Hidden from Egypt's crowded cities
1st January 2015 | Reuters
In the desert away from Egypt’s crowded cities, the Siwa oasis, known for its olives and dates, has been hurt by the country’s declining tourism trade.
Located just 50 kilometres from war-torn Libya, these days Siwa sees only a fraction of the tourists that once visited it.
A stunning landscape, the ancient fortress of Siwa was built on natural rock made of salt and mud-brick, natural material that is formed by the salty water of the lakes known in Siwa as Korsheif.
Residents of Siwa have struggled to get by after a decline in tourism since the 2011 revolution that ousted president Hosni Mubarak and ushered in years of political and economic turmoil.
In 2013, 9.5 million tourists visited Egypt, down from from over 14.7 million tourists in 2010, before the uprising.
While nationwide the situation is gradually improving and the government says tourism could recover to pre-crisis levels next year if regional turmoil spares Egypt, Siwa has yet to experience a turnaround.
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Siwa oasis, known for its olives and dates, has been hurt by the country’s declining tourism trade.
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Women ride on a donkey drawn-cart as they make their way home with their children.
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A man unties his donkey and cart as he prepares to leave his house.
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A boy waits on the back of a tricycle near farm land.
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A girl gestures from a window in her house.
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Girls work at the “al-Gawhara factory”, one of the biggest factories in Siwa for packaging dates.
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A man stands at a farm while a worker collects palm leaves to make a traditional basket used for storing food in front of his house.
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Young men play table tennis in an internet cafe.
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A man bathes in a natural hot water spring which is full of minerals.
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A restaurant worker sits among empty tables as he waits for customers.
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Men warm themselves by a fire outside their houses on a street.
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A general view of the centre of Siwa is seen.
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Workers of a small hotel cook chicken in a traditional way called “abu mardam”.
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A girl types on a computer where she works at the Centre for Reinforcing Cultural Heritage. Most of Siwa's population of 33,000 speak a dialect of Berber - Siwi - but children learn Arabic from an early age at school.
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Men smoke and use their mobile phones as they sit at a small cafe.
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Although now mostly abandoned and 'melted', Shali, pictured above, remains a prominent feature, towering five stories above the modern town.
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