Siwa Oasis : The Collection

These are the links to the Eleven Parts in a beautiful series of articles written by my friend Gabi Philips who has spent an extended period of time in Siwa.

Part 1 : Transportation
Part 2 : Where to Stay
Part 3 : Where to Stay (contd)
Part 4 : Shali
Part 5 : Places to Visit
Part 6 : Aghourmy : The Oracle & the Broken Rock
Part 7 : Cleopatra Spring, the mountains & Fatanas island
Part 8 : The House of Siwa
Part 9 : The Annual Celebration
Part 10 : The Desert
Part 11 : When to go, Where to eat and more

I hope to add to this collection when I make my own trip to this alluring oasis.

Siwa Oasis - Part 11 : When to go, Where to eat and more

This is the Eleventh in a beautiful series of articles written by my friend Gabi Philips who has spent an extended period of time in Siwa.

Also Read
Part 1 : Transportation
Part 2 : Where to Stay
Part 3 : Where to Stay (contd)
Part 4 : Shali
Part 5 : Places to Visit
Part 6 : Aghourmy : The Oracle & the Broken Rock
Part 7 : Cleopatra Spring, the mountains & Fatanas island
Part 8 : The House of Siwa
Part 9 : The Annual Celebration
Part 10 : The Desert

When to go:
All year round if you don't care about weather :)
April, May, October and November if you consider good weather.
October if you want to attend the celebration.
Summer (June, July, August) if you're going for treatment by burying in the sand.
And Summer till September if you want to drink "lagby" or try tasting "robb".

Lagby is a drink from palm trees, they cut on special parts in the palm tree at night and leave it to "sweat" overnight, and the liquid is collected in a pot. It should be drunk before sunrise, otherwise it gets fermented and turns into an alcoholic drink. I'm not sure if it is bottled in some way, to be sold and drunk at any time of the day.

Robb is the dates honey. It is like making a juice from dates, very sugary, looks like and almost tastes like molasses.

Where to eat:
The most famous is Abdou restaurant in the main square.
There is also East-West restaurant between the main square and the big mosque.
Also you can try restaurants at hotels like the one on the roof of Kelani hotel at the main square with a charming view on Shali.
You can arrange to have a "special meal" at dream lodge or the restaurant at Kenoz Shali Lodge hotel.

More photos and more about Siwa:
http://www.worldisround.com/articles/345637/index.html

Some Tips:
When in town, don't show a lot of skin.
Men try not to wear shorts.
Ladies cover at least upto knees and upper arms.
This is not for safety but to respect local traditions and culture.
Siwa is one of the safest places you can visit.

For ladies, when at Cleopatra spring, at least put a T-shirt on over the swim wear, this is because Cleopatra spring is a public place and locals may be offended.
It is less restricted in other "private" or far away springs like the one in Fatanas island, in Abo Shrouf or any of the those in the desert.

When you are walking between gardens and want to eat some dates, eat as much as you like but don't carry a single date away with you.

You can rent a bicycle for a complete day for only 10 L.E.
Other means of transportation is the donkey cart, or you can hire a truck/ toktok/ bike to visit the far away places.

Siwa Oasis - Part 10 : The desert : Is it the original Siwa? Hiking in Siwa!

This is the Tenth in a beautiful series of articles written by my friend Gabi Philips who has spent an extended period of time in Siwa.

Also Read
Part 1 : Transportation
Part 2 : Where to Stay
Part 3 : Where to Stay (contd)
Part 4 : Shali
Part 5 : Places to Visit
Part 6 : Aghourmy : The Oracle & the Broken Rock
Part 7 : Cleopatra Spring, the mountains & Fatanas island
Part 8 : The House of Siwa
Part 9 : The Annual Celebration

I have been to Siwa twice, but haven't experience a desert safari yet. I like to leave something to do during my next visit :)

The basic desert safari in Siwa is visiting Bir Wahed (Well Number One), and to an area called Sheyata.

Bir Wahed is about 15 kms to the South-West of Siwa. It was closed for a period of time to control smuggling through the Egyptian/Libyan borders. The well was dug while searching for petrol (please correct me if wrong), now it can be visited after getting theappropriate permissions (the safari organisers handle them).

