Shali Fortress Siwa Oasis information, tours, prices and online booking
Shali Fortress Siwa Oasis is in fact the center of Siwa town. In fact, it dominated by the spectacular organic shapes of the remains of the 13th-century. Built in fact from a material known locally as kershef. The kershef is large chunks of salt from the lake just outside town. Moreover, it mixed with rock and plastered in local clay. The labyrinth of huddled buildings was originally four or five stores high and housed hundreds of people.
For centuries, few outsiders admitted inside – and even fewer came back out to tell the tale. But three days of rain in 1926 caused more damage than any invader managed. Over the last decades, inhabitants of Shali Fortress Siwa Oasis moved to newer and more comfortable houses. In fact, it is with running water and electricity. Now only a few buildings around the edges are occupied or used for storage. It includes the mosque with its old, chimney-shaped minaret.
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Those who wander around the outskirts of the fort are likely to reward with glimpses of life as it used to be. There’s an old donkey-powered oil press back here in Shali Fortress. You should listen out for the clanging of a real-life metal smith plying his trade. With each rainfall more of these buildings disintegrate. However, Siwans are beginning to value the uniqueness of their heritage, as well as the need to preserve it. Recently authorities worked with an international NGO. In fact, it is to reinforce what’s left of Shali Fortress Siwa Oasis using traditional building techniques.
