Lost in Paradise: The EWUG phototrip to Siwa

Deep in Egypt’s Western Desert, where time softens and memory thickens, Siwa Oasis stands like a poetic sentence carved into ancient sand. There, between the blue of the sky, the white of salt, and the green of palm groves, a team from the Egypt Wikimedians User Group (EWUG) embarked on a journey that was far more than a field visit. It was a conscious attempt to listen to a place that speaks in its own language—and to document it through imagery and shared knowledge.

The EWUG sought to conclude its 2025 activities with a distinctive field trip, considered one of its most significant undertakings that year, and found no destination more fitting than the Siwa Oasis. The team consisted of ten participants united by a single goal, although their tools varied: three administrators and two editors within Arabic Wikipedia — Walaa Abdel-Monem, Ibrahim Elaidy, Ahmed Naji, Donia El-Domiaty, and Amr Fathy — alongside five professional photographers. The latter included recipients of local and international awards, as well as judges and organizers of local Wiki Loves contests: Samar Kamal, Doaa Adel, Mohamed Shokry El-Garnosy, Yasmin Shiha, and Gihad Abd Elsamie.

The three-day visit covered Siwa’s architectural and natural landmarks: ancient temples, fortresses, mosques, historic buildings, mountains, salt lakes, springs, and palm and olive groves. It sought to document daily life alongside Egyptian, Roman, and Islamic monuments; to engage with locals, their language, and traditions; and to ultimately capture the cultural, architectural, and natural features of this remote and singular part of Egypt—thus enriching free content with precise visual and textual knowledge about Siwa and its distinct identity.

Coming from different places across Upper Egypt, the Delta, and Cairo, the team members set out from Alexandria on December 11, passing through the North Coast, El-Alamein, and Marsa Matrouh, before reaching Siwa near the Libyan border. The overland drive lasted approximately eight hours, as the oasis is accessible only by a single road connecting it to Marsa Matrouh. There is no nearby airport and no railway lines, a reality that reinforces the oasis’s deep isolation—a desert paradise untouched by the excesses of modern urban life.

The journey was arduous, but entirely worth it.

Why Siwa?

Siwa’s isolation from the outside world has contributed to its remarkable tranquility and to the preservation of its residents’ way of life, heritage, traditions, and language. Palm and olive groves extend in every direction, framed by vast salt lakes and mountain ridges. Siwan architecture dominates the landscape; there are no high-rise concrete buildings or towering structures, and the tallest structure does not exceed five stories. Even modern hotels built to accommodate visitors adhere to traditional architectural styles.

Locals tend to lead a notably simple life. Transportation often consists of donkey-drawn carts or three-wheeled motorbikes locally known as Kareta. The population is deeply religious and predominantly Muslim, with the Shadhili Sufi order widely practiced. Mosques are abundant throughout the oasis, once a stronghold of the Senussi order. Social customs, particularly marriage traditions, differ markedly from those of the Nile Valley. Men wear the Siwan jellabiya, while women don the tarfutet, a traditional garment that covers the entire body.

(Examples of modern and ancient Siwan architecture using kershef material)

This distinctiveness extends to Siwan cuisine, which features unique local dishes such as tagelantini (date porridge), negil (date bread), besis (a sweet made from chickpeas or dates), makhmakh (a dish resembling mulukhiyah, made from purslane), and daqqaqish (a rich dish of liver and kidneys). During our stay, we sampled abu mardam or mardouma, meat cooked beneath hot ashes; chicken and olive tagine served in clay pots; and seasoned camel meat, despite the absence of camels in the oasis—unlike many inhabited desert regions of Egypt. We also tried local beverages, including a Siwan energy drink made from dates, bananas, milk, and coffee; zarda tea; and sugarcane juice infused with lemon verbena (traditionally known as louisa). Siwa is also known for its distinctive varieties of jam, such as date, eggplant, hibiscus, and even olive jam.

Agriculture reliant on well water —particularly the cultivation of palms, olives, and citrus—along with trade and tourism, forms the backbone of the local economy. Residents are also skilled artisans, producing textiles and kilims on traditional looms. Siwan textiles are widely renowned, as are locally made olive oil, aromatic products, incense, soap, bags, clothing, accessories, and baskets. The oasis is also known for its many varieties of fresh and dried dates, some stuffed with nuts. Among the distinctive items sold are illuminated lamps crafted from salt extracted from the nearby lakes. Markets, shops, and bazaars are especially concentrated in the city center and along the road leading to the historic Shali Fortress. As evening falls, life gradually quiets.

(Markets and downtown)

Day One: December 12

We arrived early in the morning and barely paused at the hotel, heading directly to one of Siwa’s most emblematic sites: the Temple of the Oracle (also known as Temple of Amun). This location has long been associated with ideas of destiny and power since antiquity, most famously during the visit of Alexander the Great. Local Siwan guides accompanied us, offering fresh dates from the oasis palms, sprinkled with coconut flakes on top. They shared insights into the history of the oasis and the temple, local traditions, and a few words from the Siwi language. Their warmth was unmistakable, and they often sang traditional songs as we traveled together across the oasis by bus.

