"But Siwa is different. Its general outlook, the architecture of the houses, the clothes and features of its inhabitants, their language, their attitude toward strangers and their way of life inside and outside their houses all remind us that we are no longer in the Nile Valley." by Dr. Ahmed Fakhry 1973 back to my galleries

Shali - verlassene Altstadt erbaut 1203/ deserted old cityfort of Shali Shali - Häuser aus 'karshif'/ Shali - houses made of saltmudbricks 'karshif' Kopf einer freigelegten römischen Mumie/ skull of roman mummy at 'Gebel alMaut' the cheeselike 'mountain of the dead' immer noch das Verkehrsmittel der Wahl - Eselskarren/ donkeycarriage - still used all over the oasis
'Scutella Ammonis' - miozäne Seeigel/ miocene 'sanddollars' Wieviel Grad betrug noch einmal der natürliche Reibungswinkel von losem Sand?/ diving down a 'seif'-dune In Siwas Senke unter NN muss das artesisch aufsteigende Grundwasser in sich ausbreitenden Salzseen verdunsten/ being a depression below sealevel all rising groundwater has to evaporate Aghurmi - mittelalterliche Wohnfestung um den Orakeltempel den Alexander 331 aufsuchte/ Aghurmi - medieval town of Siwa with clustered houses around the temple of the oracle, worldwide the only remaining edifice we can be sure of Alexander the Greats visit
Sonnenuntergang von 'Fatnas Island'/ sunset at 'Fatnas Island' - recently the waterlevel is falling due to pumpingefforts to protect the encroaching agricultural land Gesicht aus Siwa/ Siwan boy Graffiti auf Palmenblätter/ writing on palmleaves bewohnte Häuser aus 'karshif'/ inhabited houses - note the blue color to reflect the heat