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Having a length of 80 kilometers
and a width of 20 kilometers, the Siwa Oasis is situated in
Egypt, at 560 kilometers from Cairo, between the Qattara
depression and the Egypt's Sand Sea. The Siwa Oasis is at 300
kilometers away from the Matruh's West and has 23.000 people.
Most of them being Berbers and speaking the taSiwit, a Berber
family's distinct language with big Arabic influences. An
isolated settlement, this oasis in Siwa was famous in antiquity
for the Jupiter Ammon's oracle whose home was there. To this
oracle used to come Alexander the Great, in 331 BCE. Today, the
legend and the ruins of the oracle bring numerous of visitors.
In the Egypt` s history, this oasis had a double characteristic:
as the western boundary of Egypt and as the easternmost zone
that was populated by Berbers. The Siwa oasis used to be one of
the Sanusi Order`s centers, in the 19th century, and during the
World War I in this area some battles took places. It seems that
the Siwa's people are pride of being some how different from the
other Egyptians by resolving the disputes without victims.
Although it used to be an isolated place, the Siwa Oasis started
to be opened for the motor transport and now is still developing
regarding the tourism which has became a very important income
source. In the modern Siwa agriculture is the principal
activity, especially the date palm one. The olives and the dates
are the most cultivated fruits. Since the Siwa oasis is a place
visited by numerous tourists, there are many projects regarding
the hotels construction designed in local style and made from
local materials. In the oasis` Southern part is a town also
called Siwa. |
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