Encompassed on all sides by the dusty, windswept dunes of the western Egyptian desert, this elongated stretch of oasis land oozes points of historical interest from every ancient crumbling temple façade, subterranean tomb and looming remnant of the old salt-brick fortress.

Many travellers visit the Siwa Oasis to follow in the footsteps of Alexander the Great, who arrived to seek the blessing of the ancient oracle in the second half of the 4^th century BC. And if it’s the history you came for (and most people do), then be sure to ask your Siwa Oasis tour guide about the other major must see sights that pepper the area—the hot spring fed Cleopatra’s pool and the crumbling remains of the Pharaonic Temple of Amun, as well as the tomb-dotted ridges of the Ptolemaic Mountain of the Dead.

For the intrepid, the Great Sand Sea opens up a gamut of adventure sports from sand boarding and safaris to quad biking in the desert. Back at Shali, Siwa’s main town, a compact house museum, earthy Berber markets, and a range of charming modern hamlets around a blooming canopy of palm and olive trees wait to be explored.