Egyptian Nomad of the Sahara

The overnight trip was pretty exhausting. 500+ km along the road from Cairo to Matroh and then 300km south into the western desert. After 9 hours of straight travel, the only thing you need to experience is a warm meal, a hot bath and a clean bed. But what I saw as I entered Siwa completely shattered my hopes.

As I stood in the center of this very small town, starring at the crumbling ruins of the 12th century fortress called “Shali”, and listening to nearby shop-keepers in typical nomadic garments as they communicate in a local dialect of an ancient Berber language unspoken anywhere else in Egypt, I was simply perplexed! In the exterior, it was just a humble village where houses are still built from clay, and where the local means of transportation are limited to donkey-driven carriages and carts. It seemed to be the literal opposition to modernity. “Just another village, not far from my own hometown in the delta”, I thought. But the fact is, for the next 48 hours, I was in for a real adventure, I was an Egyptian Lara Croft, treasure hunting some unknown mysteries in this remote area of the vast Sahara.

First I had to separate myself from those fine traces of modern life that manifests itself in houses, shops and imported goods that fill up the town center, and immerse myself in an eternal view of the golden sands. Miles of endless dunes that leave you totally disoriented, bewildered and, needless to say, SCARED, as the 4 WD vehicles race up and down the steep slopes.
After a star-lit night in the desert, the next morning we navigated our rented bikes through the palm fields and olive gardens which surround the town center in an almost perfect circle. The long leaves touch our heads gently and we stretch out our hands to pick some fresh dates. About a 20km ride and five hours later we had covered all the main ancient sites in town; the Oracle temple where Alexander the Great was coroneted as son of Amun, Jebel Al Mawta, a huge necropolis that represents Siwa’s own version of city of the dead, multiple water springs and small islands, where young kids and tourists dip their bodies for a fresh escape from the harsh desert heat.

It’s next to impossible to experience Siwa in just two days , but this very short period left an imprint on my soul that would probably last forever. It is said that Siwa casts a spell on all its visitors, just one visit is enough to make you addicted to it forever. Siwa still has more stories to tell, and magic to show.