Siwa Oasis

Trip Start May 31, 2007
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Trip End May 20, 2008


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Flag of Egypt  ,
Wednesday, October 17, 2007

Took a harrowing public bus from Alexandria to Siwa Oasis out in the Western Desert.  Lots of good local interaction including an older Bedouin man handing me the screaming baby he was holding...after a bit of a shock I got the baby to quiet down and handed him back and got resettled in my seat.  Like most of the buses in this region people are coming on and off at all sorts of unofficial places along the way even when the seats in the bus are full...standing or sometimes sitting in the aisles.  Improvisation as necessary.

The hotel we stayed at was owned by the local sheik...very cool.  So the town is in an actual oasis which means getting there...lots of desert nothingness then suddenly lush palms, water and a town.  Donkey carts the predominate local transport.  Those poor little animals working like crazy while the men or sometimes young boys ride casually with one leg hanging off smacking the donkeys behind incessantly.  Stunning sunset over the ruins of the original settlement fort/citadel.

Rode bikes in the am the day after we arrived and visited local sites like the Tombs of the Dead:  climbed up a hill, had a view and ducked into some really stuffy tombs then rode on to some other sites including Cleopatras Baths!!!  Had a swim while covering myself with my sarong so as to not offend the locals.  In the pm we roared off into the sand dunes for some sand boarding and more hot and cold springs.  It was wild and the drop off down the front face of the dunes was totally scary at times.  Dinner with a local Bedouin family in the pm then lots of zzzzzzzz's!
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