Sheyata is another area to the West with a lovely scene at sunset and not far from the paved road and the inhabited areas. It is the place where they go for the cheapest safari trip. When you pay more, you go deeper in the desert to more "special" places. I say special because while I was talking with one of the people who works as a desert driver he said that each driver keeps to himself some special places.

There is a place to visit known as the petrified village.

I was talking to an Arabian person from Matrouh who owns a shop in the main square in Siwa. He hold me that when he was a kid, he used to travel with his family (nomads) until they reached Mauritania, and that his grandfather was told by his ancestors that current Siwa is not the one they used to go to! Could this be real? Is the petrified village the original Siwa? I don't know.

One more interesting thing he told me was about some food his grandfather used to prepare and eat for such long distance travel (as far as I remember it is called "telbina" and is made basically from camel's milk and barley/she3eer).

There is a Siwa protectorate in the West. I have heard that there are some 4-6 ibex there, which sounds like good news :)

Hiking in Siwa:
Is there any desert hiking in Siwa? I don't think so, but the project manager of the Italian development project in Siwa (called Shali project) said to someone familiar with the desert "go find me routes suitable for hiking in the desert, in the area of Sheyata for example".

There was a suggestion for hiking to Bir Wahed, but it would be a long distanceto cover in one day (going and returning) and there is no shade along the way.

There are three uninhabited oasis around Siwa (on the route from Siwa to Bahareya, their names are el-Bahrain, el-Arag & Nawameesa.

There is also the oasis of Qaret omm el-Shagheir, about 130 kms to the northeast of Siwa and needs special permission to be visited. There is a complete article about it in the Al-Ahram newspaper, as far as I remember it was dated 26 September 2006.

Siwa Oasis - Part 9 : The Annual Celebration

This is the Ninth in a beautiful series of articles written by my friend Gabi Philips who has spent an extended period of time in Siwa.

Also Read
Part 1 : Transportation
Part 2 : Where to Stay
Part 3 : Where to Stay (contd)
Part 4 : Shali
Part 5 : Places to Visit
Part 6 : Aghourmy : The Oracle & the Broken Rock
Part 7 : Cleopatra Spring, the mountains & Fatanas island
Part 8 : The House of Siwa

Konwn as "3eed el-sol7" (peace making celebration), the celebration is held at Gebel El-Dakroury over 3 days at the full moon (or around) in October, after the harvest season of dates and olives.

I asked an OLD Siwan man about the festival and asked why they celebrate it. As his mother tongue is the Siwan language, I felt he was struggling to tell me the story in a foreign language (Arabic). He was trying hard to find the right words and here is the story as he narrated it to me:

Many years ago, there were huge problems (between Eastern & Western Siwans as I understood) and there was a good man who was trying to solve the problems. It took him three days to make peace among all the Siwans. To celebrate the peace they searched for a place where all could gather eat and celebrate together (eating together is a sign of peace) and they chose Gebel El-Dakroury.

He also told me about the preparations nowadays. People start to collect the food (ro2a2/kind of bread) across 17-18 mosques in the town, then food is distributed at Gebel El-Dakroury. The Implication is that it is not known who the person who offered the food that was eaten/finished. (It looked to me that if someone's food is eaten/finished, this means something good).


The kids were wearing nice colorful clothing, playing some games like those at normal "Mulid". Lots of street vendors including some from Matrouh who come over in the hopes of making some profit.

This celebration as much as I understood from that old man and from Dr. Ahmed Fakhrey's book is a unique Siwan event.

To my surprise when a journalist questioned one of people at the celebration who looked like a leader, he said the festival originated in Libya.

Personally, I believe the journalist had some wrong info from wrong sources and she was trying to put words in his mouth.

The Leaders' name is Sheikh/Ahmed Beshir el-Madani, the Sheikh of the Madaneya Shazeleya Tarika (way). He is the decendant of the founder of the Tarika Sheikh elMadany (Sheikh/Mohammed Hasan Hamza Ghafer Elmadani). He stated that this is a religious event (not a local event), "we are here and we're from Libia" and called "3eed elseya7a"(tourism celebration)

Seyaha/tourism in this context has the meaning of spiritual religious thing (related to walking very long distances that may reach hundreds of kilometers). They sing some religious songs. One of them is a poem telling the story of his great grandfather (Sheikh elMadany).

