Siwa-Sand Sea

Siwa Oasis is in Egypt's Western Desert, where we joined a desert safari tour to see the beautiful sand dunes and the sunset. The driver of the four-wheel vehicle brought us (two plus a Korean girl) to this vast sand sea. We did downhhill sandbording and then went to see the cold and hot springs.

Our driver, a nice guy, cooked Siwa tea for us when we took a break at the azure-colored cold spring spot. We had a wonderful time until I was hit by this crazy driver's car. When I was away from the group to take photos of the sand dunes. He drove the other two and disappeared. Then his car appeared again, approached me and hit me directly. We had to rush back to the hotel to put ice for stopping some internal bleeding which caused the big swollen on my leg, hand and lip. I was shocked by what happened and still couldn't figure out why he did this to me. A joke? After this incident, I continued the journey in Egypt with my injuries.

Siwa Oasis-Salt Lakes

There are several salt water lakes in this oasis. We visited two of them, including the biggest one, Birket Siwa. We was told that from Fatnas Island we could have the best view of the sunset at the lake. However a boy who gave us the donkey ride dropped us at the spot where we had to walk through water drained but muddy field to reach the lake. There was no other except us being there. Because we didn't know how to get back to the village, we hurried to leave and couldn't enjoy the beautiful sunset fully.

Siwa Oasis-People

The people in Siwa mainly are ethnic Berbers, speaking a distinct Berber language known as Siwi. Here we saw most men in their traditional gowns and riding donkey. Married women cover their whole faces when they are outside. We could sense how strongly the local people tend to protect their culture and traditions.

Siwa Oasis-Fortress of Shali

The Fortress of Shali is an ancient city, which housed hundreds of people for centuries. The brutal rain in 1926 caused huge damage to its mud-brick structures. Over the last decades, most of the inhabitants moved out of it and live in modern houses. This fortress is at the center of Siwa, and from the top of it we had the overview of the oasis.

Siwa Oasis-Monuments

Temple of Umm Obeyda



The Oracle Temple

Aghormy Village


Tombs of Jabal El Mawta

The Siwa Oasis (واحة سيوة‎) is located at the northwest of Egypt near the border of Libya. We took an overnight bus from Alexandria and arrived there in an early morning. We rent bikes to reach all the ruins, springs and lakes. Its ruins are famous for being the ancient home to the oracle of Amon, which was a god in Egyptian mythology. This is the place that Alexander the Great traveled to consult the Oracle and to be confirmed as God and King of Egypt. The ruins are not far from each other, so it's easy to tour around and see all the ruins in half a day.

Alexandria City

On the route to Siwa Oasis, we took a train ride from Cairo to Alexandria, which is the second largest city in Egypt. We stayed at a hotel from where we could overview the beautiful bay of the Mediterranean sea. Even though we only spent a day and half there, we enjoyed the visit to its castle, beach, outdoor cafe, and its most famous library. Along the bay, there are vendors selling roasted corns, and people gather with families or friends enjoying the sea view and the sunset.

Cairo-People

One of my Syrian friends thinks that the Egyptians are hot blooded. During our visit in Cairo, we did run into some nice and fun loving people. However, no matter where we went, there were always men on streets approaching us and wanting to provide some help for tips, bashishi, or we were followed by taxi drivers even though we didn't need a taxi. Sometimes it took a lot of the energy to deal with them or get them away from us.

Cairo-The City

Cairo is the capital of Egypt, a city with a population approximately 17 million, and has a lot (old and modern) to see. However, we were only able to spend three days in this largest city of the Middle East. In addition to the Pyramid and Tahrir Square, we also visited Nile River, Cairo Museum, The Islamic market area, Khan el-Khalili. With such a little time, our foot marks were left behind in a small portion of the city.