Siwa

"e;An oasis among oases! There is no doubt that no other oasis in North Africa has such a population and preserves such a rich heritage, a continuous thread throughout history. Despite its proximity to the gates of Europe, the Arab influence is not overwhelming, and despite its tourist attractions, European travelers have rarely visited it. I truly wonder why. Its nature is breathtaking. Its legends lie at its very foundations. Its fame spread far and wide before the dawn of history. Its remains are preserved to this day in the form of shattered statues, broken columns, and ruins for which the sands have become a fitting shroud."e;Arthur Silva White, 1899. In this book, we present the accounts of six British travelers who visited the Siwa Oasis and wrote about it between 1792 and 1920, in a serious attempt to document the most important journeys of the British to and from this oasis over nearly a century and a quarter. The translators opted for a longitudinal translation, extracting only the sections written about Siwa while omitting other chapters dealing with various regions and topics. It is noticeable that the travelers' opinions sometimes differ, which is natural given the different times at which they visited the oasis, not to mention the natural evolution of things over time. Furthermore, we cannot ignore personal viewpoints, which are not always characterized by absolute objectivity or pure neutrality.