While he was telling this to the journalist I interrupted him twice to drop a hint because what he was saying contradicted with what I read before. After the second time he commented on what I mentioned by saying "you know a lot". I was sure now that the information I had was right and left the journalist so she could feel happy that she was "controlling the situation" and that she would have an "interesting" article.

You can read a books and if you attend the event yourself.

Enjoy the photos of the celebration on the following link:
http://www.worldisround.com/articles/345676/index.html

Siwa Oasis - Part 8 : The House of Siwa : The Grandmother...and the gun

This is the Eighth in a beautiful series of articles written by my friend Gabi Philips who has spent an extended period of time in Siwa.

Also Read
Part 1 : Transportation
Part 2 : Where to Stay
Part 3 : Where to Stay (contd)
Part 4 : Shali
Part 5 : Places to Visit
Part 6 : Aghourmy : The Oracle & the Broken Rock
Part 7 : Cleopatra Spring, the mountains & Fatanas island

The House of Siwa:
It was built recently to demonstrate how the traditional houses of Siwa were built. Its exhibits show glimpses of how daily life used to be, the traditional dresses and the jewelry.

At the entrance of the house there are three mannequins wearing three different dresses usually worn by the bride on the first, third and seventh days after her wedding. On the first day for her friends (ladies of course), on the third day for her aunts, and on the seventh day for her mother (yes, the mother doesn't visit except on the seventh day).
There is a warm corner in the house where the grandmother used to sit every night and gather the children around her for story telling: stories about their history, heroes and culture. The guide taking me around sadly remarked "but now the hero on TV, is the one who has the gun in his hand, not the one with good manners".

I heard this a couple of years ago, but understood it last October when I attended the annual celebration. ALL the kids had plastic guns in their hand and were "shooting" each other. I was shot twice, before a kind old man told the kids not to play/bother older guests.

I think as a "Siwan kid" after watching TV "the hero is the one having a gun in his hand not the one who is well mannered as the grandmother used to say :("

More pictures can be seen at :
http://www.worldisround.com/articles/345617/index.html

When the "House of Siwa" was newly constructed a couple of years ago, it was operated voluntarily by some people from the town council (magles elmadina), now there is a trained employee who is in charge.

Visiting Hours:
From October to March: 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. and 2 - 5 p.m.
From April to September: 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. and 4 - 7 p.m.

Siwa Oasis - Part 7 : Cleopatra Spring, the mountains & Fatanas island

This is the Seventh in a beautiful series of articles written by my friend Gabi Philips who has spent an extended period of time in Siwa.

Also Read
Part 1 : Transportation
Part 2 : Where to Stay
Part 3 : Where to Stay (contd)
Part 4 : Shali
Part 5 : Places to Visit
Part 6 : Aghourmy : The Oracle & the Broken Rock

Cleopatra Spring:
Located to the East of Siwa, it is believed that Cleopatra used this spring for bathing. In the late 90's, the wall of the spring was covered with ceramic!! Now it has been removed to maintain its original look.
People do swim in the pool, but ladies must show some respect to the local community traditions and culture by not showing too much skin (bikini/swimsuit should not be worn - its recommended to wear a t-shirt over a swimsuit before getting in).
Check the photos to see how local kids look strangely (and may by offended) at some tourists not respecting their culture.

Gebel El-Dakroury (El-Dakroury mountain):
The mountain is to the east of Siwa. It is famous for curing rheumatic disease by a therapy involving being buried in the sand, usually in the summer (June, July & August).
This mountain is also the site for the annual Siwan celebration which lasts for three days. Usually held on or around the full moon in October after the dates and olives harvest season.

There is more than one opinion about how the mountain got its name. The only one I remember is that the area was a slave trading point, where slaves used to come from Dakar.

Gebel el-Mawta (Mountain of the dead):
Located in the northern part of the oasis, it is the first archeological site you see on arriving at the oasis (it will be to the left). It contains many tombs from Pharonic times. Four of them have drawings on their walls. It was used by Siwans and English soldiers as a refuge during World War II, and so several drawings/paintings were destroyed by the war or removed and taken away by English soldiers. these paintings could have helped identify the inhabitants of the tombs.

There are some ruins in front of the mountain.
The big mosque is just off the main square on the way to Gebel el- mawta, it was build by King Fouad and there is a shrine beside it.

