A Dream Come True.....

Ramadan is finally over, and life is back to normal, but with the end of Ramadan it also means 4 days of paid holiday leave to do whatever I want!!!!!!

So, another of my dreams ticked off the list..... going to an oasis and staying in the middle of the desert!!! It was a dream!!! Totally surreal!!!

A random Cafe in the middle of nowhere on the way to Siwa

So 10 of us, 4 Egyptians, an American, a German, 2 British Indians, a Maltese and an Australian headed off to Siwa. Approximately 800 km away from Alex, lies Siwa, an oasis in Egypt, located between the Qattara Depression and the Egyptian Sand Sea in the Libyan desert. With a population of about 23,000 Siwa, is also one of the most  fascinating oasis in Egypt, lying some 60 feet below sea level!!!!

Stepping into this town was like stepping into a film set. Setting foot into the real Egypt. The Siwan people have their own culture and customs and, as well as speaking Arabic, they speak their own Berber language. Women still wear tradition costumes and silver jewelery. Donkey driven carts are still the main means of transportation in the town.

The town of Siwa is set among thick palm groves, walled gardens and olive orchards, with numerous freshwater springs and salt lakes.

We spent our first night chilling out in a super cool restaurant in a hotel made out of rock salt and mud brick surrounded by palm trees. The true Arabian night experience. We then climbed up the impressive remains of the ancient fortress town of Shali. This ancient fortress is built out of natural rock salt, mud brick and palm logs, although now mostly abandoned, it remains a prominent feature, towering about five storey above the modern town.

Chilling out in Siwa - Fatnas Island

We spent the next day riding on donkey and carts visiting the historic sites of interest; the remains of the oracle temple; Gebel al Mawta (The mountain of the Dead); Cleopatra's Bath, a natural sulpur spring; and Fatnas Island - unfortunately they were not well kept so not that interesting. But it was still nice riding through the vast lands of olive and date trees and chatting to the little boy leading our donkey.

   
Transportation in Siwa town                               Transportation in the Desert

After that, we headed on to the desert!!! - I could not believe my eyes! The scenery is fantastic!!! All you see is sand sand sand sand!!!! At felt a slight panic attack, and it took me a while till i adjusted to the feel of the sand on my body!!! But the beauty of it all was more intense then the horrid feeling of sand - I can't stand sand!!!!

We rode jeeps into the desert, climbed and went down high sand dunes, until we arrived into our campsite, where were were welcomed by a beautiful sunset, camels and delicious Siwan tea.

The Desert

Dinner is being prepared!!!!

The tent was fantastic!!! More than i had expected!!! The Bedouins cooked for us a luscious meal, which consisted of vegetables and chicken cooked over an open fire!!! A real treat!!!

Our Next Door Neighbours while camping in the Sahara!!

We had a good time!!! The 3 girls (me and the 2 British Indians) bonded during our communal peeing. Which during the night was pretty easy as you would walk a couple of meters away from the campsite and nobody would be able to see you cause there would be pitch darkness!!! But during the day it was a real mission!!! All you could see is sand sand sand, and nowhere to hide behind so you could relieve yourself!!! So you had to walk and walk and walk till you find a sand dune you could climb behind.

Poo and I rolling down massive Sand Dunes

The next day was a day of desert fun!!! Of driving up and down extremely steep sand dunes, some also as close as 45 degrees. Rolling down sand dunes, which also resulted in an aching and a bruised body!!!! I actually got the guts to roll down the sandy dune and overcome my hatred of sand!!! It was a cool experience! a good way to let go!!!  Unfortunately that meant rolling more than the other did! and ending up right at the bottom - what a mission to climb up. We then feasted ourselves to a nice bath in the oasis and finally to the sunset over the salt lake.

A Swim in the Oasis                          Ehab pretending to be Jesus and walking

                                                                                     on the Salt lake

The last day was spent lazing in town and shopping. The way back was extremely tiring and long!!!! But most certainly worth the effort of the 8hr bus ride to and fro!!!

The Desert tends to get boring sometimes, so Poo decided to entertain herself by veiling me, and Tom decided to realise his fetish of abusing a veiled girl!!!!

Siwa is a memorable experience, a real Arabian night, and a dream come true!!!!