SIWA
From Marsa Matruh we had a one-day excursion to Siwa.
The picturesque desert village
is 305 km south-west of Marsa Matruh. Green date palms, mud-brick houses, eroded
hills,
sand deserts, salt lakes, fresh springs, old ruins... This is Siwa. Women have
richly ornamented
'tarfodit' which totally covers their body and face. Men wear the traditional 'galabiya'
.
A camel family in the desert. |
In the middle of nowhere. |
|
Watch this
! Desert dogs ! |
| Ruined mosque in abandoned village in the desert. |
Siwa. Village hall and old mud-brick fortress. |
Amazing place! Old mud-brick fortress. | The road goes through the salt lake. |
| Date palms and
fresh water Spring of Cleopatra. |
The date palms are
mirrored in the deep, clean, turquoise water. |
Ruins of Amon Temple (also knonw as Umm Ubayah). It was blown pf by an Ottoman governor in 1896 to get building material. | Date palm.
|
| Temple of the
Oracle.
|
Temple of Oracle. Klara bought some folk crafts from the local black women. |
Temple of the Oracle was built in 6th century BC., with more additions later. Gebel Al-Matwa in the background. Its sand is good for curing articular pains. |
The oasis of date palms is 70 km long. There are many huge lakes (salty) and fresh water springs (cold and hot). |
| Panorama from Temple of the Oracle. | The site was so idyllic, it was hard to leave. |