Fatanas Island:
It is an island in the Western Salty Lake, famous for its magnificent sunset view. The salty lake was created from agricultural sewage water. However, few years ago an agricultural sewage project took place to solve the problem of excessive waste water. This moved the natural borders of water away from the island, but tourism to the island wasn't affected. The locals say that the project was like a temporary "pain killer" and did not "cure" the problem.

There is a fresh water spring where people can swim.
Please check more photos on the following link
http://www.worldisround.com/articles/345617/index.html

Siwa Oasis - Part 6 : Aghourmy : The Oracle & the Broken Rock

This is the Sixth in a beautiful series of articles written by my friend Gabi Philips who has spent an extended period of time in Siwa.

Also Read
Part 1 : Transportation
Part 2 : Where to Stay
Part 3 : Where to Stay (contd)
Part 4 : Shali
Part 5 : Places to Visit

The Oracle Temple:
Siwa is historically famous for the Temple of the Oracle which 'Alexander the Great' traveled for almost 18 days in the desert to visit. No one knows what he was told there, but he conquered the world after that.

The Oracle Temple is located on a huge rock called "Aghourmy" about 3 kms to the East of the main square. Aghourmy rock is suffering old age and is almost broken (split into two halves) in the place beneath the temple, but some restoration work has been done to save the temple from collapsing.

Over the years, people started to build their houses on top of the Aghourmy rock and around the temple, but they are now in ruins. The restoration mission started by restoring the mosque first to gain the respect and cooperation of the locals.

In the rocks of the wall of the temple, there are traces of marine fossils.

Temple of "Um Eibeida":
Not far from the Oracle Temple, this temple was completely destroyed in 1898 by an officer who wanted to use the rocks as building material for a house. At that time, there was no awareness about archeological sites. However, the construction of the temple and the drawings on its walls was previously recorded by other travelers/explorers.

View more of Gabi's pictures on http://www.worldisround.com/articles/345617/index.html

Siwa Oasis - Part 5 : Places to Visit

This is the fifth in a beautiful series of articles written by my friend Gabi Philips who has spent an extended period of time in Siwa.

Also Read
Part 1 : Transportation
Part 2 : Where to Stay
Part 3 : Where to Stay (contd)
Part 4 : Shali

There is a lot to be seen in Siwa. I have been there only twice, the first was as a tourist among a group, the second time was on my own. (Kims Note : Gabi has visited Siwa again since he wrote this)

The basic sightseeing that can be done in one day are all on the Eastern side. You can start the day by visiting Gebel El-Mawta (Mountain of the Dead), very close to the main square to the North, then starting from the main square: The Oracle temple, the destroyed temple of Amun know as "Um e'beida", then Cleopatra spring, then Gelel El-Dakroury (El-Dakroury mountain), then circle back to the main square where you can end your circuit at Shali. At sunset you can go to Fatans islands on the Western lake.

The above tour can be done by bicycle, donkey cart or car but the first two modes will take more time. There is a professional Siwan archeologist who conducts such tours if you're interested, his name is "Fatehy Diab". He has done great amount of research on siwa.

The house of Siwa is a must see.

There is also Siwa museum behind Gebel el-Mawta but I haven't yet visited it.

To the East there is "Abo Shrouf" which has a water spring for swimming and very beautiful scenery, it is about 25 kms to the East of Siwa.

In the West (about 20 kms) there is an area called "el-maraki" where there is more than one temple to be visited.

Siwa is famous for its desert safari, there are several travel agencies in the Siwa market who offer such trips.

There is also a handicraft center at the entrance of the oasis in the North (can't remember the exact name).

Qaret om el-sagheir is a small oasis 130 kms away from Siwa. You need special permission to visit.

Some descriptions for most of the mentioned places will be in the following messages.

Siwa Oasis - Part 4 : Shali

This is the fourth in a beautiful series of articles written by my friend Gabi Philips who has spent an extended period of time in Siwa.

I had started posting these in May and then got side tracked. Here are the rest of the series.

Also Read
Part 1 : Transportation
Part 2 : Where to Stay
Part 3 : Where to Stay (contd)

Shali in the Siwan language means "town", it could also mean "citadel".

Shali was built in 1203 to protect the Siwans from attacks. It is built from "karsheif" which is mainly from the local salty soil in Siwa. It was partially destroyed during 3 days heavy rain in 1926.

