|
Siwa Oasis, Egypt, is known since at least the 10th millennium BC, in 7th century, the temple of Amon was built and around the same time the Greek at Cyrene made contact with the Oasis, and in 331 BCE, Alexander the great visited Siwa Oasis and passed by the famous Oracle of the temple of Amon, where he uphold an image of him being the son of the God Amen.
The origin of its name:
Siwa Oasis, Egypt, had various different over the millenniums, the ancient Arabs called it Santariya, and they also called it the Oasis of Jupiter-Amen, Marmaricus Hammon, the Field of Palm Trees and Santar by the ancient Egyptians.
There are some evidence that Siwa Oasis was the ancient capital of the old kingdom that may have included Qara, Arashieh and Bahrein, some people also believe that it was occupied in the Paleolithic and Neolithic times.
The inhabitants of Siwa Oasis are mostly Berbers, who once passed by all North Africa coast between Morocco and Tunisia, although no monuments of the Old, Middle or New Kingdoms were found in Siwa Oasis, however in the Roman period, Gebel el Mawta necropolis was constructed, and the two temples that are famous there, both dedicated o Amen, were established by Ahmose II and Nectanebo II.
Christianity in Siwa Oasis:
Christianity faced difficulties in Siwa Oasis, however many sources indicate that Temple of the Oracle was converted into the Virgin Mary Church, but yet no real record, or historical evidence exists to confirm Christianity in the Oasis.
Islam in Siwa Oasis:
In 1150 AD Islam disseminated in Siwa Oasis, but before that, Siwans were Christians and they fought against the forces of Musa Ibn Nusayr, and after that came Tariq Ibn Ziyad, but his army was also defeated, after a while Islam finally took hold in the Siwa Oasis.
Finally in the 19th century Siwa became a part of modern Egypt, and in 1986 A road between Marsa Matruh and Siwa was built. |
Main Activities
