Siwa Oasis Travel Guide
Siwa is the remote Oasis town located in Egypt ’s Western desert, between the Quattara depression and the Great Sand Sea just 50km from the Libyan border.
Until relatively recently Siwa was cut off from the world. Settled by the Berbers of North Africa in ancient times, the Egyptian government took little interest in Siwa and even the Arabic languagefailed to take hold here. Alexander the Great famously visited the oracle at the Temple of Amun in 331 BC. However, few Europeans ventured this far into the desert again until WWII and few tourists until the completion of a road to Marsa Mutrah in the 1980s.
Now Siwa is well and truly part of Egypt ’s tourist route, although the years of isolation make it rich in its Berber heritage and a little bit different from any other place in Egypt .
The people here still speak Berber as opposed to Arabic. The Berbers are strict Muslims and visitor should be prepared to respect this. It’s not unusual for girls to be married in their teenage years, after which time they will cover up from head to toe and have little interaction with men outside of their immediate family (Click for Information about How to Dress in Egypt).
To get to Siwa visitors can travel from Cairo or Alexandria . From Cairo ’s Turkoman bus station a bus will take you to Marsa Mutruh (5 hours) and then on to Siwa (an additional 4 hours). From Alex buses leave both the old and new bus stations and take approximately 8 hours.
