Siwa - How to save an oasis

Few had heard of Siwa before Neamatalla decided to begin investing there in the mid-1990s. The oasis is a nine-hour slog from Cairo in the middle of the western desert, a stone’s throw from the Libyan border.

Siwa is widely considered Egypt’s most alluring oasis, with sparkling azure lakes, lush palm groves and traditional mud houses dotting the landscape.

The oasis has a population that now tops 20,000. Its inhabitants, historically isolated from the outside world, speak a unique Berber language, celebrate a culture unique from any in north Africa, and enjoy significant autonomy under Egypt’s autocratic government system.

But in 1980, all that began to change. In an effort to bring Siwa into Egypt’s commercial fold, the government built a road to the oasis, opening up the door for commerce and trade — but also for degradation of the land and the traditional culture. Today, there is talk of building a commercial airport in the oasis.

Laborers, businessmen and tourists began to pour in and eat away at the pristine ecosystem and distinct culture.

Five water companies currently operate out of Siwa, pumping water from its underground aquifers and using Siwa’s remoteness as a marketing tool. This, said Neamatalla, is one of the greatest threats to the oasis today.

Since the water companies began mining these non-renewable water sources, Neamatalla argued, the oasis has had drainage issues, the companies have had to drill deeper and deeper for water, and the natural springs around the oasis have become increasingly saline.