Day 21 – Oracles and Oasis’s

Today we were to see the temples and springs of Siwa. The original settlement in the oasis was Aghurmi. A temple to Amun was built here by the Pharaohs. Alexander the Great visited this temple and was declared a Pharaoh by the priests (they knew how to keep their jobs!). A governor, a hundred or so years ago, decided that he needed the stone of this temple for his residence, so he blew-up the temple and carted off the stones. All that is left is a wall and some fragments. It looks like they are excavating the foundations.

We visited Cleopatra’s Spring. There were two springs. The smaller one was marked as her spring and did look old. The large spring was very deep and clear. There was a small boy swimming in the large spring. He would swim a little and then get out and jump back into the water. If we knew we only had one more sight to see, we would have also gone for a swim.

The last stop was the temple for the Oracle of Siwa. It was here that Alexander the Great consulted the Oracle. It is not known what was said, but it was supposed to have scared him. He came out with a different attitude than when he entered. Supposedly he was told of his death. With-in a year or so of the consultation, he was dead. There is not much left of the temple, but the locals have built their mud-brick houses near the temple. I also had a consultation with the Oracle. She said that I must be able to pick my wife up while standing on one leg. If I could not do it, I must get a new wife!

Salma took us to Old Shali. When the town in Aghurmi was attacked by Bedouin from Libya, the residents decided to build a fortress on top of a hill a few Kilometers away. The houses were made with mud bricks and salt chunks. It was a strong construction method for a place that doesn’t really see any rain. A few years ago, a few freak storms came and weakened the old houses. There is a local project that is trying to restore the old houses. We arrived long before sunset. Kim and Salma left to go shopping while I waited for the sun to set. I met a local teen who spoke good English. We talked for a half hour. He was telling me what it is like to live in Siwa and the changes over the last few years.

I met Kim and Salma on my way home through the market. I had given Kim a lot of money and hoped she hadn’t spent it all. Salma wasn’t helping much by telling her where the best jewelry shops were located. Luckily she didn’t really buy much jewelry!