 |
Al-Ahram Weekly 13 - 19 January 2000 Issue No. 464 
|
||
Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
| ||
|
Al-Ahram Weekly 13 - 19 January 2000 Issue No. 464
|
||
| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
| ||
Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Heritage Special Books Profile Travel Sports People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters A warm bath in a desert oasis
Although it appears desolate, the Western Desert has plenty of water, stored in subterranean chambers, that flows naturally to the surface. A spring, or ain, can be tapped by drilling a well, or bir, hundreds of which have been operating for thousands of years.
The Siwa depression lies 17m below the level of the Mediterranean and it contains a number of cultivated areas around various water points separated by large expanses of desert. In Kharga, Dakhla, and Bahariya oases (reputedly having the sweetest and most plentiful water), as well as in Siwa (where the water is highly saline), the temperature of spring waters can sometimes reach 40 degrees Celsius -- hot enough to boil an egg, some claim.
Many villagers use well water for practical purposes, like washing clothes and utensils, as well as for bathing -- at specified hours for men and women. In each of the oases one spring has been set aside for visitors. The one photographed here has been upgraded with modern tiles.
Far from the familiar sights of the Nile Valley, visitors in Siwa find themselves in a strange and different world. Siwa's olive groves and date palms, its strange eroded bluffs and its remarkable springs and circular ponds make up a striking and unusual landscape. There is something of the Egyptian atmosphere, to be sure, but more of the feeling of the main African land mass. In fact, most Siwans are descendants of Bedouin who roamed North Africa from Tunisia to Morocco, and in appearance, dress and language they are unique.
A natural spring has been tiled for the comfort of foreign visitors
photo: Khaled El-Fiqi
Despite the fact that there are more trade routes leading through Siwa Oasis than any other place in the Western Desert, the Siwan people have remained largely impervious to change. Ancient Shali, the oldest community, with its mud-brick walls rearing blank and windowless facades against a background of hills, is slowly eroding; the inherent charm of Siwa's vernacular architecture is successively being replaced with cement buildings housing healthier facilities. Many new government programmes, both educational and social, have been instituted, with governors and teachers transferred from the Nile Valley. Industrial investments in the area are encouraged and several factories have emerged, including, not unexpectedly, Siwa mineral water. Nevertheless, the extremely conservative society of Siwa -- where alcohol is forbidden and women are seldom seen -- remains much as it always has been. The people, like the land, remain the same.
Nevertheless, as one watches so-called progress from year to year, one fears that the delightful domestic architecture of the oasis will slowly disappear. One watches delightful Siwan baskets being woven from palm fronds by women and girls, but searches (often in vain) for the beautiful embroidered dresses of Siwan design with wide sleeves, squared neckline and button adornment that could once be found in abundance.
As for the remains of Siwa's glorious past, there are few but well worth visiting. The most important is the Hill of Aghurmi, where the ruins of the Temple of Amun are located; this was where Alexander the Great consulted the oracle. There are also the Pharaonic tombs of Gebel Al-Mawta (Mountain of the Dead), where important personalities who ruled the oasis in late dynastic times are buried.
Siwa has been a tourist destination since the days of the Ptolemies and the Romans. It was a destination for hardy European travellers during Egypt's British occupation. Today, it is still being developed as a tourist destination. But travellers beware: There are still no highways in Siwa; rough tracks (sometimes no more than a metre wide) still oblige cars -- and donkeys -- to move single file. The pace of life remains blessedly leisurely.
