John Tyman's Cultures in Context Series EGYPT and the SAHARA www.johntyman.com/sahara |
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5.5 Case Study Pt. I: Siwa : 402-420 |
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John Tyman's Cultures in Context Series EGYPT and the SAHARA www.johntyman.com/sahara |
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5.5 Case Study Pt. I: Siwa : 402-420 |
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| .402. Positioned on the edge of the Libyan Sand Sea, 580 kilometres from the Nile and 290 from the Mediterranean, Siwa was a point of call for caravans traveling from north to south -- from the Mediterranean to the Sudan -- and those traveling from east to west -- from the Nile Valley to Libya. (Nearby Sand Sea) |
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| .403. It was also a stopping-off point for pilgrims traveling to Mecca from the south and from the west, having a large mosque and a conservative Muslim population. |
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| .404.The Romans used Siwa as a place of banishment; and because of its remoteness, it has been able to retain a degree of cultural independence. Its people are still mostly Berbers (though passing caravans introduced slaves of Ethiopian or Nubian origin). (Their descendants) |
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| .405. They have retained their own local language -- Siwi -- which is quite distinct from Arabic, as are some of their customs ... including the long dresses worn by young girls. |
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| .406. Women were (and to a great extent still are) strictly segregated and confined to houses in the centre of town, leaving them only for important occasions like weddings, baptisms and funerals. (Woman being led in procession) |
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| .407. Their houses have flat roofs, allowing them to watch comings and goings below while they themselves are unseen. (Old town centre) |
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| .408. When they do venture outside married women are masked by a large shawl which covers their faces completely, leaving only a small opening so they can see where they are going. And for transport they will depend on a husband, brother or son to drive them. (Boy driving donkey cart) |
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| .409. Outside activities are reserved for men. They cultivate the gardens and run the town’s businesses. Trucks now transport them to their place of work. (Men waiting for transport in town square) |
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| .410. Traditionally young bachelors had to live outside the town, where they looked after the gardens, away from any women. They slept there also, seemingly out of harm’s way. Siwa was long acknowledged to be a centre of male homosexuality, and even formalized same sex unions. (Siwa with distant gardens) |
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| .411. The town and its gardens lie in a depression 80 kms long and 20 metres below sea level. The little rain that falls is trapped in salt lakes, but the oases is maintained by artesian springs of freshwater ... 300 of them! (View from Aghurmi) |
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| .412. Their flow is diminishing in some areas, but they supply water to 250,000 date palms, 70,000 olive trees, and many orchards of fruit trees -- of oranges especially. Its population numbers around 15,000. (Gardens between Siwa and Lake Zeitun) |
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| .413. Siwa is mentioned in a text concerning “The Seven Oases” engraved on the walls of the temple at Edfu. The word aman meant “water” and Amon was the god of springs here originally, but his identity was blended eventually with that of the more illustrious sun-god Ammon worshipped at Karnak. (The approach to the Oracle) |
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| .414. The power of the Oracle of Ammon to attract pilgrims increased accordingly. Supplicants came seeking answers to spiritual questions direct from their god -- through his priestly intermediary. (Remnants of the Temple of the Oracle) |
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| .415. The Oracle here was held in high regard and rivaled that of Apollo at Delphi, on the other side of the Mediterranean. It was housed in a temple within the fortified city of Aghurmi on a hill east of present-day Siwa. The temple itself was built of stone (during the 6th century BCE), unlike the other buildings in Aghurmi ... which collapsed long ago. (Remains of Aghurmi) |
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| .416. Nearby (just 200 metres away) the Temple of Umm el-Beyda was also dedicated to Ammon, but even less of it remains today, as it was blown up by the Ottoman governor in 1896 to provide him with building material. (All that remains of the temple today) |
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| .417. The great age of settlement in and around Siwa is obvious also from the many tombs carved into Jebel al-Mawta, the “Mountain of the Dead”, on the northern edge of town. (Burial area) |
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| .418. The tombs here date from Ptolemaic and Roman times, but were used as air-raid shelters when the Italians bombed Siwa during the Second World War: and they were greatly damaged then. Their contents were also pillaged by British troops stationed here then. (Surviving tomb painting) |
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| .419. In the 13th century the survivors of a Bedouin attack decided to build a fortress on a hill overlooking the oasis, and named it Shali, a Berber word for “city”. It was meant to fortify the oasis against invasion either by Egyptians or Libyans. (Shali) |
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| .420. Originally Shali had only one point of entry. Another gate was added later which was reserved for the exclusive use of women, allowing them discreet access to their gardens. (Buildings surrounding the Shali mosque) |
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