So, at the beginning of July (a long time ago now) we turned up in Siwa for three days and stayed a month. Why? Here's why.
Exploring the aptly named Great Sand Sea
I thought, seen one desert, seen 'em all, but each time we ventured out of the oasis and into the dunes in a different direction, and the desert had a different feeling. Was it the angle of the dunes? The texture of the sand? The particular stories that each area whispered to us? And whether we were searching for seashell fossils, watching the sun rise, swimming in a deserted cool freshwater lake, or counting shooting stars, Huw and I were stunned. Come winter, you'd see 4x4s crawling all over the sand like dung beetles. We saw no-one, and it only added to the mystery of the endless desert.
Finding the hidden treasure
Oasis visitors rave about Cleopatra's Spring and the Hill of the Dead, but for me, a real highlight was exploring the ancient ruined hilltop city of Shali which rises up proudly, slapbang in the middle of Siwa Town. The buildings once towered 60m high, but all except a few walls were washed away in a freak three-day rainstorm in 1926. What's left of the warren-like city is mostly uninhabited and has the feel of a ghost-town, but we stumbled upon an old man whittling a shovel handle, a cheeky old lady who invited us into her cave home (quite against Siwi tradition, her face was uncovered and she even looked Huw in the eye and shook his hand! female interaction!), and numerous little boys playing with wheels and sticks, bottletops and tetra packs.
Teaching 22 initially scathing blokes
The two-week English course I wrote and taught for the hotel staff of three of Siwa's finest establishments was a buzz from start to finish. The gents quickly warmed to the idea of being taught by this strange over-enthusiastic lady and it was a joy to see them growing in confidence as their vocabulary improved, especially those that had never, not for one day, been to school. A major perk for us (apart from the daily free brekkie of fuul, cheese and olive jam) was the hotel staff outing which Huw and I were invited to: a lamb dinner cooked in underground sand ovens, out in the dunes under a full moon, accompanied by a drum, a flute, and rowdy songs that we didn't have to understand to appreciate.
Learning 'yanni, 'meshi' and 'malesh'
Three words now seeping into and taking over my stunted Arabic acquisition, garnered from numerous chats with Siwis and Egyptians, mostly when sat in Abdu's cafe. Here's how they roughly translate:
- yanni - you know, I mean, umm, err
- meshi - ok, whatever, yeah, alright
- malesh - never mind, forget it, c'est la vie
Meeting people
Goes without saying, but I'll say it anyway: we met incredible people in Siwa. We were instantly made to feel part of the family (or the furniture) by Ali and Mohammed at the Desert Rose Hotel. Fathi Abdalla was our outstanding desert guide time and time again. (Find him at www.siwawi.com if you ever visit Siwa.) Around town, we got to know Abdu and his cheeky waiters, Mr Salama at Albabenshal, clever, hard-working Zaid, chicken-restaurant owner Mr Fathi and his family, all my students, and the blokes in the garage, the bakery, the water shop, the date shop, the photocopier shop. Melancholy Hassan taught us about Egyptian history in his singsong storytelling way. We hung out with several adopted Siwis too: Sheriff and his rottweilers and camels, lovely Leila, Bashir the dude, John the American psychologist, and the charming Yousry, manager of the exclusive Adrere Amellal hotel.
Shooting fashion
We spent a lot of good times with the Danes (now long-term Siwi residents) Henrik and Ellen and their children little Theodor (nicknamed Nour meaning Light) and Electra – probably the first person in the world ever to speak fluent Siwi and Danish. Dinners, swimming trips, mountain climbing, and a two-day desert photo shoot for Ellen’s latest clothes collection.
Feeling the novelty of a routine
There's nothing quite like walking into a place and ordering 'the usual'. But in Siwa, in the summer, when there are so few foreign faces around and you've been there for weeks, it's easy. And Abdu does make the best pizza around. Admittedly, it is probably the only pizza for hundreds of kilometres in any direction, but it really is genuinely tasty. Another daily ritual became our "orob shams karkadays" (sunset hibiscus juices) on the empty rooftop of Albabenshal Hotel, listening in awe as the muezzin from the mosques all around sang out, bringing people to prayer.
We're planning to head back in October for the full moon/harvest festival. It will be far cooler, but we're not looking forward to sharing it with so many other tourists. For that lovely month when time flew by, we felt right at home.
Route, photos and more at www.thelongandwinding.co.uk
