Siwa Oasis in Western Egypt
Salt lakes, sand sea, and the mud-brick old town of Shali
Salt lakes, sand sea, and the mud-brick old town of Shali
About 308 kilometers from the Mediterranean coast at Marsa Matruh, in the far west of the country, lies the Siwa Oasis, one of the Egyptian oases. It is about 730 kilometers overland from Cairo, and there is no civil airport. Those wanting to come here must drive.
The weather station of the oasis is located 15 meters below sea level, and Siwa gets its water from the Nubian sandstone aquifer. A desert road leads from Siwa to Al Bawiti, the main town of the Bahariya Oasis in Egypt - it is closed and occupied by military checkpoints.
The Siwa Oasis includes the old town of Shali, the Oracle Temple of Amun, the salt lakes, and the dunes of the Great Sand Sea. Two houses stand in the oasis, the Adrere Amellal and the Taziry Ecolodge.
Best travel time
Arrival in the Siwa Oasis
The path to the Siwa Oasis leads over land, from the Mediterranean coast at Marsa Matruh or from Cairo . There is no civil airport. A charter lands at the oasis's airstrip, and any movement there requires its own permit. The Marsa Matruh–Siwa road and the oasis town of Siwa itself are explicitly excluded from the travel warning of a national travel advisory for the area west of the Nile Valley and Delta.
1# Road from Marsa Matruh
307.9 kilometers, a four to five hours drive by car.
2# Road from Cairo
729.9 kilometers, about eight and a half hours drive by car.
3# Siwa Airstrip
There is an airstrip, but no civil airport and scheduled flights. The airstrip is managed by the military, and any movement requires its own permit with a lead time of up to two weeks.
4# Charter from Cairo
Flight time is about 50 minutes, the Egyptian entry permit requires an additional four working days notice.
Siwa Oasis – place and old town Shali
Siwa is located in the Matruh Governorate, and both houses derive their names from the language of the oasis: Adrere Amellal means White Mountain in the Berber language, Taziry means Full Moon in the Siwi language.
Jabal el-Mawta translates to Mountain of the Dead. According to Adrere Amellal, there are over 700 Roman tombs and four tombs from the 26th Dynasty carved into the limestone hills, dating back to the Greco-Roman period. The four are publicly accessible and bear preserved wall paintings.
Jabal Dakrour stands for the traditional Siwan sand bath treatments: The treatment buries the body in desert sand up to the neck, a small tent shades the face, followed by a slow cooling with herbal tea. The Adrere Amellal refers to the treatment as a remedy for rheumatism and arthritis.
The mud brick fortress of Shali
In the center of the town stands Shali, a fortress made of mud bricks. According to a tradition cited by Adrere Amellal, 40 Siwan built it in 1203 as protection against Bedouin raids, and today it is a protected historical site.
Oracle Temple of Amun in Aghurmi – the Siwa oracle
The Oracle Temple of Amun is located in Aghurmi and is the reason why this oasis appears in ancient tradition at all – the oracle of the Siwa Oasis. Alexander the Great came here in 331 BC to consult it: He wanted to confirm himself as the son of the god and thus the legitimate Pharaoh of Egypt.
Temple of Um Ubeydah
The remains of the Temple of Um Ubeydah lie 1 kilometer south of Aghurmi – the construction dates back to Nectanebo II of the 30th Dynasty. A processional road connected it to the oracle temple, located about 400 meters away – only a part of the west wall of the pronaos is preserved.
Salt lakes and springs in Siwa
The annual precipitation of the oasis is 9 millimeters. The water does not come from above but from the Nubian sandstone aquifer – Adrere Amellal mentions about 230 natural freshwater springs.
In June and July, the average daily maximum is 37.5 degrees, and against this heat, the water of the oasis works. The pool of Adrere Amellal is fed by a natural spring and lies in the shade of a palm grove.
Cleopatra Spring and Fatnas Island
Fatnas Island lies 6 kilometers from Siwa City, on the salt lake Birket Siwa, which bears the name of the oasis. Adrere Amellal presents the place as a sunset spot and a bathing area for locals and travelers.
The Cleopatra Spring is a stone pool with natural spring water on the way to the Amun Temple and is considered by Adrere Amellal as the probably most famous bath in the area. It is one of many springs of the oasis, not the only one.
Great Sand Sea near Siwa
The Great Sand Sea lies near Siwa, and the drive through its dunes is done with off-road vehicles. Bir Wahed is located 12 kilometers southwest of the town, in the outer dunes of the Great Sand Sea – a hot spring the size of a large whirlpool, whose overflow irrigates a garden around the basin. Adrere Amellal drives there with off-road vehicles.
