Leaving Siwa

Some times it takes leaving an place to realize how beautiful, unique, or special it really is, Siwa Oasis was that kind of place for me.
My last morning is when I realized how great Siwa is, it's not necessarily the most beautiful, not the cleanest, and the accommodation didn't blow me away, the simplicity of life, the relaxed atmosphere and of course the people is what I missed in Siwa before I even left.

I woke early to get together some breakfast before Preston and I set out on our three day jeep caravan across the desert, I had already dialed in where to go for some good food. It was around 6:30am and there were more people than normal stirring about. I wandered down the dusty, sand filled street past a few donkey carts, a couple more passed me as I smiled at the man in the coffee shop, which is where I would be sitting at if I had just one more day.

I walked by a shop keeper who smiled at me as I passed, happy to see I was out and about with the locals. The street turnerd to mud and I tiptoed down the ally shoulder to shoulder with a young kid whom insisted speaking arabic to me, I smiled and nodded both of us knowing dame well I didn't have a clue what he was saying but we both laughed at the lack of communication.


Iron bars hung in the window of a crumbling old building, painted in faded pastels of yellow and blue. In front of the bars were 4 men dressed in robes and head scarves waiting for the same thing me and my young friend came to get, fresh pita. The bread came piping hot out of the oven and one by one the men in front of me scurried away smiling with stacks and stacks of hot bread. I picked up 5 pieces for a whopping 4cents and strolled back down the alley chomping away at my morning snack. The shop keeper who acknowledged me earlier winked and nodded his head in approval as I slowly made my way to my next stop.

The falafel stand selling a roasted eggplant salad with tomato and chillis and of course felafel. The gentleman behind the counter recognized me as this was my third time to his shop and greeted me with Asalaam Alekium (may peace be upon you) and my response Alekium A Salaam (upon you may there be peace). Picked out my falafel and grabbed some eggplant salad and walked back to meet preston with breakfast.

Picking up our case of water we purchased for our desert excursion the man at the coffee shop offered us a free ride to our jeep and we happily declined as it was only 100 yards away. The sleepy town was slowly coming to life as we were passed by more of the popular local transport, 2 wheeled carts pulled by donkeys, the character and charm of this slow moving town was trotting past us as we made our way to the 4x4 that would soon be home for the next few days.

Exiting siwa we cruised through small dirt roads just wide enough for a donkey cart and our 4x4 to fit through, small date trees which can be mistaken for palms lined the road creating a bit of shade in the early morning heat. The jeep picked up speed as we rolled to the edge of town and began to cruised at a steady 45mph. We passed over a large dirt causeway Which split one large salt lake into two. We drove for a few minutes watching the water go from a deeper blue to a shallow tourquise and eventually evaporating into the salt lined desert floor which I would soon be driving through for days. I looked ahead to see what was in front of us and the jeep rolled to a Stop, the road forked, the lakes, dates, and Siwa were all behind me. I glanced down the road to the left to see a narrow stretch of pavment reaching as far as the eye can see. My jeep turned right and as my eyes shifted to the windscreen infront of me, where the view pretty much remained the same and the 7 of us in the jeep sped off into "the great sea of sand."

...we stopped for the night amongst sand and odd shaped rock formations, I look up at the sky and the stars made me remember how small I really am. Stepping away from the camp fire and the glow of the camping light which illuminates the large mat my self and the 5 others will be sleeping on, I stop for a moment and allow my eyes to adjust to the darkness. My shoes are off and I can feel the soft sand between my toes. Preston has already laid out a mat and is on his back taking in the view. On a moonless night by the light of the stars I peer out into the desert to see a a rugged landscape and even more stars creeping up over the horizon. I took my place on the cool sand laying on my back a few feet from Preston enjoying the silence and peace of the desert night. One can get lost in thought out here, lost in imagination, and easily lost marveling over the simple beauty of the desert. The silence was broken by the soft song being sung by our guide in Arabic, I sat up and caught a whiff of the nights dinner being cooked over a wood fire. I took in one last eye full of stars and began to grin because here I was miles from home watching the stars pop over the horizon in the Egyptian desert, life is good. I followed my nose back to the camping mats and looked forward to warm dinner on this cool desert night.