Shali used to have one main gate that closed by sunset and was called "el-bab enshal" (as far as I know, it means the main gate), it was divided between Eastern Siwans and Western Siwans, each living in the East/West half of Shali. The houses sometimes reached 7 & 8 levels (floors) as there was no space for horizontal extensions.

My aunt who visited Siwa thrice in the 80's told me that there were people still living in Shali and who hadn't left it. She also said that you had to go with a local to be able to find your way through the maze of streets.

To compare Siwa before the heavy downpour and now please click the link.

http://www.worldisround.com/articles/344279/index.html

In the third photo, you will notice new buildings down Shali. It is a hotel less than 2 years old, named "el-bab enshal" also made by the same owner of Adrar Amellal.

What's on in Cairo - Staying Informed

My Editor at the Oasis (CSA's monthly magazine) asked me to write this article as I run whazzupcairo@yahoogroups.com and whazzupcairo@googlegroups.com, 2 groups that inform its subscribers of events in Cairo well in advance, so you may book your tickets when they are still available.

The scan of the published article is here - on my blog of my published articles.

The article would be of interest to the readers of this blog & I post it here.

Stay Informed

Having moved to Egypt and settled into Daily Life, you would now like to explore the Cultural Scene in Cairo. But how do you know ‘What’ is taking place in town and ‘Where’?

Some English newspapers like Daily Star Egypt or Al Ahram Weekly give you a daily listing of events, but often by the time the paper arrives, it is too late to buy tickets to an event.

Your other option is the monthly magazines: Egypt Today, Community Times and the Croc. These magazines are a little more comprehensive than the daily newspaper and give you a little advance warning. You can subscribe to these magazines and newspapers by calling their offices or online.

A better option is to figure out which places you like to attend programs at and sign yourself up for their mailing list. Places like Makaan, el Genaina Theatre, Villa Grey, Institute Cervantes, Aliiance Francais, Diwan bookstore and others.

Places like the el Sawy Cultural Center bring out a monthly program in the last week of the preceding month in English, Arabic and French. You may need to visit their location to pick up the schedule.

The Opera House brings out its annual program at the beginning of the New Year in September. Since most acts are international, the programs are planned well in advance. You can buy the annual schedule at the Opera House in the evenings before a program starts. (It is not normally available at the Ticket Office)

www.yallabina.com does post movie listings and concert schedules, but they seem to have moved onto a more Middle East regional perspective, publicizing events in Dubai more than those in Cairo. Plus their information isn’t always 100% accurate as I found out the hard way, when trying to book tickets for the Disney Ice show which led me on a wild goose chase across Link Dot net offices. Friends have reported that the movie timings mentioned are mixed up pretty often. So the best way to use this site is, as a very general guideline and then call the location and verify details.

If you use Facebook, there are a number of online groups like Cairo Gigs and local bands whose groups you can join and then you will get a mail when they have a new concert planned in the city.

If you listen to 104.2 NileFM, you will get to hear of the major concerts and events happening in Cairo.

Expat Women’s clubs and The American Research Center in Egypt, have their own mailing lists and you automatically get sent mailers, once you are a paid up member.

Some special smaller scale events like the American Independence Day Party, the Green and Gold gala etc are advertised in the Oasis, so make sure you pick up your copy every month.

The www.livinginegypt.org site has an online calendar for CSA specific events with a feature that lets you automatically save an event in your Microsoft Outlook or Outlook Express calendar.

A simple alternative to signing up for multiple lists is to subscribe to whazzupcairo on googlegroups or yahoogroups. It is a completely free service where you receive notifications on events occurring across the city straight into your mailbox. You can save the events you are interested in, in your online calendar. Signing up is simple. Just send a blank mail to whazzupcairo-subscribe@yahoogroups.com or whazzupcairo-subscribe@googlegroups.com and when you receive a mail to confirm that you requested the service, mail back with your approval. All you need is an email id.

If you find that the service brings too many emails into your inbox, you can switch to the digest version (25 emails together or one for all the emails in a day, whichever comes first) or no mail version, where you can continue to view the posts on the web.

If you check on even a few of these options, I am sure you will find a lot of events to fill up your time, especially your evenings and weekends.

