Supervisor Elham AbolFateh
Editor in Chief Mohamed Wadie

Siwa Desert Gift


Mon 29 Nov 2021 | 10:26 PM
By Dr. Hadi Eltonsi, Retired Ambassador and Medical Doctor

Seas of intertwined date palms, the clear turquoise waters of the saltwaters, the lines of the hills and the shadows of the desert drawn by the wind in a picturesque surrealist painting, the sunset scenes over the hills, the breeze of fresh desert air, the dark nights under the stars and the moon and warmed with the blazing fires, Bedouin food cooked with charcoal beneath Sand, a mixture of sand, lakes, wills and palms treats the body and purifies the soul.

The eco-architecture is of original designs, its walls are made of a mixture of salt, sand and mud, it adapts to heat and absorbs negative energy, its doors are made of olive tree wood and its ceilings are made of palm fronds and trunks, ecological and aesthetic hotels of varying levels, including those related to the tourism of the wealthy, textiles, ornaments, traditional embroidery products and distinctive pottery vessels, the ruins of the city of Shali and its castle, tombs and temples of the pharaohs tell a history of mixing between the inhabitants of the valley and the Berbers.

This is Siwa, the gift of the desert after a long journey and before the Libyan border. And among its inhabitants was Sheshenq the first who ruled our Pharaonic Egypt, which constantly disciplined the invading Libyan tribes, and from the pages of its history the failure of Cambyses the Persian in its conquest, Alexander the Great’s visit to the Temple of Amun in it, and Muhammad Ali’s campaign to subjugate it and the seizure of the Axis forces in the world war second on it. But Siwa is more than just tourism for relaxation and healing, with its water useful for the skin and its healing sand for rheumatism and joint diseases.

Rather, the purest types of water are extracted from it, and oils, dates and olives are manufactured and packaged, and there are additional cultivations of vegetables, grains and fruits.

This is Siwa, whose tourism is returning to recovery after the political turmoil of the past decade, the Corona pandemic, and the increase in interest in domestic tourism in addition to foreigners. Besides the land road it could be reached thru flights to the airport of the city of Marsa Matrouh and combining it with a visit to that city.

It is not necessary to visit the landmarks and enjoy the benefits of Siwa in a strenuous daily program for short days, but the elderly may prefer to extend the visit in order to seek more comfort and recovery.

This is Siwa with its generous and honest people, whose purity tempted some residents of the valley to live in it, work in agriculture and trade away from noise, and in search of serenity and a simple instinctive life between the meekness of the people and the safety of God.

This is the isolated Siwa which invites the inhabitants of the valley to know the treasures of their homeland and improve their investment. It is Siwa, under which low ground runs the Nubian-Egyptian underground water reservoir, where the sweetest dates grow and create the most beautiful scenes of virgin nature. This is Siwa, the gift of the desert.

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