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The
sweetest oasis
Siwa appears at first as a sweet and innocent
place deep in the desert which has just opened its
eyes to the modern world and still let's itself be
amazed. |
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View from the
Gebel Dakrur, overlooking the oasis and the
Birket Siwa in the distance, dominated by
the White Mountain |
The town of
Siwa and the Shali at night.
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Alexander's oracle
The Oracle of Amon is today mainly remembered for
being visited by Alexander the Great in 331 BCE,
when he was seeking confirmation that he was the
son of Zeus (whom the Greeks associated with the
Egyptian Amon).
Nobody knows what the oracle told
Alexander, the answer was whispered into his ear.
But it probably was confirmative; Alexander
expressed ever since a wish to be buried at Siwa,
and he embarked upon great conquests in the east,
conquests that only a son of a god would dare to
embark upon.
The oracle of Siwa was one of the 6 most
influential in the known world of those days. It
probably came into use some time in the 6th
century, as an expansion of the up to 200 year
older temple dedicated to Amon-Re.
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The threatening
entrance to the temple complex. |
The temple
itself. It is really very small, but as most
visitors never were allowed to enter, just
stand on the ground 12 meters beneath, it
probably appeared to be quite impressive. |
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