The temple of the Oracle
Temple of the Oracle from the 26th dynasty sits in the northwest corner of the ruins of Aghurmi village.
Built in the 6th century BC, probably on top of an earlier temple, it was dedicated to Amun
(occasionally referred to as Zeus or Jupiter Ammon) and was a powerful symbol of the town’s
wealth. It is believed Alexander the Great was declared son of Amun in this temple.
There are many stories about the foundation of the temple. One tells of two priestesses who were
banished from Thebes to the desert. One founded the Temple of Dodona in Greece, the other the
Temple of the Oracle here in Aghurmi. One of the most revered oracles in the ancient Mediterranean,
its power was such that some rulers sought its advice while others sent armies to destroy it. Although
the treasure hunters have been at work here and the buttressed temple was poorly restored in the 1970s,
it remains an evocative site, steeped in history. Surrounded by the ruins of Aghurmi, it has awesome views over the Siwan oasis palm-tops.
Gebel El Mawta
This small hill, at the northern end of Siwa Town, is honeycombed with rock tombs peppered with
wall paintings. Its name, Gebel Al Mawta, means ‘Mountain of the Dead’ and most of the tombs here
date back to the 26th dynasty, Ptolemaic and Roman times. Only 1km from the Centre of town, the
tombs were used by the Siwans as shelters when the Italians bombed the oasis during WWII.
The best paintings are in the Tomb of Si Amun, where beautifully colored reliefs portray the dead
man – thought to be a wealthy Greek landowner or merchant – making offerings and praying to
Egyptian gods. Also interesting are the unfinished Tomb of Mesu-Isis, with a beautiful depiction of
cobras in red and blue above the entrance; the Tomb of Niperpathot, with inscriptions and crude
drawings in the same reddish ink you can see on modern Siwan pottery; and finally the Tomb of the
Crocodile, who’s badly deteriorating wall paintings include a yellow crocodile representing the god
Sobek.