Now you Siwa, Now you Don't

This is, however, Siwa: A place humans have claimed as home for more than 12,000 years. The heart of the Siwa Oasis is located in northwest Egypt, more than 550 kilometers from Cairo and only about 60 kilometers east of the Libyan border. Its isolation is its appeal. Home to exotic plants and animals as well as relaxing natural wonders, Siwa lives up to its reputation as the hot place to be.

When in Siwa, do as the Siwans do. Relax for the better part of the day in a natural spring bath. The most famous is Cleopatra’s Bath, which rated a mention in the ancient Greek historian Herodotus’s epochal work Histories. As the legend goes, the Ptolemaic queen soaked here. True or not, the spring waters are fit for royalty, bookworms and just about everyone else — repeat daily for optimal results.

If Cleopatra doesn’t get you hot enough, slip into Ein Fatnas on the outskirts of the Siwa Village or Abou Sherouf, a hot sulfur spring in the village of the same name.

If you and your fellow compatriots have time for just one tomb in all of Siwa Oasis, make it great. Alexander the Great, that is.The Macedonian conqueror is not actually there — no one is quite sure exactly where his body lies — but as the story goes, he wanted to be buried in Siwa, and a tomb was built in preparation. Look for it close to the Temple of the Oracle, where Alexander supposedly received history-defining advice on winning over Egypt and conquering most of the civilized world.

Look, it’s a bird … no it’s a lot of birds — 164 different species to be precise. Everything from predatory birds and larks to the farmland-loving Japanese Quail. Get out your binoculars, birdwatchers, but don’t blink or you might miss out.

Not to be outdone by their warm-blooded winged ‘desert mates,’ the four-footed mammals are equally elusive. Siwa lays claim to the Fennec Fox, which with its incredibly oversized pointed ears looks like a cross between an Ewok and Yoda. The Fennec is the world’s smallest fox and feels most welcome when the campfire is burning and the smell of food is in the air. Underground prey remains vulnerable as the animal’s acute hearing can pick up the slightest of movements.

If history, tombs or admiring the animal kingdom is not your idea of a trip to Siwa, the alternatives are joining a 4x4 desert safari, attending an exclusive classical music festival hosted by luxury eco-lodge Adrère Amellal held in the fall or buying the local handicrafts.

Climbing to the tallest sand dune and yelling as loud as you can is also a good outlet in Siwa, but just imagine what it would do to the poor Fennec’s ears.