"Located some 450 miles from the bustle of Cairo and just 30 miles from the Libyan border, Egypt hides a treasure that has managed to survive the tourist crowds and retain the magic of the unexplored. The only way to reach this remote corner of the Western Desert is to hire an overnight minibus from the capital."
"In this verdant location, situated 17 meters below sea level, palm trees reach for a sky filled with stars, turquoise saltwater lakes paint a utopian landscape, and time seems to have stood still amid the footsteps of Alexander the Great."
"For centuries, the inaccessibility of this oasis—without a single road connecting it to major cities until the 1990s—kept it impenetrable, allowing it to remain a paradise to this day, home to the only Berber population still present in Egypt, the Siwis, with their own language, culture, and traditions."
"This ocean of shifting dunes, reaching up to 140 meters in height, stretches across more than 70,000 square kilometers (27,030 square miles) and is one of the most impenetrable areas in the world, but also one of Siwa's most impressive tourist attractions."
Siwa Oasis is a remote Egyptian destination situated 17 meters below sea level in the Western Desert, approximately 450 miles from Cairo and 30 miles from the Libyan border. Accessible only by overnight minibus, this verdant location remained isolated until roads connected it to major cities in the 1990s. The oasis is home to the Siwis, Egypt's only remaining Berber population, who maintain their own distinct language, culture, and traditions. The Great Sand Sea, an ocean of shifting dunes reaching 140 meters high and spanning over 70,000 square kilometers, surrounds the oasis and serves as both a natural barrier and major tourist attraction. Visitors can explore the dunes via 4x4 tours with local guides, experiencing dramatic landscapes featuring fossils and marine sediments embedded in the sand.
Read at english.elpais.com
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