We landed in Siwa and grabbed dinner at the only restaurant open at 10pm. After having 3 people try and sell us safari tours within 30 minutes of our arrival, I was weary that Siwa would not provide a escape from the constant hassle of Egypt tourism despite its isolation. Fortunately, I quickly realized I was wrong -- the invitations to tea and safari were genuine.. I quickly began to appreciate the relaxed, slowpaced, and friendly Siwan culture.
It's someone ironic that "friendly" is one of the first words I use to describe Siwans. In the 8th century they had the reputation of being very fierce, defeating Muslim armies until the 13th century, when the Oasis finally gave way to Islam. At that time the tiny population of Siwa was living in Shali, a fortress town composed of mud and cement-like-substance. Up through the 18th century all but a few European settlers were violently chased away from the settlement. To this day, the Siwans view themselves as "Siwan" first; they continue to speak a Berber language primarily, and Arabic as a second language.
It was on top of this Shali forters that Alberto and I watched a beautiful sunset. Today the fortress is a "melted" form of its previous existence. Heavy rains in the 1920s saturated the castle and caused the collapse of some of its walls. Today, it literally takes on the appearance of a life size "drip castle".
Additionally, in Siwa, Alberto and I rented bicycles and rode around the oasis to a number of freshwater pools. Because Siwa is an ultraconservative place, only Alberto went swimming (especially because some of the pools were located in the middle of roads). We also visited The Oracle, a similar "drip castle" appearance, and dates back to the 21st Pharonic Dynasty in the 6th century.
The Oracle was quite famous during its time. In fact, the most revered in the Mediterranean and attracted attention from almost every ruler - either they sought its advice or they sent armies to destroy it. One such army was Cambyses' Army, which invaded Egypt in 525BC. This Persian King's greatest failure was his inability to capture The Oracle. He attempted by sending 50,000 men plus supplies from Thebes (today Luxor) to Siwa. Legend has it that the entire army was engulfed by a sandstorm and completely buried.
It was in this beautiful desert where Alberto and I went on an overnight trip. This desert is called the Great Sand Sea and extends for 7,200km^2 into Libya. There are only 18 Sand Seas in the world and 4 of them are in Northern Africa.
We took a 4WD through the dunes and the car at times spun out and plummeted down the steep slopes of the sand dunes. It was truly a natural roller coaster. We watched the sun set behind the dunes. These great sand mountains provided one of the most beautiful sunsets I've ever seen. After spending the night under several heavy blankets and a beautiful star-filled sky, our ride brought us back into the Oasis.
We took a 10pm bus from Siwa and landed in Al-Iskendariyya (Alexandria) in the darkness at 5:30am. As we pulled up to the bus station Alberto and I were both awoken by the driver blasting the Koran. The Koran, in fact, is musical, and is sung on buses and taxi cabs throughout Egypt thanks to the invention of the tape cassette. I must say, not understanding Arabic, it sounds pretty unpleasant. I, actually, would have slept through our final stop, Koran at full volume, and ended up in God-Knows-Where had Alberto not persistently shaken me. See, medical school has taught me a lot and one of those things is the ability to sleep anywhere, under almost any circumstances. I have no doubt that residency will build upon this skill.
Alexandria, was of course beautiful. It reminded me a lot of Havana and St Petersburg, as the city extends along a beautiful bay. There is a mix of fully, partially and un-restored buildings, but the detailed decoration and large windows hint at the luxurious past Alexandria had while inhabited by wealthy Europeans in the 19th century. In the 1950s Nasser, Egypt's first elected President, nationalized much of Alexandria and sent 40% of the population packing. Alexandria today is home to 4 million people -- mostly Egyptian.
Of course, Alexandria has a much richer history. Founded by Alexander the Great in 331BC, he was apart of the Ptolemic Dynasty, which bridges the time between the Pharoh's and Islam. As the last great Pharonic Dynasty, the Greco-Roman influence is noticeable in the temples and artisan materials. The Romans also entered Egypt during this time and began to spread Christianity. (on a side note Alexander went to The Oracle in Siwa, where he sought and successfully got approval to rule the country.)
Cleopatra also ruled from Alexandria and at least 2 of the 7 ancient wonders of the world were found here -- the Pharos Light House and the Great Library of Alexandria. Unfortunately, due to earthquakes, floods and religious conviction neither of the original structures exist today. The Alexandria Greco-Roman museum does have an excellent collection of artifacts, complete with pictures of the items submerged under Mediterranean waters before being excavated. The new Alexandria Library is incredibly beautiful, bright, and modern serving as the library for the neighboring Alexandria University students.
WE visited Pompey's Piller, Catacoms, an intact ancient Roman theater, and the remnants of a wealthy urban home complete with Mosaic flooring. We also enjoyed the breeze, the aqua colored waters before us and slurped down quite possibly the world's best mango juice. We tried several seafood places, but our favorite was Hood Gondol Seafood located in an alley alongside a mosque. There are no signs indicating its entrance (at least in English), but some friendly Alexandrians pointed us in the right direction. When you enter the alley on the right is a makeshift stove displaying today's fresh catches. We were quickly approached by a young Egyptian, who opened his arms while saying, "My friends! Where are you from? Welcome!"
He quickly ushered us into a crammed 3 story building packed with people. The floor of the stairwell is covered in smashed clam shells and fish scales. Upon reaching the top floor without an empty seat in site, another young Egyptian sitting by a window whistled at us, pointed at a plastic table set in the alley, pointed to it, and then yelled something to the Egyptians below in Arabic (I imagine it was something like "Hold the table for the foreigners!").
Our waiter-friend quickly served us two giant plates filled with fresh fried fish, calamari, shrimp and clams. We also got a bowl of rice, salad and seafood soup all for under $7. It was evident that not many foreigners visit this place as many people walked by and gave us the thumbs-up sign with a questioning look on their faces making sure we were happy. We finished off the meal licking our fingers clean (no utensils are given) and promising our waiter we would come back.
When we did 2 days later. He saw us and shouted "Alberto! Habiba (something between friend/darling)! You came back!" and grabbed some fried fish straight out of the plan and handed it to us to eat. "Good? YES!?", he said. The visit was just as enjoyable the second time around.
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