Helpful Websites and Blogs:
http://egypttoday.com/
http://whazzupegypt.blogspot.com/
http://www.livinginegypt.org
http://www.ct-egypt.com/
http://lulusbay.blogspot.com/
http://www.culturewheel.com
http://www.thetownhousegallery.com/
http://dailystaregypt.com/
http://www.yallabina.com/
http://www.saharasafaris.org/
http://www.cairochronicles.com/jack
http://www.fugatesincairo.blogspot.com
http://miloflamingo.blogspot.com
http://oldbagofcairo.blogspot.com
http://egypt4.wordpress.com
http://www.living-in-egypt-manisha.blogspot.com

Karishma Pais (Kim) is an expat trailing wife in Cairo. She has a Masters Degree in Human Resources and Behavior. She consults on HR projects, delivers intercultural training at the CSA, counsels new and experienced expats, writes for several magazines – online and offline, she runs whazzupcairo@yahoogroups.com and whazzupcairo@googlegroups.com among other activities.
Her Social Commentary and blog about life in Egypt can be read at http://whazzupegypt.blogspot.com

Siwa Oasis - Part 3 : Where to Stay (contd)

This is the third in a beautiful series of articles written by my friend Gabi Philips who has spent an extended period of time in Siwa.

Read Part 1: Where to Stay before you read this part.

In my previous message I forgot to state that there is more than one hotel (less than 100LE) in the area of Gebel El-Dakroury, one of them is called Amun hotel. They are usually used in the summer by people who come to experience the curative powers of being buried in sand.

Now to some of the interesting hotels in Siwa:

1. The Desert Rose hotel: "Desert rose" is not just another name for the hotel, but a very meaningful one. After leaving the "noisy" town behind and on your way to the hotel, you pass a long stretch (by bicycle/donkey cart/car) of land, where there are gardens on the right side and thedesert on the left.

It is located about 3 kms away from downtown on the way to Bir Wahed in an area called "el-shahayem" (Southwest of Siwa). I felt as if I was on the border of the great sand sea as the old asphalt ends only about 200 meters after the hotel (my personal conclusion is that this asphalt was paved when king Fouad visited the oasis).

There are only 8 rooms with external bathroom. Prices on B&B are 70, 120, 180 LE for single, double or triple room respectively. But add everyday transportation to move anywhere (about 20LE each time) to your costs. They can prepare Siwan food.

2. Dream lodge: Located in the Northeast of Siwa in the area of Gebel el-mawata. It is built and operated by a local Siwan "Gamal Youssef" who is originally a builder.

The lodge consists of only 6 rooms (planning to build more) Each room with attached bathroom, TV, fan and heater.

Prices on B&B are 120, 160, 190LE for single, double or triple room respectively.
Contact 046/4601745 , 010/7625862, 010/0999255. The lodge is still new.
They can prepare Siwan food.

Speaking with the owner gave me insight into the operational problems that he faces because he is a local and not an investor.
As a builder, he built every part of it himself, so it cost him material and finishing about 240,000 LE. Now to get a licence from the tourism authority he has to pay some fees where the lodge is priced at a value of 2 million LE!!! He also stated that some Non- Egyptians bought houses in Siwa and operate them as lodging facility, marketing through the internet and accepting the guests officially as friends not tourists hence they pay nothing to the tourism authorities.

3. Adrar Amellal Ecolodge: in the Siwan language it means 'the white mountain', sometimes also called Ga'far for the Shrine of a holy person in the area named "Ga'far". It is located about 17 kms to the West of Siwa at the Western end of the Western lake. Adrar Amellal Ecolodge is built using Siwan materials.

There are several locations on the premises for having breakfast and dinner (about 5-6 places, check the photos). Lunch is served in the garden (amidst palm trees) where there is a natural water pool.

Normal room price may be 250 - 350 $/night and reaches 400$/night in the Royal Suite. (Prince Charles stayed here and so enjoyed himself that he extended his stay from 1 to 3 nights) As far as I know a desert safari is included in the price of the room.


However, there are some people who disagree with the building of such lodges. Some locals say that a poor man can't build a house anymore as such ecolodges increase the prices of building material. For example a palm trunk which used to cost 1LE now sells for 6 LE (600% increase). Palm trunks are used as ceiling and must be used at a specific time of the year otherwise it needs some extra "treatment" before being used for building.

One more "resort" I would like to point to is "Royal Cleopatra International Touristic Resort" It is just behind Gebel El-Dakroury and it seems to be targeting guests interested in the sand burying technique.

