Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Email
Answers.com

Siwa Oasis

 
Britannica Concise Encyclopedia: Siwa Oasis
Home > Library > Miscellaneous > Britannica Concise Encyclopedia

Oasis (pop., latest est.: 7,000), western Egypt. Located near the modern border with Libya, it is 6 mi (10 km) long and 4 – 5 mi (6 – 8 km) wide, with about 200 springs. Extremely fertile, it supports thousands of date palms and olive trees. It was the seat of the oracle temple of Amon; its fragmentary remains survive, with inscriptions dating from the 4th century BC, along with many Roman remains.

For more information on Siwa Oasis, visit Britannica.com.

Search unanswered questions...

Enter a question here...
Search: All sources Community Q&A Reference topics

Mideast & N. Africa Encyclopedia: Siwa Oasis
Top
Home > Library > History, Politics & Society > Mideast & N. Africa Encyclopedia

Oasis in northwest Egypt.

The Siwa oasis, 186 miles (300 km) west of Marsa Matruh, had an estimated population of 23,000 in 2002. In ancient times Siwa was the seat of the oracle of Jupiter Ammon, visited by Alexander the Great in 331 B.C.E. It has historically served as both Egypt's western boundary and the easternmost area inhabited by Berbers. The spoken Siwan dialect is a Berber language heavily influenced by Arabic. In the nineteenth century it was one of the centers of the Sanusi Order, and some fighting took place there during World War I. The people of Siwa pride themselves on their differences from other Egyptians and their ability to resolve disputes without resort to bloodshed. The oasis is a center for date palm agriculture. Formerly isolated, it has become accessible by motor transport and is now being developed for tourism. Siwa is also the name of a town in the southern part of the oasis.

Bibliography

Fakhry, Ahmed. Siwa Oasis. Cairo: American University in Cairo Press, 1990.

Sears, Constance S. "The Oasis of Siwa: Visited and Revisited." Newsletter of the American Research Center in Egypt 165 (spring/summer 1994): 1 - 10.

Souryal, Sam S. "Social Control in the Oasis of Siwa: A Study in Natural Justice and Conflict Resolution." International Criminal Justice Review 11 (2001): 82 - 103.

Vivian, Cassandra. Siwa Oasis: Its History, Sites, and Crafts. Ma'adi, Egypt, 1991.

— ARTHUR GOLDSCHMIDT

Wikipedia: Siwa Oasis
Top
Home > Library > Miscellaneous > Wikipedia
Siwa Oasis
Siwa Oasis has many mud-brick buildings
Siwa Oasis is located in Egypt
Siwa Oasis
Location in Egypt
Coordinates: 29°11′N 25°33′E / 29.183°N 25.55°E / 29.183; 25.55
Country  Egypt
Governorate Matruh Governorate
Time zone EST (UTC+2)
 - Summer (DST) +3 (UTC)

The Siwa Oasis (Arabic: واحة سيوة‎ Wāḥat Sīwah, from Berber Siwa "prey bird; protector of the sun god Amon-Ra"[1]) is an oasis in Egypt, located between the Qattara Depression and the Egyptian Sand Sea in the Libyan Desert, nearly 50 km (30 mi) east of the Libyan border, and 560 km (348 mil) from Cairo.[2][3][4] About 80 km (50 miles) in length and 20 km (12 mi) wide,[2] Siwa Oasis is one of Egypt's isolated settlements, with 23,000 people, mostly ethnic Berbers[2] who speak a distinct language of the Berber family known as taSiwit. Its fame lies primarily in its ancient role as the home to an oracle of Amon, the ruins of which are a popular tourist attraction which give the oasis its name.

Agriculture is the main activity of modern Siwi, particularly the cultivation of dates and olives. Handicrafts like basketry are also of regional importance.[2] Tourism has in recent decades become a vital source of income. Much attention has been given to creating hotels that use local materials and play on local styles.

Contents

History

Siwa Oasis is vast, extending beyond the horizon
Site of Siwah Oasis in Egypt (top left).

Although the oasis is known to have been settled since at least the 10th millennium BC, the earliest evidence of connection with ancient Egypt is the 26th Dynasty, when a necropolis was established. The ancient Egyptian name of Siwa was Sekht-am "Palm Land".[2][5]

Greek settlers at Cyrene made contact with the oasis around the same time (7th century BC), and the oracle temple of Amun (Greek: Zeus Ammon), who, Herodotus was told, took the image here of a ram. Herodotus knew of a "fountain of the Sun" that ran coldest in the noontide heat.[6] Prior to his campaign of conquest in Persia, Alexander the Great reached the oasis, supposedly by following birds across the desert. The oracle, Alexander's court historians alleged, confirmed him as both a divine personage and the legitimate Pharaoh of Egypt.

The Romans later used Siwa as a place of banishment. Evidence of Christianity at Siwa is dubious, but in 708 the Siwans resisted an Islamic army, and probably did not convert until the 12th century. A local manuscript mentions only seven families totaling 40 men living at the oasis in 1203.

The first European to visit since Roman times was the English traveler William George Browne, who came in 1792 to see the ancient temple of the oracle.[2]

The oasis was officially added to Egypt by Muhammad Ali of Egypt in 1819, but his rule was tenuous and marked by several revolts.

