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There are numerous mud brick
buildings in Siwa; there is a tradition to build the houses from
salt, water mixture and mud. The mixture is let to dry by the
sun it makes a solid brick. The problem is that this mixture
melts when it rains; but the problem becomes smaller if we think
that in Siwa rains once at 50 years. The fortress from Siwa was
destroyed by a strong rain because it was made from mud brick;
now the ruins are still in the town’s center, so the visitors
can see them. In the old times, in Siwa was forbidden to build
houses outside the walls of the city because of the raids coming
from the desert` s tribes. In the present day, there are broken
walls, halves of buildings and alleyways among the ruins of the
old fortress of Siwa. The latest constructions in Siwa – a bank,
a cafeteria and a commercial complex – are all made, as design
and as architecture, in the Siwa Oasis` tradition: from karsheef,
which is soil combined with salt; but the buildings were well
assured inside. By preserving the Siwa` s tradition regarding
the architecture keeps the harmony with the surroundings and
also keeps the beauty of Siwa Oasis. The government owns now
more than 95% from the Siwa’s buildings that disregard the
architectural heritage of Siwa concerning their look, their
building materials and height. The ancient town of Siwa dates
from the 13th century and until a strong rain that fell in 1926,
the most of the town was in use. Today, there are still some
buildings dating from the old times that are in use, but because
of the combination of plaster, salt, rock and mud they are made
from, more of them ruins every year. |
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