Abdol, driving like a complete demented maniac, took us to the most wonderful spot for sunset

Siwa is the ideal place to escape the touristy Temples and Pyramids all around the Nile Delta and Valley. But getting there is not always easy and neither is finding your way around. The town is nothing like the other cities in Egypt and the people don’t even consider themselves Egyptians. They have a different language and culture, which in many ways was more pleasant for us as independent travellers. In this post you will find what to do how much it will cost you to explore this beautiful oasis.

Siwa Day 1: The Oasis Life

• Sights:       Mountain of the Dead, Temple of the Oracle of Amon, Cleopatra’s Bath, Gabal Dakrur
• Lodging:   Albabenshal Hotel
• Budget:    £ 1129

Sleepy Hospitality

Not a soul or sign of civilization around except the road we drove on

I woke up uncomfortable on the bus, seeing the sun rise over one of the most desolate landscapes I had ever seen. As far as you could see, it was just sand and rocks. Not a soul or sign of civilization around except the road we drove on. That same road was well guarded by many military checkpoints. They had interrupted our already scarce sleep by asking for our passports each time. Although they seemed more interested in the locals’ ID’s than ours. As a result we were both zombies when we got off in Siwa.

We dismissed the guys offering a taxi, since we knew our hotel was around the corner. We hobbled through the dusty streets to our hotel. It was only 6 AM so we ended up waking the manager. To our delight told us we could just go upstairs to the room, the key was on the door. We dropped our stuff and went straight to sleep until noon.

Brunch

After our nap we woke up to appreciate the room and hotel for the first time. We were too zombie before to do so. The place was basically a restored part of the old Siwan fortress. Built almost entirely out of mud and wood. It was clear to us why they used to build using these materials: the heat outside was barely noticeable in the room.

We wanted to grab some brunch in Abdu, easily the most popular place in town. But we had to wait until they were done praying. So we sipped out smoothies for half an hour after which we finally ate something for the first time in 14 hours. During our meal we were approached by Abdol, a Siwan tourist guide, or at least that’s what he called himself. We ended up arranging a sand-boarding trip him and a ride to the most idyllic sunset spot in town.

Mountain of the Dead

Endless palm tree plantations interrupted only by occasional hills

We rented some bikes in the shop in front of our hotel, paying less than € 2 per bike for the entire day. We started of exploring in the desert heat, riding our bikes through the traffic void roads. Our first step was the holy mountain of the dead. A huge hill with hundreds of holes and tombs dug into it, some still decorated inside. But the most impressive was the view from the top. Endless palm tree plantations interrupted only by occasional hills like the one we were standing on. In the distance on both sides of the oasis, huge salty lakes stretched to the horizon. We climbed back down and hopped back onto our bikes.

Bathing with Cleopatra

His surprising combinations of fruit and spices rehydrated us in no time

We drove through the palm trees towards the temple of the Amon oracle. On the dusty roads we were only passed by occasionally by donkey carts and motorcycles converted into small pick-up trucks. The temple itself was pretty much ruins but again the view was incredible. Supposedly Alexander the Great had his right to rule Egypt confirmed by the Oracle in this temple.

We biked on, dying in the dessert heat.. Finally we arrived at Cleopatra’s bath, a round hole in the ground with fresh cool water. We quickly learned from the very friendly owner of the juice bar that the name was utter nonsense. The juice he served however was the real deal and his surprising combinations of fruit and spices rehydrated us in no time. I also went for a refreshing dive, joining the locals youths doing backflips into the pool. We met two nice Mexicans who had travelled already for a long time. They were the only the second group of independent travellers we had met in our first week in Egypt.

Palm-tree sunset

There is just something magical about riding a bike down deserted dusty roads lined with palm trees, while the sun lights up the horizon in a fiery golden glow

Before the sun started to set we all headed to the nearby mountain called, Gabal Dakrur to watch the sunset from up high. We got there in time but didn’t manage to climb all the way up, since no clear path was visibly. Around the bottom of the hill, abandoned mud houses lay in ruins. After the sun had set we heard from the Mexicans that around the back of the peak there was an easy path to the top. The view was nevertheless amazing from where we ended up.

