Until recently, most visitors to Siwa in Egypt would probably have had to settle for lodgings in camps of straw or mud-brick huts.
Despite being on the eco-tourism map for decades, the remote oasis city in western Egypt maintained a simple take on life that made it an attractive escape from modern living.
But all that is changing after the government began promoting Siwa as a tourist destination, and its predominantly Berber population say they are enjoying the benefits.
Five years ago the main square in the small city of 60,000 was made up exclusively of traditional mud-brick structures; now there are two-storey concrete buildings with busy restaurants, cafes and handicraft shops.
“The city was a lot more crudely built because there was no reason to develop it. We had always had tourists come, but their numbers were limited to those who were interested in eco-tourism, which isn’t for everyone,” said Ali Mohamed, 63, a driver and tour operator.
“But once the city began to be advertised as a tourist destination, around 2019 and 2020, we started receiving tourists who were curious to see the city but weren’t necessarily familiar with its culture.”
These tourists were unhappy with the accommodation on offer, so a number of hotels have sprung up that offer rooms with televisions, minibars, air conditioning and buffet meals – once available at only one or two establishments in the city.
But since the population is mostly conservative Muslim, the city still does not have any establishments that serve alcohol, which recent visitors also complain about, Mr Mohamed said.
“It’s not that Siwans don’t drink. We do, but it’s not something that you want people to know about you because we are all devout Muslims," he said.
"Mostly we drink araq, a local drink that we make by fermenting dates in our homes. But it’s too strong for tourists."
The growing number of tourists has increased sales of Siwa’s famous handicrafts, such as crudely-spun wool ponchos and small handbags and wallets decorated with colourful beads, according to Khaled Hussein, the owner of a large shop in the city square who said he had to hire five more local women in the past three years to meet the demand.
“We used to set up moveable stalls on the sides of the square and display our goods. We would pack them up at the end of the day though. Recently, with more buildings erected that include shops, handicrafts sellers are renting them as more permanent stores,” Mr Hussein said.
Wafting through the square is the aroma from another Berber speciality – soaps made of olive oil mixed with essential oils. The oil is sourced locally from the city's large olive orchards.
The city is also famed for its sand baths, particularly during the summer when high temperatures heat the desert sand to the optimal level.
Egypt's tourism authority is promoting the sand baths as part of Siwa's attraction for visitors in search of “healing experiences”.
Siwa’s founding goes back to prehistory, when Berber tribes arrived from western regions of the Sahara desert and established traditions that have remained unchanged ever since.
The city’s Berbers are culturally distinct from other ethnic populations in Egypt and, as well as Arabic, speak an Amazigh language that has been handed down orally from generation to generation.
“The language has never been written down or recorded, it’s our little secret and will most likely die when the last of us dies,” Mr Mohamed said. “The city has such a long history – there have been people here since the ancient Egyptians and later ancient Greek nobles also visited.”
Among Siwa’s most famed spots is a hot spring named after Queen Cleopatra, who was said to have bathed there when she visited. Near by, a temple to the ancient Egyptian god Amun stands on top of a flat hill that was once visited by Alexander the Great.
Another spot, Jabal Al Mawta, or Mountain of the Dead, has a necropolis dating back to the Late Pharaonic and Greco-Roman periods.
Unlike some of Egypt's other local populations, residents of Siwa have welcomed the effort to increase visitor numbers to the city, which lies about 50km from Egypt's eastern border with Libya and requires an 800km road trip to reach from Cairo. Bedouins in Sinai, for example, told The National during a visit in 2022 that they were against large-scale tourism development in the peninsula.
“Siwa has always been quite underdeveloped, which did attract a certain kind of tourist. But the problem is our schools, roads and services all need upgrading and more tourism will mean we can fix our city up better,” Mr Mohamed said.
It is not a view shared by some of Siwa's residents who moved here to escape the bustle of modern life.
“I moved here in 2009 after spending 10 years as Greece’s consul in Egypt. When I first came here, none of these buildings were here. It was quiet, simple and really beautiful," said an elderly man who introduced himself to The National as "Vasileos the Greek".
"Some of the new structures are out of place and it’s a shame that the intrinsic nature of the city is now changing so much.”
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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THE BIO: Martin Van Almsick
Hometown: Cologne, Germany
Family: Wife Hanan Ahmed and their three children, Marrah (23), Tibijan (19), Amon (13)
Favourite dessert: Umm Ali with dark camel milk chocolate flakes
Favourite hobby: Football
Breakfast routine: a tall glass of camel milk
Founders: Abdulmajeed Alsukhan, Turki Bin Zarah and Abdulmohsen Albabtain.