Pictures and more descriptions can be viewed here

Siwa Oasis - Part 2 : Where to Stay

This is the second in a beautiful series of articles written by my friend Gabi Philips who has spent an extended period of time in Siwa.

There are many hotels in Siwa with great variety in prices starting from 10 LE/night and upto 400 $/night :)

I'll start with the cheap and budget hotels:

1. Cleopatra Hotel: It is 5 minutes walk away from the main square, good location in my opinion.
This hotel has 3 levels of accommodation, the cheapest is a room with an external bath for 17 LE and with internal bath for 23LE (single).
The one I tried was a normal room with bath for 35-50 LE (single-double).
There are rooms with air conditioning and TV for 85 LE with an excellent view on Shali.

2. Kelany Hotel: In the main square. The normal room with bath and view of the market and Shali is for 50 LE with fan and water heater.
A side view room with TV, receiver and fridge costs 70 LE.
Triple room is for 120 LE.
The hotel has a restaurant on the roof with a good view of Shali and prepares normal and local food and is reasonably priced.

3. Arous el-waha: Very close to the main square and looks very good, prices start from 50LE, I thought it was much more than that because of some comments I read on the internet.

4. Palm Trees Hotel: 2 buildings away from the main square.
15-25LE for bed with external bath (single-double).
35-45LE for double- triple with attached bath.
50LE for Siwan Chalet in the garden of the hotel.

5. Youssef Hotel: In the main square
10-16LE single-double with external bath.
15-25LE single-double with attachedbath.
(not advisable unless you really want to rough it out)

The following hotels most of them have a natural water pool and some are 3 stars, prices are around 150-300 LE

1. Kenoz Shali Lodge: few minutes walk from the main square, built in the Siwan style, there is a restaurant for anyone to dine.

2. Siwa Safari Paradise: has a natural water pool, 3 stars, few minutes walk to the main square.

3. Reem El-waha: has a natural water pool, on the way to Aghouramy (more than 1 km from the main square).
The rooms have TV, fan, water heater and fridge.
90-140LE for single-double room.
110-160LE for single-double room with air conditioning
All rates on B&B basis.

4. Taghaghein Island: few kms away from the main square, it is an island in the Western Lake of Siwa with lodging and day use facility.

5. Mubarak Hotel: Long walk from the main square, no pool.
About 150 LE for B&B.
Mainly used for official events.
Very good hotel, I tried it couple of years ago.

6. Penta: Relatively new, it is between the gardens on the Eastern side of Siwa.

7. Siwa Inn: Far from the main square, has a natural pool, prices from 160-280LE.

Many more interesting hotels with photos in the next message.

Gabi


Pictures and more descriptions can be viewed here

Siwa Oasis - Part 1 : Transportation

This is the first in a beautiful series of articles written by my friend Gabi Philips who has spent an extended period of time in Siwa.

How to Get there

Siwa is 306 kms from Marsa Matrouh to the Southwest. It is about 800 kms from Cairo, 600 kms from Alexandria.

It is connected by bus only to Marsa Matrouh and Alexandria, the bus leaves to Alexandria only once a day (as far as I remember about 10 pm from Siwa). From and to Marsa Matrouh the bus leaves 4 times a day at 7 & 10 am and 1 & 4 pm, the bus from and to Marsa Matrouh costs 12 LE, if you missed the bus there are microbuses all the day to and from Marsa Maatrouh (for 13 LE)

If you're going by car then I guess it is an easy way :)

Last time I was coming back from Siwa I was with someone who used to pass the way from Marouh to Siwa in the 70s, he was talking about how the gazelles / Ibex used to jump around.

Personally, I took the bus from Cairo to Marsa Matrouh at 12 midnight (50 LE) reached Matrouh about 6 am, couldn't wait for 7 am, so I took a microbus, arrived at Siwa 10:30 am (still had the full day to enjoy).

I got a crazy idea that a visit to Siwa could be on a weekend, leaving Thursday night, arriving at Siwa Friday morning, leaving Siwa to Marsa Matrouh Saturday night (about 8 pm) so as to reach Cairo early enough on Sunday :) maybe I'll try it one day.

Internal transportation:
1- Hire a bicycle: it is for 2 LE/hour or 10 LE/day. You can hire one and do most of the visits in one day.

2- Donkey cart: written on it Siwa taxi, you can use it for short distance, long distance and even make a deal for the complete tour.

