Where there is water there is life

Resilience in an ancient oasis

EGYPT | Thursday, 10 January 2013 | Views [314]

In her last week of pregnancy, Besma spends her mornings kneading and baking bread to supply to a local hotel. She leaves her fate to Allah, saying “Insha Allah (if God is willing) I will give birth at home.” Home births are common in Siwa Oasis but if there are any complications, women face a long and crowded bus trip through the desert to the closest maternity hospital.

Tags: siwa oasis, egypt.

Those who have finished afternoon prayers stretch their legs at the half way stop to Siwa oasis, in the Egyptian Western desert. Siwa, known for it’s mystical powers, healing springs and quality dates has attracted travellers and merchants for thousands of years. Even Cleopatra and Alexander the Great were compelled to join caravans of camels that followed migrating birds across this formidable desert.

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All appears calm as Mohamed and Fathi sip mint tea by Abu Sharuf spring and reflect on their olive and date business. Since ancient Egyptian times, their families have lived and worked in Siwa but with a crumbling Egyptian economy and rising salinity levels, in an oasis 17 meters below sea level, these two cousins have a lot on their minds.

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Where there is water there is life

Resilience in an ancient oasis

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