We had some fun taking pictures of the event and afterwards we biked for half an hour back into town. There is just something magical about riding a bike down deserted dusty roads lined with palm trees, while the sun lights up the horizon in a fiery golden glow. A refreshing shower and a good night’s sleep was waiting for us in our cosy room. But first we had a nice dinner at Abdu with the Mexicans. We looked for an alternative first, but all other restaurants were very much closed. We went to bed early since we would have to get up in time for our trip with crazy Abdol.

Siwa Day 2: Crazy Abdol

• Sights:      The Great Sand Sea, Fatnas Island
• Lodging:   Albabenshal Hotel
• Budget:    £ 1097

Sandboarding

Abdol picked us up as agreed after a tasty breakfast at the hotel. We drove with his friend in a shabby 4×4 to some high dunes outside of town. We got out the sand board and started gliding down the dune a couple of times. Gliding down was a lot of fun though not incredibly fast. However climbing back up was hell in the heat and the loose sand. We decided we had enough and after taking some pictures on the huge dunes and he drove to the his little plantation. We got a fresh pomegranate and some tea but declined lunch to head back to the hotel to rest and get the sand off us.

Sunset Peninsula

After an afternoon nap we went to Abdu for dessert. At 5:30 Abdol, driving like a complete demented maniac, took us to the most wonderful spot for sunset. A small peninsula in one of the lakes at the edge of town was converted into an open air bar. The owner came to great us (we were the only customers except some locals) and explained us how tourism had dramatically declined in the years after the revolutions. I got into the lake and we enjoyed one of the most beautiful sights we had both seen. The sun setting over the ragged horizon while I floated around in the salty lake. After the sun had set Abdol drove us to a restaurant and hotel at the other side of town. During the drive we feared for our lives in the back of his little motorcycle pick up.

Egyptian Movie Stars

The place was beautiful but dinner was pretty standard, roasted chicken with some humus and vegetable side dishes. The guy that served us was really nice though and he even gave us some home-made date wine for free. Wine was more of an understatement since it reminded me more of the rice whiskey I once had in Thailand.

We called Abdol to come get us but waited for a while for an Egyptian movie star to arrive. As far as we understood we basically served as props to prove to the actress that this place was very international. Yes, we were the only foreigners there, like we had been everywhere for most of our time in Siwa. When she did get there we called it quits and left. Abdol’s death machine did not start at first. So we pushed it until it did and had one the most intense rides ever in the pitch-black back to our hotel.

Siwa Day 3: The Long way to Luxor

The waiting game

The desert road towards the other Oases in the South was apparently closed of for tourists. This meant we had to pass by Cairo again to make it to Luxor. So we got up around 6 AM to catch one of the micro-buses to Marsa Matruh. These buses only leave when they are filled up. After waiting for about an hour it was finally full house and we left for our first leg of the trip. We came across some wild camels and had a chips for breakfast in the tiny roadside shop.

The landscape was so void and unique, most of it we had missed since we were sleeping when driving to Siwa. Finally we got to Marsa Matruh, were we asked around for the bus stop to catch a normal bus to Cairo. Some rich business guy from Siwa invited us to drive to Cairo with him which we gladly accepted. He told us he did not want to drive the entire way to Cairo alone, and since his luxurious 4×4 had way more leg space than any Egyptian bus we did not complain.

Stranded

Tourists should take the sleep train. Only this train costs $ 80 instead of $ 15

We got to Cairo way faster than expected. Our saviour dropped us off at the Hilton and we took a cab to the train station. We had some dinner in the station and I went to buy tickets. I obviously do not look Egyptian and they refused to sell me tickets. They told me tourists should take the sleep train. Only this train costs $ 80 instead of $ 15. So we asked around to see if any friendly Egyptian wanted to buy them for us. Soon it became clear they were all sold out for today. There was no way we would still get to Luxor by train.

So we headed back to the Hilton and I booked another night with my points. I tried to have the concierge buy train tickets for us. But since it was Hilton he tried to sell me plane tickets instead. They were not so expensive but obviously way above our budget. I got frustrated and went back to the station by cab and bought tickets for the next morning at the machine. We enjoyed the night in our cloud like bed after some desert and a drink in the lounge.