Siwa Major Cities and Towns Desicription With a population of about 23,000, Siwa, the most inaccessible of all Egypt's oasis until very recently, is also one of the most fascinating, lying some 60 feed below sea level.. On the edge of the Great Sand Sea, its rich history includes a visit from Alexander the Great to consult the Oracle of Amun in 331 BC. Archaeologists, such as Liana Souvaltsis and implied that the great military leader was burried here, but no real evidence has come from this. The King of Persia lead a 50,000 man army to the area to distroy the oracle, but the entire army was lost in the desert. The area has a nice climate, chilly in winter, hot in the summer and moderate in the spring and autumn. Lake Siwa to the west of the town of is a large, saltwater lake.
The area is also famous for its springs, of which there are approximately
1,000. The water is sweet, and is said to have medical properties. Though relaxing and certainly now a part of the tourist community in Egypt, it is very traditional, and visitors should keep this in mind when traveling to the area. Girls of the area are often married by the age of 14, and afterward where completely covering clothing, and allowed little communications with the world outside their immediate family. Many women still wear traditional costumes and silver jewelry like those displayed in The Traditional Siwan House museum in the town center. In fact, the area is also well known for its crafts, particularly woven cloth, which is unique in Egypt. How to get to the Siwa Oasis
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The
area is famous for its dates and olives, and is one of the most beautiful
landscapes in Egpt. Olives oil is still made in the area by crushing the
olives from the 70,000 olive trees in the area with stones. The dates are
gathered by zaggala (stick bearers), who must remain celibate until the age
of forty, and the area boasts some 300,000 date trees. It is located
on the old date caravan route, yet until recently, it received few other
visitors and retained much of its heritage. In fact, until the battles
which took place around the oasis in World War II, it was hardly governed by
Egypt, and remained mostly a Berber (Zenatiya) community for the prior
thirteen centuries. Siwans continue to have their own culture and
customs and they speak a Berber language, called Siwi, rather than Arabic.
Interestingly, each October there is a three-day festival during which Siwans must settle all of their past year's
disputes. 