The White Desert is a different landscape: The Great Sand Sea lies near Siwa, the White Desert near Farafra, beyond Bahariya.
Egypt’s oases at a glance
A national travel advisory lists four additional oasis towns, Bahariya, Farafra, Dachla, and Charga, and does not issue a warning for them. Different for Siwa: The connection between Al Bawiti, the main town of Bahariya, and Siwa is closed and occupied by military checkpoints.
White Desert in Egypt
The White Desert is located 38 kilometers northwest of the center of Farafra and covers about 3,000 square kilometers, designated as a nature reserve and national park since 2002. The Black Desert in Egypt stands next to it in the same exception from the travel warning and under the same permit requirement. There is no road leading from Siwa through the desert to it, and those who want to see both drive the detour via Cairo.
Round trip through Egypt’s oases
The trip “ Egypt's lonely oasis at the edge of the Sahara ” includes three nights in Siwa, the only oasis on the way, and goes without domestic flights or Nile cruises.
Houses in the Siwa Oasis
Both houses are built with the material of the oasis. The Adrere Amellal refers to it as Kershef: dried salt rock, clay, and straw. The Taziry Ecolodge calls it Karshif: mud bricks, salt, and other natural elements, and states that this construction method makes air conditioning unnecessary – doors and windows are positioned to catch the desert wind.
There is no electricity in the Adrere Amellal. The rooms are lit by beeswax candles, and above them is the starry sky of the desert. In January, the average daily minimum of the oasis falls to 5.6 degrees – a house without electricity is thus not a matter of style but a condition of operation.
Adrere Amellal by the salt lake
The house features 40 hand-built rooms, each different, in four categories: Single Desert Rooms, Double Desert Rooms, Special Desert Rooms, and Salt Suites.
A dozen beeswax candles light each room, hundreds more illuminate the dinners that the house serves each evening at a different location, and fruits and vegetables come from the house's own gardens. Adrere Amellal is located at Gaafar Mountain in the Matruh Governorate.
Taziry Ecolodge on the hillside
In the room, candles are burning, outside oil lamps and torches. The house is located at the foot of the Red Mountain, opposite the White Mountain, overlooking Lake Gary and the dunes of the Great Sand Sea. The furniture comes from the in-house carpentry, the ceilings are made of palm.
To the Taziry Ecolodge there is a marketplace with 50 craft workshops, as well as a library, a museum, and a planetarium.
Siwa Oasis – travel and vacation
A travel package includes Siwa as its own stage with 3 nights, the designated house is the Adrere Amellal. The trip is designed as a combination trip without domestic flights and without Nile cruises, with a recommended travel duration starting from 8 days. It is inquired, and the offer does not include a fixed departure date.
Hotels in the Siwa Oasis
Two houses are available for the Siwa Oasis. The Adrere Amellal is the house of the Siwa trip, the Taziry Ecolodge is located at the foot of the Red Mountain, opposite the White Mountain.
Frequently asked questions about the Siwa Oasis
Where is the Siwa Oasis located?
In western Egypt, in the Matruh Governorate. From Marsa Matruh on the Mediterranean coast, it is about 308 kilometers by road, about 730 from Cairo. The road from Siwa to Al Bawiti in the Bahariya Oasis is closed according to authorities.
How is the journey to the Siwa Oasis?
Overland. From Marsa Matruh, the drive takes four to five hours, from Cairo about eight and a half. The Marsa Matruh–Siwa road and the oasis town itself are explicitly excluded from the travel warning of a national travel advisory.
Is the White Desert in Egypt closed?
The road between Al Bawiti and Siwa is closed, not the White Desert itself. A national travel advisory explicitly exempts the White Desert from its travel warning. For the visit, two obligations apply, a permit in advance and an official guide, and even a previously granted permit can be revoked at short notice.
Can Siwa and the White Desert be connected?
Not through the desert, but via Cairo: The road between Al Bawiti and Siwa is closed according to authorities and occupied by military checkpoints, and those who want to see both must take the detour via the capital.
Is there a package tour for the Siwa Oasis?
There is a trip with Siwa as its own station: “Egypt's lonely oasis at the edge of the Sahara” starts from 8 days and includes three nights in the oasis, in the Adrere Amellal. The trip is available on request, without a fixed departure date. Thus, it is not a package deal in the usual sense.
Are there flights to the Siwa Oasis?
Yes, there is an airstrip, but no civil airport and scheduled flights. The airstrip is managed by the military, and any movement requires its own permit with a lead time of up to two weeks. A charter from Cairo flies for about 50 minutes – the permit is thus the actual bottleneck, not the flight time.
