Page 10 - issue 29 En

ELITE ISSUE 29, MARCH 2021

"Siwa"

The treasure of ancients less known by the

grandsons

Carolin Sherif ,Hania Bahaa ,Adha m Nasr , Mari am Hefny ,Mari ha n Ayman
From the heart of the desert, where pure springs, palms and Then it was called the oasis of "Jupiter Amun" and this name
olives, we write this report for you about the quiet haven of all continued until the Ptolemaic era. The Ptolemies called it
those who are tired of the hustle and bustle of life and its fast "Sentria", which is distorted from a name given to it by the
pace, for those who want a moment in which the mind clears and pharaohs at one time, which is "Sakhit Am", meaning "the
captures the mind and heart in front of the sunset and its golden land of palm trees. By visiting Siwa, you will find that it lacks
strings falling perpendicular to the sea of sand in a scene that Christian traces and monuments because of the plague that
looks like a drawn painting. “Siwa”, the favorite place for wiped out and eliminate all life forms during the period of
many desert lovers and those who seek not only adventure in the Egyptian Coptic until the Islamic conquest. According to al-
heart of the desert, but also moments of relaxation, and recovery Maqrizi’s manuscripts, the Arabs called it “Al-Waha Al-
from some diseases. With the help of Cairo University students Aqsa” because of its remoteness in the desert, while some
in its various faculties, and with two people from Siwa, Mr. historians believe that the name “Siwa” came from “ttansiwa,”
"Abdullah Rageh", the accountant at "Shali" Company for which is the name given by the Tunisian historian “Ibn
Building instruments and Stones, and Mr. "Gabriel EL-Senosy", Khaldun” referring to a branch of the “Zintana tribes” " in
a graduate of the Faculty of Archeology at Alexandria North Africa. Adding that the inhabitants of Siwa are
University who is currently working in the "Black Lions" considered a "mixture". The first settlers in it were the
Library in Siwa Which was established aiming to raise “Berbers”, and they built the Shali Castle - meaning "country"
awareness through holding seminars and discussion sessions to in their language - in order to stand up to any aggression
preserve the heritage and history. In the next paragraphs, we will against them. In addition to the tribes from South Africa,
take you on an exploratory journey, where we will shed light on Algeria, Libya and others who took Siwa as a seat of stability
the ancient history of "Siwa", its features, the characteristics of and agriculture far from the Nile Valley. They added that the
its people and their customs and traditions. fame of "Siwa" in the era of the pharaohs was due to the
priests of the Temple of Amun - according to the texts
This oasis that is known by ancients, but ignorant by engraved on the walls of the temples - and this fame increased
grandchildren. Which gave us the feeling of wanting to delve when "Alexander the Great" visited them.
into the history and origin of Siwa. When the students were
asked, their answers were the main headings that were
completed with the Siwa people’s accurate description of the
oasis and its history So the people of Siwa informed us that it is
located in the Western Desert and about 300 km away from the
Mediterranean Sea, specifically in the southwest of “Marsa
Matrouh”, which follow it administratively. The pharaonic
inscriptions in the temple of "Edfu" and the footprints in "Sega"
revealed to us that the oasis had existed since the pre-dynastic
times and it was called "Binta".

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