Siwa

The mud ruins of the Shali fortress above the town of Siwa, seen from above.

03Cities and regions

The Western Desert

Some 560 km from Cairo and 50 km from the Libyan border, Siwa Oasis sits in a depression that drops to 19 m below sea level, between the Qattara Depression and the Great Sand Sea. About 200 natural springs water thousands of date palms and olive trees, and its people are Siwi Berbers with their own language and traditions. Above the town rise the ruins of Shali, the old fortress built of kershef, a mix of salt and mud brick, with palm-trunk beams. Its people left after three days of heavy rain in 1926, yet it still towers five storeys over the modern town and is floodlit at night. Around the oasis lie two large salt lakes of turquoise water, Cleopatra's Spring, an ancient natural pool, the Mountain of the Dead with its rock-cut Roman-era tombs, and the ruins of the oracle temple that Alexander the Great came to consult. Siwa has a temperate desert climate, but the road there is long, so allow at least three days.

0 km
Distance from Cairo: 0 m
Depth of the depression below sea level: about 200
Natural springs

Highlights

Mountain of the DeadA Roman-era necropolis with dozens of tombs cut into the rock.
Temple of the OracleThe ruins of Amun's famous oracle temple, visited by Alexander the Great after he founded Alexandria.