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There are many ancient ruins of
Siwa as well as historic sites, which is a normal thing for an
ancient country like Egypt. Some of the most popular ancient
ruins are the ones of the Amun's oracle and of the oracle
temple's which are only fragmentary remains and have
inscriptions that dates from the 4th century BC. These ancient
remains are situated inside the Aghurmi's ruins. Other ancient
ruins of Siwa are a dirty pool which may belonged to Cleopatra,
some Greek nobles` tombs that still have mummified remains and a
great tomb that may belonged to Alexander the Great. There are
also an ancient spring called the “Cleopatra” s bath’ and the
Mountain of the Dead (Gebel al Mawta) – a necropolis dating from
the Roman era and holding numerous tombs cut in rock. Some
important ancient ruins of Siwa are the remains of the Siwa` s
ancient fortress known as the Shali Ghali. The fortress is
dating from the 13th century and was made from mud-brick, salt,
natural rock and palm longs. Shali was destroyed in 1926 by a
heavy rain that lasted three days. Made from a mixture of clay
and salt, called kershef and with no immunity to rain, the
houses were lasting a few decades. Then the hoses were fixed
after rain or even rebuilt. In present, the remains of the
fortress are abandoned but still offering a great view; a few
houses are still shelters for people, especially the houses
situated at the Shali's foot. The views offered by the three
ancient sites of Siwa are excellent and represent an important
attraction for visitors. The ruins of Shali are still a
spectacular feature of the town with their five stores situated
above the modern Siwa. |
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