The temple stands atop a high rocky outcrop and is dedicated to the god Amun. It was built during the 26th Dynasty of Egypt, and only the inner sanctuary remains today. Surrounding it are the ruins of old local dwellings, including a mosque with a conical minaret, characteristic of many early mosques in the oasis. All are constructed from kershef, a building material composed of mud and salt extracted from the oasis’s salt lakes, widely used in traditional Siwan architecture. The site also contains a well that once supplied water to the surrounding settlement.

We then made our way to Fatnas Island, connected to the mainland by a narrow strip of land and surrounded by the salt lakes of Siwa. The island features a spring frequented for its therapeutic properties and is a striking natural setting, thick with palm groves. Visitors gather there to witness one of the most celebrated sunsets in the oasis. Pedalo boating is also possible on the lake, which attracts various migratory bird species, most notably flamingos.

Siwa Oasis as a whole is designated as a natural protected area in Egypt.

Day Two: December 13

The second day unfolded at the intersection of history and nature. Early in the morning, some members set out to explore nearby areas to photograph Siwan architecture and landscapes, while others headed to Gebel al-Mawta (the Mountain of the Dead), where rock-cut tombs—mostly dating to the Roman and Byzantine periods—bear witness to successive layers of settlement in the oasis. Among the most notable are the tombs of Pa-Thoth, Mesu-Isis, the Crocodile Tomb, and the Tomb of Si-Amun, which is regarded as one of the most beautiful tombs in the entire Western Desert.

We then regrouped to visit Shali Fortress, a unique architectural complex built entirely from kershef, embodying environmental and architectural solutions developed by Siwa’s inhabitants over centuries. The fortress, along with several surrounding historic structures—including the Old Mosque at its summit and the Tatandy Mosque at its base— underwent an extensive five-year restoration (2015–2020) and was reopened to visitors free of charge. The fortress is a labyrinth of stairways and passages, resembling a beehive when viewed from above, and its highest point offers panoramic views of the entire oasis. Around midday, we traveled to Gebel al-Dakrour, whose significance extends beyond geology into Siwa’s social memory. It serves as a space for celebrations and traditional rituals, particularly those linked to social reconciliation and communal life, most notably the Eid El-Solh (Festival of Reconciliation), also known as the Seyaha festival. In the evening, we visited a hot spring and enjoyed a musical performance by local artists.

Day Three: December 14

Our team set out toward the salt lakes, known for their striking crystalline formations. Natural pools in this area allow for swimming, giving rise to a distinctive form of tourism in the oasis. The highly saline water enables effortless floating—even for those who cannot swim—similar to the experience of the Dead Sea in Jordan. Notably, the sensation of cold disappears upon entering the water, even in the coldest weather.

On our way back, we stopped at another temple dedicated to Amun, the Temple of Umm Ubayda, of which only a single wall remains. We then visited Cleopatra’s Spring, a site that blends legend with everyday use. It is a spring open to bathing on certain days, and local lore links its name to Cleopatra VII.

We then ventured beyond the inhabited limits of the oasis toward the Great Sand Sea. During a desert safari, we documented isolated desert lakes and sweeping natural vistas, revealing a delicate balance between scarcity and life. Siwa’s safari experience is defined by its vast dunes, navigated by four-wheel-drive vehicles operated by skilled local drivers who know the terrain intimately. Sandboarding is also widely practiced. The day concluded with a return to Siwa’s historic center and a tour of the city’s markets.

Before leaving the oasis on December 15, the team ascended a nearby vantage point at Shali Fortress to watch the sunrise over the oasis, as a final farewell to one of the most beautiful places in Egypt and the Sahara.

The Documentation Process

The EWUG members uploaded more than 2,800 photographs documenting monuments, architecture, people, and natural landscapes, along with dozens of newly created categories on Wikimedia Commons. Documentation extended beyond visual content; members collaborated with locals to record audio clips in the Siwi language, contributing them to Wikipedia and the WikiTongues project. Upon returning and completing the uploads, the members began using them to create and edit related articles.

The documentation effort also included contributors who did not participate in the field trip. Such as Soheila El-Shaer, one of the newest Arabic Wikipedia editors within EWUG, who has made significant contributions to archaeological content—her field of study—through writing and expanding multiple articles as part of the Siwa documentation project

Notable contributions to ancient Egyptian heritage included the development of articles on the Temple of the Oracle, the nearby Temple of Amun (Umm Ubayda), and Gebel al-Mawta. Regarding Islamic heritage and architecture, four articles were created on Shali Fortress, the Tatandy Mosque, the Old Mosque, and the King’s Mosque (also known as the Great Mosque of Siwa).

Culturally, articles on the Siwi people and the Siwi language were expanded, while new articles were created on the Tarfutet, the traditional women’s garment in Siwa, and on Gebel al-Dakrour as a site of spiritual significance in addition to its archaeological value. The uploaded materials may later support activities related to Wiki Loves Minorities, with plans underway for a second visit to the oasis focused on broader documentation of wildlife, natural environments, and a dedicated exploration of Siwan cuisine.

This visit was not merely an exploratory trip, but a comprehensive documentation project aimed at preserving Siwa as it exists today; a living place, not a static relic. Through the lenses of photographers and the efforts of editors and administrators, a new layer of free knowledge has been added—one that represents Siwa Oasis as an integral part of Egypt’s cultural and geographical diversity, worthy of being seen, understood, and safeguarded.

See also:

• The report about the phototrip on Meta.
• A reel about the phototrip, posted on the group’s Facebook page.
• Photos of the phototrip on Wiki Commons.