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  • Aqsunqur Mosque Cairo

    Mosque of Amir Aqsunqur

    The mosque in Cairo, Egypt, was constructed between 1346 and 1347 by Prince Aq Sangar, a builder of Sultaniyah buildings. He is credited with the Aq Sangar Bridge on the Great Bay and built a magnificent house and two bathrooms on the Nasiriyah pond. Sangar was among the Ushaqiyah during King Al-Nasser Muhammad bin Qalawun's early days.

  • Al-Hakim be Aamr Ellah Mosque

    Mosque of al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah

    A millennium ago, Fatimid Cairo's oldest and largest mosque was built. In 989, Fatimid caliph Al-Aziz Billah realized the mosque could not accommodate more worshippers and scholars. He planned a new mosque, which was completed by the 6th Fatimid caliph, Al-Hakim Amr Allah. The mosque was inaugurated in 1012 AD and named after the ruler. In 1013 AD, the ruler issued a decision to turn the mosque into a “mosque” where jurisprudence is taught, to help the Al-Azhar Mosque to accommodate students and worshippers.

  • Visit Queen Nefertari’s Tomb

    Tomb of Queen Nefertari

    Nefertari's tomb is one of the creations of historical monuments built by the kings of the ancient Egyptian dynasties and became international archaeological attractions that are visited by tourists coming from different countries of the world to enjoy these interesting stories from inside the temples. Luxor's historical tombs, including "Nefertari's Tomb" No. 66 in the Valley of the Queens, are awe-inspiring. Discovered in 1904 by an Italian expedition, the tomb, which spans over 520 meters, features intricate inscriptions and colors, showcasing the love and devotion of King Ramses II.

  • tomb of Tutankhamun | Tutankhamun tomb discovery | king tut tomb pictures

    The discovery of King Tut's tomb

    The 18th Dynasty tomb of Tutankhamun, discovered by Howard Carter in 1922, is the only complete and undisturbed royal burial in the Valley of the Kings worldwide. On November 4, 1922, the sarcophagus of the Golden King was opened, and on February 16, 1923, British archaeologist Howard Carter entered his coffin room, which had never been accessed in over 3000 years of history. The tomb of Tutankhamun contained over 5000 artifacts.

  • the Virgin Mary’s tree.

    The Tree of Virgin Mary in Matareya

    The Virgin Mary's tree is one of the paths of the Holy Family, as it is located in the place where the Holy Family rested and became weak and frail. It is located in the far north of Cairo, near the obelisk of Senusret, and it can be reached from a street branching from Matrawy Street, which is the street of the Tree of Mary residences, where the tree is surrounded by a large wall and a beautiful garden in the middle of it.

  • Life History of Ahmed Ibn Tulun

    Life History of Ahmed Ibn Tulun

    Abu al-Abbas Ahmad bin Tulun, the prince of Egypt and founder of the Tulunid state in Egypt and the Levant, was born on September 20, 835, and is commemorated today as the birthday of the Abbasid state over Egypt. Ahmad ibn Tulun was born on September 20, 835 AD, from a slave girl named Qasim or Hashim, and his origins go back to the Turkish tribe of Taghzgar, although he was born in the city of Baghdad in Iraq, the capital of the caliphate at that time, and he is from a family that lived in Bukhara, and his father was known as Tulun.

Temple of Alexander the Great in Siwa

Information about Temple of the Oracle at Siwa Oasis

  • 05 16, 2023

Facts about Temple of the Oracle 

The Siwa oasis lies 593 km west of Alexandria and 302 km from Marsa Matrouh, close to the Libyan border. Access is via an asphalt road from Marsa Matrouh. Siwa lies at the center of a chain of small oases at the end of the Qattara depression. Like Qattara, the oasis lies 24 meters below sea level. Populated by around 15,000 inhabitants, it extends over 80 km in length and 29 km in width. Water is abundant and, due to lack of drainage, can accumulate in lakes with a high salt content.

Siwa boasts beautiful landscapes of dunes, ponds and lakes, reminders of a sea that once covered the desert. Many fossilized shells can be found here. With its many mud-brick villages, Siwa is a great place for walking. The picturesque oasis boasts 300,000 palm trees, 70,000 olive trees and over 300 springs and streams of pure, fresh water. Donkeys make up the majority of the animals, as camels are strangely not allowed to stay here due to a dangerous fly bite.

Constructed in the 26th Dynasty, the Temple of Amun is a magnificent structure whose oracle was highly influential during the Greek and Roman eras. According to one legend, the temple was built in honor of Ham, the son of Noah, by Danaus the Egyptian; another legend relates the temple's foundation to the Greek god Dionysus. Lost in the western desert. Dionysus was dying of thirst, when a ram appeared and guided him to the spring of Agroumi, in gratitude Dionysus erected this temple.

Oracle, the manifestations of God, were highly revered in the ancient world, able to see into the future, they were regularly consulted before important decisions were made, it is thought that Alexander that Alexander the Great wanted proof that he was the son of Zeus from the Siwan oracle. The Greek god of the gods, when he and his entourage arrived, a manifestation of the oracle paraded through the city accompanied by eighty priests, after his visit to the oracle, each time his image appeared on the coin, Alexander was shown with ram's horns, the symbol of Amun, the god of the gods in Egypt.

The temple was famous throughout the Mediterranean world. It was accessed from the south via a first sloping courtyard, built in the axis of the temple. At the start of this slope was a well. This is where processions were held; only a few of the courtyard's foundations remain. Once through the courtyard, you came to an Egyptian-style façade, Hellenized by the addition of two fluted Doric columns, the right-hand one of which is missing.

This brought us to the covered parts of the building: vestibule and sanctuary (or cella) with “sacristy” room, where oracular procedures took place in the presence of the consultant and priests of Amun. The room was covered by a double wooden ceiling. A priest came to stand in the open space before the ceremony, and could access the false ceiling by means of a staircase, through an L-shaped gallery surrounding the northeast corner of the oracle room (as at Karnak and Kom Ombo). To the right of the sanctuary, a small crypt with three niches was used to store cult objects.

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Egypt Tours FAQ

Read top Egypt tours FAQs

 

The Shrine of the Siwa Oracle, also known as the Temple of Alexander the Great, is a sanctuary located in the Siwa Desert in western Egypt. It was dedicated to Amun. According to tradition, its foundation is linked to that of the oracle of Dodona, for it is said that two black doves left Tebaida with the same mission, one flying to Dodona and the other to Siwa.

Yes, you can wear light clothes in the Oasis area, especially during the hottest months, but it is advisable to wear clothes suitable for protecting the skin from the sun.

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