A trip to Siwa
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Siwa, which in Berber signifies “prey bird”, is known to have been settled since at least the 10th millennium BC, its Ancient Egyptian name, Sekht-am, meaning “Palm Land”. This oasis, about 80km long and 20km wide, located nearly 50km east of the Libyan border between the Qattara Depression and the Egyptian Sand Sea, is in fact home to some 23,000 Amazigh Berbers, who form a separate ethnic group with a distinct language identified as taSiwit, a relative of what is heard in Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya and Berber communities in parts of Niger and Mali. Interestingly, Amazigh means “free people”, and the Siwans have remained just that.
There is history slapping your modernly-comfortable mind at every turn; there are fox tracks around your sleeping bag in the morning; there are dead salt lakes sustaining life all around them; there are dunes that make you scream at the top of your lungs as your stomach jumps on ever- rising crests of sand; there are people who make you forget that you are in Egypt just by greeting each other good morning; there is olive jam and couscous; there are women who walk the streets all wrapped in blue embroidered veils; and others who skid down dunes on sandboards; there are dead bodies buried everywhere; there are sea shells in the middle of the desert; there is mint tea; there are stars elbowing one another for a spot in the night sky; there is the Temple of the Oracle.
Legend has it that Alexander reached the oasis guided by birds across the desert for, insecure about his status as divine king, he made the long journey seeking the divination of the Temple of the Oracle of Amen before he set out on his conquest in Persia. The oracle, whose answer he was exceptionally allowed by the priests to receive in person thanks to his status, is said to have confirmed his query and cleared his mind regarding another which has remained a mystery until this day.
The revelations of the oracle fell into disrepute under the Roman occupation of Egypt, however, and the Romans eventually used the oasis as a place of banishment. This development seems perfectly logical, since Siwa’s remoteness — precisely the factor that helped its people maintain their identity — is also the reason why visitors feel they have stepped out of a time capsule into a different era, which translates into complete abandon and relaxation.
Excerpted from an article by Injy El-Kashef for Al-Ahram Weekly
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