Based: Riyadh
Offices: UAE, Vietnam and Germany
Founded: September, 2020
Number of employees: 70
Sector: FinTech, online payment solutions
Funding to date: $116m in two funding rounds
Investors: Checkout.com, Impact46, Vision Ventures, Wealth Well, Seedra, Khwarizmi, Hala Ventures, Nama Ventures and family offices
Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere
Director: Scott Cooper
Starring: Jeremy Allen White, Odessa Young, Jeremy Strong
Rating: 4/5
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Bayern Munich v Real Madrid
When: April 25, 10.45pm kick-off (UAE)
Where: Allianz Arena, Munich
Live: BeIN Sports HD
Second leg: May 1, Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid
Friday's schedule at the Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
GP3 qualifying, 10:15am
Formula 2, practice 11:30am
Formula 1, first practice, 1pm
GP3 qualifying session, 3.10pm
Formula 1 second practice, 5pm
Formula 2 qualifying, 7pm
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
PROFILE OF CURE.FIT
Started: July 2016
Founders: Mukesh Bansal and Ankit Nagori
Based: Bangalore, India
Sector: Health & wellness
Size: 500 employees
Investment: $250 million
Investors: Accel, Oaktree Capital (US); Chiratae Ventures, Epiq Capital, Innoven Capital, Kalaari Capital, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Piramal Group’s Anand Piramal, Pratithi Investment Trust, Ratan Tata (India); and Unilever Ventures (Unilever’s global venture capital arm)
White hydrogen: Naturally occurring hydrogen
Chromite: Hard, metallic mineral containing iron oxide and chromium oxide
Ultramafic rocks: Dark-coloured rocks rich in magnesium or iron with very low silica content
Ophiolite: A section of the earth’s crust, which is oceanic in nature that has since been uplifted and exposed on land
Olivine: A commonly occurring magnesium iron silicate mineral that derives its name for its olive-green yellow-green colour
APPLE IPAD MINI (A17 PRO)
Display: 21cm Liquid Retina Display, 2266 x 1488, 326ppi, 500 nits
Chip: Apple A17 Pro, 6-core CPU, 5-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine
Storage: 128/256/512GB
Main camera: 12MP wide, f/1.8, digital zoom up to 5x, Smart HDR 4
Front camera: 12MP ultra-wide, f/2.4, Smart HDR 4, full-HD @ 25/30/60fps
Biometrics: Touch ID, Face ID
Colours: Blue, purple, space grey, starlight
In the box: iPad mini, USB-C cable, 20W USB-C power adapter
Price: From Dh2,099
THE%20SPECS
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ABU%20DHABI%20CARD
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Wicked: For Good
Director: Jon M Chu
Starring: Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, Ethan Slater
Rating: 4/5
The biog
Job: Fitness entrepreneur, body-builder and trainer
Favourite superhero: Batman
Favourite quote: We must become the change we want to see, by Mahatma Gandhi.
Favourite car: Lamborghini
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Important questions to consider
1. Where on the plane does my pet travel?
There are different types of travel available for pets:
- Manifest cargo
- Excess luggage in the hold
- Excess luggage in the cabin
Each option is safe. The feasibility of each option is based on the size and breed of your pet, the airline they are traveling on and country they are travelling to.
2. What is the difference between my pet traveling as manifest cargo or as excess luggage?
If traveling as manifest cargo, your pet is traveling in the front hold of the plane and can travel with or without you being on the same plane. The cost of your pets travel is based on volumetric weight, in other words, the size of their travel crate.
If traveling as excess luggage, your pet will be in the rear hold of the plane and must be traveling under the ticket of a human passenger. The cost of your pets travel is based on the actual (combined) weight of your pet in their crate.
3. What happens when my pet arrives in the country they are traveling to?
As soon as the flight arrives, your pet will be taken from the plane straight to the airport terminal.
If your pet is traveling as excess luggage, they will taken to the oversized luggage area in the arrival hall. Once you clear passport control, you will be able to collect them at the same time as your normal luggage. As you exit the airport via the ‘something to declare’ customs channel you will be asked to present your pets travel paperwork to the customs official and / or the vet on duty.
If your pet is traveling as manifest cargo, they will be taken to the Animal Reception Centre. There, their documentation will be reviewed by the staff of the ARC to ensure all is in order. At the same time, relevant customs formalities will be completed by staff based at the arriving airport.
4. How long does the travel paperwork and other travel preparations take?
This depends entirely on the location that your pet is traveling to. Your pet relocation compnay will provide you with an accurate timeline of how long the relevant preparations will take and at what point in the process the various steps must be taken.
In some cases they can get your pet ‘travel ready’ in a few days. In others it can be up to six months or more.
5. What vaccinations does my pet need to travel?
Regardless of where your pet is traveling, they will need certain vaccinations. The exact vaccinations they need are entirely dependent on the location they are traveling to. The one vaccination that is mandatory for every country your pet may travel to is a rabies vaccination.
Other vaccinations may also be necessary. These will be advised to you as relevant. In every situation, it is essential to keep your vaccinations current and to not miss a due date, even by one day. To do so could severely hinder your pets travel plans.
Source: Pawsome Pets UAE
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
