones at
the foot of Shali.
I have been to Siwa twice, in 1994 and 2004. I
expected much change when returning. But it was like
time had stood still, even though the proprietor of
the most popular restaurant, Abdu, no longer walks
between the tables and chat with new and old guest.
Now, he sits behind a table all day. But that is
about the only important change I found. OK, there
is a new bank, but this is built according to
traditional patterns.
The town of Siwa is the cutest thing, a couple of
streets and a little park in front of Shali. If you
head out one of the streets in eastern direction,
you find yourself walking on sandy tracks going
through well-kept oasis gardens. No wonder why so
many people love this place!.
The oasis is easy to explore, there are numerous
little tracks running through it. None are paved,
sand is the thing here. Most of the time there are
high palm frond walls facing the tracks, but anyone
higher than 1.75 should have no problem looking in
on the farms.
The best way of exploring the place is by bicycle,
and hiring a one-gear hard-seated bike costs no more
than EŁ10 a day.
The Gebel al-Mawta looks great from a distance, but
it is even more impressive up close. The name means
simply Mountain of the Dead, and it is the place
where Siwans for over 2000 years buried their loved
ones.
The mountain is truly perforated, it must be
centuries since there was no more room for new
graves. The lower part of the mountain has countless
mounds, with small passageways to the tombs.
Most of the tombs belonged to families, and arranged
according to the same patterns as graves all around
Egypt. The larger ones had ceremonial chambers,
while the smaller ones had ceremonies performed
outside the grave.
The mountain holds a couple of truly great graves,
full of wall-paintings equally beautiful to the
noble tombs of Luxor or Aswan. Unfortunately, there
are strict rules on photographing here, so the
finest of the lot was out of reach of me and my
camera.
The Oracle of Amon is today mainly remembered for
being visited by Alexander the Great in 331 BCE,
when he was seeking confirmation that he was the son
of Zeus (whom the Greeks associated with the
Egyptian Amon). Nobody knows what the oracle told
Alexander, the answer was whispered into his ear.
But it probably was confirmative; Alexander
expressed ever since a wish to be buried at Siwa,
and he embarked upon great conquests in the east,
conquests that only a son of a god would dare to
embark upon.
The oracle of Siwa was one of the 6 most influential
in the known world of those days. It probably came
into use some time in the 6th century, as an
expansion of the up to 200 year older temple
dedicated to Amon-Re.
It sounds like an historical place, but there is no
reason to believe that Cleopatra had anything to do
with it. The fine name indicates however that this
is one of Siwa's nicest pools. |
