"Only the desert has a fascination—to ride alone—in the sun in the forever—unpossessed country—away from man. That is a great temptation."
DH Lawrence (1885–1930)
Double-click on any word and see its definition from Cambridge Dictionaries Online.
Read the article and then do a comprehension exercise. Finally, do some writing yourself.
It was a cool dark evening when I arrived in the oasis of Siwa. I had spent most of that day on a tired old bus crossing Egypt's western desert. The only time the bus had stopped since leaving Alexandria was at a café by the side of the road. I had climbed off the bus to get a coffee and look around, but every direction I looked was empty space. No trees, no hills, no other houses, no sand dunes just the straight road in either direction, a vast flat expanse of desert and the one café. It was nothing like the desert I had expected and Siwa was even less like the oasis I had expected. My images of these things had come from the American films I had watched as a child. Deserts were supposed to be full of sand and an oasis was supposed to be a pool of water surrounded by some palm trees.
The main town in Siwa is Shali and it lies some 18 metres below sea level. At the centre of the town is an old Berber fortress, long vacated, and around the town are groves of date palms and olive trees and around these groves is The Siwa or the sea of sand as it is called. The Siwa is actually three vast salt lakes that surround the oasis.
Although it has a population of only 15 to 20 thousand people, Siwa has a history that is rich in culture and drama. In 331 BC Alexander the Great came here after his conquest of Egypt to consult the oracle at the Temple of Amon. This was to confirm that he was in fact a god and had the right to rule Egypt. Some believe that he was later buried here after being poisoned. I made the same trip to the temple which now stands silent and empty among the date palms, but I couldn't find the oracle.
There is also a hot spring, one of many, that bears the name of Cleopatra, and it is said that the great Queen came here to bathe. The only Cleopatra I saw while I was there though was on the cigarette packet that also bears her name.
The Berber people of the town have resisted repeated invasions throughout their long history and there are stories of attacking armies and whole caravans being lost forever in the sands of the desert. Now a part of Egypt and largely Islamic, the people still retain their own individual culture, language and customs.
I spent three days wandering on foot around the date palms investigating the ruins of temples and monuments. Each time I was passed by a farmer on a donkey cart they would stop and offer me a lift. They spoke very little, which was just as well, because I couldn't understand much of their language. One man told me of the fiery heat of the sun in the summer. Another talked a little about tourism and how they had electricity in the town now and could refrigerate their food.
What I remember most about my trip though is sitting on the edge of the oasis and looking out across the vast salt lakes stretching out into the desert and of the burning sun slowly sinking below the horizon and the feeling of total peace there.
consult (v): to ask
dune (n): large hill made of sand
expanse (n): large open space
fiery (adj): like fire / very hot
grove (n): an area of trees
lift (n): a ride on or in something
oasis (n): place in a desert where there is water
oracle (n): a thing or person capable of seeing the future
vacate (v): to leave
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Dang Thuy Hang writes “After reading the acticle I think the oasis of Siwa could have a history that is rich in culture and drama. But the government and people of the town have not made it known as a tourist destination.”
jl-larranaga writes "I like the desert. I think it is a beautiful place to visit. When you are in a rain forest, you can become lost, but in the desert you can see a long way, and your spirit can open."
Tatiana Kuznetsova writes “I have always got my images of deserts and oases from films. And the first film was the Russian film "The white sun of the desert" about the civil war of 1920. The desert was full of sand too. And my images of oases are from books and resemble the writer's images.”
Judy China writes “It's the first time for me to read the magazine on your site. I think it's very interesting in terms of comprehension exercise and writing. The place where I live in is all surrounded by water, no sand. I have never seen deserts in my life except on TV. I appreciate an adventure in a desert. Nothing but the golden sand in your eyes. What kind of feeling it would be! I can't imagine! The writer is lucky. I hope I have a chance to experience it one day.”
Ferit Bayram from Istanbul writes “This morning I decided to learn English, and I found good point to start that is British Council web site. First I watched the Powerpoint show that taught me how should I use LearnEnglish Central. Then I started with that article called Oasis Of Siwa. I’ve been thinking of travelling to Egypt for a long time, and also I have some friends who want to travel with me to Egypt to see the Oasis of Siwa, the remnants of the Egyptian pyramids, to find an oracle to tell me how my future will look, etc.. Although I know, it will be a tough journey, I long to be there.”
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Links from this article
Siwa: sweetest oasis
Other desert links
Wikpedia: deserts
Deserts: geology & resources - deserts explained
Deserts: Online Resources for Students and Teachers
Deserts of our World
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