3- Hire a truck: for the long distances like the temples in the West, the water springs in the East and West. Price depends on both distance and time. The prices I got are 50-70 LE to Abo-Shrouf depending on time. 20 LE to the nearby hot spring in the East. 35 LE to Taghaghein island. 40LE to the temples at Maraki. Those prices are for one hour and increases by 20LE in case of more time (he didn't tell me for each extra hour).
You can find such trucks downtown, I have one phone number 0129750865 his name is Soliman.

Gabi



Pictures and more descriptions can be viewed here

I have an earlier article on traveling from Cairo to Siwa that you can read here.

Cairo to Siwa

A friend sent me this some time back. I can't remember who it was, so I apologise for not giving due credit.

The Road to Siwa
There are several ways to get to Siwa. Upon your arrival you will be assured of a warm welcome from the Siwan people.

To and from Cairo
The Western Delta Bus Company run a daily service from Cairo to Marsa Matrouh which is en route to Siwa. The bus leaves Turkamen Bus Station, Cairo at 7.30am. The journey is 500 kilometers and takes five hours. The fare is 38 LE. Refreshments are served on the air-conditioned bus. From Marsa Matrouh catch the onward bus service to Siwa. The journey takes four hours and the ticket costs 12 LE. The bus leaves at 1.30 pm and arrives in Siwa at 5pm.

Leaving Siwa for Cairo the bus leaves at 7am from the Ramel Station or Market Square. Change at Marsa Matrouh where there are buses leaving for Cairo until 2pm.
Superjet buses leave Shurbra Khama Bus Station in Cairo at 4.30pm arriving at Marsa Matrouh at 11pm if you wish to spend some time at Marsa Matrouh.
To and from Alexandria
From Alexandria, Siwa can be reached from both the old and the new bus stations. The buses from Sidi Gabber Bus Station are at 8.30am, 11.30am and 2.30am. The journey takes 8 hours and costs 27EL. From the new Bus Station the buses to Siwa are at 9pm, 12pm and 3 pm.

To return to Alexandria there are four buses daily from Siwa at 7am, 10am, 5pm. and 10pm. The fare is 27 EL.
You can also travel to Siwa by minibus from Alexandria. They run from Mahrenbeck Station and the fare is 20 LE in total. You change mini-bus at Marsa Matrouh and pay 10LE per mini-bus.

Here is a timetable for all services running between Siwa, Alexandria and Cairo:

From	To	Leave	Duration	Km	Vehicle	Depart from	Arrive at	Price
Cairo	Matrouh	0.3125	5hrs	500	West Delta Bus	Turkamen	Matrouh	38LE
Cairo	Matrouh	16:30pm	5hrs	500	Superjet Bus	Shurba Khama	Matrouh	Variable
Alex	Siwa	8:30	8hrs	586	West Delta Bus	Sidi Gaber	Market Sq.	27LE
Alex	Siwa	11:00	8hrs	586	West Delta Bus	Sidi Gaber	Market Sq.	27LE
Alex	Siwa	14:30:00	8hrs	586	West Delta Bus	Sidi Gaber	Market Sq.	27LE
Alex	Matrouh	Any time	3.5hrs	280	Minibus	Mahrenbeck st.	Matrouh	10LE
Buses leave from New Bus Station in Alexandria half an hour after above times.
Matrouh	Siwa	13:30	4hrs	306	West Delta Bus	Matrouh	Market Sq.	12LE
Matrouh	Cairo	Every 2hrs	5hrs	500	West Delta Bus	Matrouh	Cairo stations	38LE
Matrouh	Cairo	Any time	6hrs	500	Minibus	Matrouh	Giza	20LE
Matrouh	Siwa	Any time	3.5hrs	306	Minibus	Matrouh	Market Sq.	10LE
Siwa	Matrouh	07:00am	4hrs	306	West Delta Bus	Market Sq.	Matrouh	12LE
Siwa	Alex	7:00	8hrs	586	West Delta Bus	Market Sq.	Alex stations	27LE
Siwa	Alex	10:00	8hrs	586	West Delta Bus	Market Sq.	Alex stations	27LE
Siwa	Alex	17:00	8hrs	586	West Delta Bus	Market Sq.	Alex stations	27LE
Siwa	Alex	22:00	8hrs	586	West Delta Bus	Market Sq.	Alex stations	27LE