A remote oasis of palms, salt lakes and hot springs
Siwa lies deep in the Western Desert near the Libyan border, an oasis of date palms, olive groves, springs and salt lakes surrounded by the Great Sand Sea. The Siwan people speak their own Berber language, and the old town of Shali, built of salt and mud, crumbles picturesquely above the modern town. Alexander the Great came to consult the Oracle of Amun, whose temple still stands. Swim in Cleopatra's Spring, float in the salt pools and take a 4x4 into the dunes.