Siwa

Why go

Alexander's oracle — he crossed the desert in 331 BC to ask whether he was a god. A Berber town below sea level — Siwi is the language, and the culture is not Egyptian. Salt lakes you cannot sink in — swimming pools cut into the crust, at body temperature. The Great Sand Sea — dunes beginning at the town's edge and running to Libya.

The character

Siwa lies in a depression eighteen metres below sea level, three hundred kilometres from the Nile and fifty from Libya, and its isolation preserved everything: the people speak Siwi, a Berber language unrelated to Arabic; the customs, marriage rules and social structures are distinct; and until a paved road arrived in the 1980s the journey took days by camel. The springs are the reason for the settlement — hundreds of them, feeding date palms and olive groves that support around thirty thousand people.

The oracle made it famous. The Temple of the Oracle of Amun stood here from the sixth century BC, consulted from across the Greek world, and in 331 BC Alexander crossed the desert to ask its priests a question whose answer he never disclosed, though he behaved afterwards as though it had been yes. The mudbrick fortress town of Shali, built in the thirteenth century from salt-rich kershef blocks, dissolved partially in three days of rain in 1926 and was abandoned; its ruins still stand over the town like a melted castle.

Places of character

Shali fortress — the thirteenth-century kershef town, dissolving slowly, with lanes still walkable in places. Temple of the Oracle, Aghurmi — the ruined temple on a rock where Alexander was received. Cleopatra's Bath — a stone-lined spring pool that locals use daily; women should swim covered. Salt lakes — pools cut into the salt crust with water so dense you float without effort. Fatnas Island — a palm-covered spit on Lake Siwa, the classic sunset spot. The Great Sand Sea — dune driving and sandboarding, with hot springs and fossil beds out in it.

The way to do it

Get there by road from Marsa Matruh — four hours — and stay at least two nights, because the drive is long and the town is slow. Respect local norms: Siwa is conservative and women bathe covered. Take a desert trip with an overnight in the sand sea. And eat dates and olives from the groves; they are the local economy.

One perfect day

Sunrise at the Temple of the Oracle on its rock, empty, with the palm groves below and the escarpment beyond. Breakfast of dates and Siwan bread. Morning walking Shali's melted lanes and up to the top for the whole oasis. A float in a salt lake, where you cannot sink. Lunch and shade through the middle of the day. Late afternoon into the Great Sand Sea by 4x4: dunes, a fossil bed of sea shells in the desert, a hot spring at dusk. Camp or drive back for sunset at Fatnas with the lake going pink and nothing audible at all.

Grand hotels

Adrère Amellal — an eco-lodge built of kershef with no electricity, lit by candles; one of the world's most distinctive hotels. Talist Siwa — smaller, also mudbrick, on the edge of the palm groves.

When to go

Best expression: October to April — warm days, cold nights and comfortable desert trips. Consider: the October date harvest, when the groves are working. Avoid if possible: June to August, when it passes forty-five degrees.

The frame

Ideal stay 3 nights · Minimum 2 nights · Best arrival by road from Marsa Matruh, four hours · Airport CAI, 750 km · Walkability the town by bicycle · Best without a car yes, with bicycles and desert guides