Siwa was the site of some fighting during World War I and World War II. The British Army's Long Range Desert Group was based here, but Rommel's Afrika Korps also took possession three times. German soldiers went skinny dipping in the lake of the oracle, which was considered a sacrilege.[7]

Temple of the Oracle of Amun at Siwa

The ancient fortress of Siwa, built of natural rock (inselberg), made of salt, mud-brick[2] and palm logs and known as the Shali Ghali ("Shali" for city, and "Ghali", remote), although now mostly abandoned and 'melted', remains a prominent feature, towering five stories above the modern town.

Other local historic sites of interest include: the remains of the oracle temple; the Gebel al Mawta (the Mountain of the Dead), a Roman-era necropolis featuring dozens of rock-cut tombs;[2] and "Cleopatra's Bath", an antique natural spring. The fragmentary remains of the oracle temple, with some inscriptions dating from the 4th century BC, lie within the ruins of Aghurmi. The revelations of the oracle fell into disrepute under the Roman occupation of Egypt.[2]

Another attraction for tourists is Fatnas Island, which became a palm-fringed peninsula located on the edge of a saltwater lake.[citation needed] The lake had been partially drained in recent years due to a plan to limit the effect of rising water levels in Siwa due to agricultural runoff from uncontrolled wells (a major problem affecting the entire oasis), and Fatnas Island is now surrounded mostly by mud flats.

Agriculture

Siwa is popular for its palm and olive trees, producing huge volumes of dates and olives. Extra virgin olive oil is one of Siwa's popular products used in Egypt and exported to Europe. Mulukhiyah is also a reputable Siwa product in Egypt.

Climate


Weather data for Siwa
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 26.5
(80)		 26.9
(80)		 29.6
(85)		 35.0
(95)		 41.6
(107)		 47.3
(117)		 46.7
(116)		 47.1
(117)		 39.5
(103)		 34.8
(95)		 30.6
(87)		 27.5
(82)		 47.3
(117)
Average high °C (°F) 15.8
(60)		 16.6
(62)		 19.9
(68)		 24.7
(76)		 28.5
(83)		 33.2
(92)		 37.7
(100)		 35.6
(96)		 28.5
(83)		 24.0
(75)		 19.5
(67)		 16.1
(61)
Average low °C (°F) 9.4
(49)		 11.5
(53)		 14.6
(58)		 16.8
(62)		 19.2
(67)		 23.0
(73)		 24.3
(76)		 23.2
(74)		 18.0
(64)		 14.4
(58)		 11.1
(52)		 8.8
(48)
Record low °C (°F) 1.0
(34)		 2.4
(36)		 4.4
(40)		 6.9
(44)		 9.0
(48)		 11.0
(52)		 11.4
(53)		 11.5
(53)		 8.6
(47)		 4.2
(40)		 1.7
(35)		 0.7
(33)		 0.7
(33)
Precipitation mm (inches) 10.5
(0.41)		 9.8
(0.39)		 5.0
(0.2)		 4.9
(0.19)		 0.6
(0.02)		 0.0
(0)		 0.2
(0.01)		 0.1
(0)		 0.8
(0.03)		 4.7
(0.19)		 10.0
(0.39)		 14.9
(0.59)		 61.5
(2.42)
Source:

Ancient footprint

What may be the world's oldest human footprint was discovered in 2007 at Siwa Oasis. It may date to over 3 million years ago.[8]

See also

Siwa's mud-brick homes

Desert sand dunes around Siwa

Body of water at Siwa Oasis

References

  1. ^ Ilahiane, Hsain (2006), "Siwa Oasis", written at Lanham, MD, Historical dictionary of the Berbers (Imazighen), Historical dictionaries of peoples and cultures, 5, Scarecrow Press, Inc, p. 111, ISBN 9780810854529 
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Siwa", Encyclopædia Britannica, 2007 .
  3. ^ Bard, Kathryn A.; Shubert, Steven Blake, eds., Encyclopedia of the Archaeology of Ancient Egypt, Routledge (UK), ISBN 0415185890, http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN0415185890&id=XNdgScxtirYC&pg=PA738&lpg=PA738&ots=wF_yMSkmE0&dq=%22Siwa+Oasis%22&ie=ISO-8859-1&output=html&sig=k7Zbz8ncr2tgC0aJXx2YGNYVib4 .
  4. ^ Arnold, Dieter; Strudwick, Helen; Strudwick, Nigel, eds. (2003), The Encyclopaedia of Ancient Egyptian Architecture, I B Tauris, ISBN 1860644651, http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN1860644651&id=XIns9M_9DcgC&pg=RA1-PA223&lpg=RA1-PA223&dq=%22Siwa+Oasis%22&ie=ISO-8859-1&output=html&sig=ZE8yEaZ-glWVuCLRceTfM8xdn_c 
  5. ^ "Ammon", Encyclopædia Britannica, 2007, http://www.britannica.com/eb/topic-21208/Amon 
  6. ^ Herodotus, Histories (Herodotus)|Histories]], iv (on-line text).
  7. ^ http://byebyenet.com/Egypt/Oasis/siwa.htm
  8. ^ Reuters: Human footprint may be oldest ever found August 20, 2007.

Bibliography

External links

Search Wikimedia Commons Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Siwa

Coordinates: 29°11′N 25°33′E / 29.183°N 25.55°E / 29.183; 25.55

v • d • e
Egypt oasis areas
Palm tree.jpg

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

 
 

 

Copyrights:

Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. © 2006 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
Mideast & N. Africa Encyclopedia. Encyclopedia of the Modern Middle East and North Africa. Copyright © 2004 by The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Siwa Oasis".  Read more