Siwa is one of those places that is still well preserved and not overrun by tourist, despite its unearthly gorgeous springs. You have to really want to go to Siwa to go to Siwa. People visiting Egypt don't typically opt to sit on a bus for 8 hours to trek to see more desert.
It is, obviously, more than just desert. Siwa has a culture all its own as a result of being isolated till about the 1980s. They have a local language, Siwi, and their own culture and traditions such as their dress, food (dates and tea are their specialty), and a history that once (and may still) accepted same-sex marriage and relations between men. The women are kept at home, for the most part. When they are out in public, they are under drapes of fabric- completely covered in the sweltering heat. They make Cairo seem extremely liberal.
The oasis town has been hurting for years as a result of the sharp decline of tourism in Egypt. We ran into only one other pair of visitors when we were there. Still, shopkeepers are not aggressive like they are elsewhere. They will invite you in for tea and try to convince you how amazing Siwa is.
We had only a short amount of time but made the most of it with a day and night desert excursion. We visited a natural cold water and hot water spring. We swam in this gorgeous lake in the middle of a vast desert. It was the clearest, cleanest water.
At night, we slept in the desert. No tents, just mats.
It is, obviously, more than just desert. Siwa has a culture all its own as a result of being isolated till about the 1980s. They have a local language, Siwi, and their own culture and traditions such as their dress, food (dates and tea are their specialty), and a history that once (and may still) accepted same-sex marriage and relations between men. The women are kept at home, for the most part. When they are out in public, they are under drapes of fabric- completely covered in the sweltering heat. They make Cairo seem extremely liberal.
The oasis town has been hurting for years as a result of the sharp decline of tourism in Egypt. We ran into only one other pair of visitors when we were there. Still, shopkeepers are not aggressive like they are elsewhere. They will invite you in for tea and try to convince you how amazing Siwa is.
We had only a short amount of time but made the most of it with a day and night desert excursion. We visited a natural cold water and hot water spring. We swam in this gorgeous lake in the middle of a vast desert. It was the clearest, cleanest water.
At night, we slept in the desert. No tents, just mats.
