good for you

An 11th century style mud-brick palace, in Egypt's untouched western desert, Adrère Amellal is an all-natural Casbah styled lodge that blends perfectly with the rugged stone cliffs at its back. Ranking second on Condé Nast Traveler's Green List of Best Resorts for 2005, this is a place where you can really get away from it all. Adrére Amellal- which means "White Mountain" - nestles in a remote oasis fed by some 230 natural freshwater springs, where the locals have lived their culture for more than 10,000 years and where electricity and TV were unknown until the late 1990s. Overlooking ancient olive and palm groves, Siwa's largest salt lake, and the dunes of the Great Sand Sea Adrére Amellal is truly in harmony with its environment.

Within a few days, you'll find yourself shedding your crazily restrictive clothes in favour of the loose-flowing djellaba, just as you lose touch with the trivial annoyances of everyday life in exchange for the slow and steady rhythm of the lodge with its ancient olive and palm grove, slow bubbling Roman springs and the great Sahara stretching out into the distance. Who knew life in a mud hut could be this good?

Siwa was renowned in ancient times as one of the world's most important oracle centers. Even Alexander the Great braved the dangers of the Sahara and traveled to Siwa on horseback seeking inspiration before heading off to conquer the world - no doubt you'll be inspired as well.

good for egypt

The ecolodge, ranked second on Condé Nast Traveler's Green List of Best Resorts for 2005, has been built with great socio-cultural and environmental sensitivity. Derelict Siwan houses were restored and extended, using kershef - a mixture of rock salt and mud - to build the walls, a method that keeps indoor temperatures moderate and ensures that the structures blend with the environment. The entire lodge is free of electricity and telephones, in keeping with the lifestyle of the oasis. Natural breezes produced by strategically placed doors and windows eliminate the need for air conditioning, while oil lamps and candles are used for lighting and braziers for heating. The simple furniture draws exclusively on natural materials, traditional design, and local skills. A team of trained Siwan staff offers quality hospitality services and the ecolodge, which is a product of the ancient wisdom and creativity of Siwan master builders and craftsmen whose trades were becoming extinct, has led to a revival of traditional building techniques in the oasis.

Rooms

Food

Delicious organic meals are taken in a different part of the lodge each night, with al fresco dining on one of the terraces or by the pool when the weather is warm. Traditional Siwan and international food is cooked in honey-glazed clay pots, with all herbs and vegetables handpicked daily just meters away from your plate in the lodge's own organic garden. Lunches are vegetarian, with meat forming part of the main course at dinner.

Features & Facilities

• The rectangular swimming pool, its cold, salty water provided by a natural spring, is surrounded by palm and olive trees.
• Adrere Amellal is equipped with a horse track, and a stable for seven horses.
• The bars are a real highlight. One bar lounge is made of rocks extracted from a nearby mountain and decorated with traditional Siwan engravings, while another is tucked right into the mountain - you feel you're sipping your gin and tonic in an ancient cave.

Local Info & Activities

Strolling through the city of Siwa is pleasant and easy, with plenty of local life to observe. The oasis is a small and close-knit community so it's very safe. Open air baladi cafés look out the main street where you can smoke a traditional pipe as you watch the turbaned locals wander by, or you can jump in a donkey cart - the main mode of transport in town - for a bit of sightseeing.

The surrounding areas are extremely rich in history and natural beauty. There are plenty of opportunities for active sports like scuba diving and parasailing.

The Temple of the Oracle, some 4km east of downtown Siwa, was built by ancient Egyptians to honour the sun god Amun-Ra. When Alexander the Great came to Egypt for the first time in about 331BC, he headed straight oasis to consult the famous oracle. During the Roman period the Temple of the Oracle was converted into the Church of the Virgin Mary. By Christians whom the Romans banished to the western oases.

26th Dynasty tombs with murals and inscriptions line Jabal al-Mawta, or the Mountain of the Dead. Siwans used them as shelters during World War II when battles raged around the oasis.

The historic Fortress of Shali is in the old city of Siwa - Shali means "city" in the Siwan language - and dates back to 1203. It was built as a fortress with one gate. Old Siwan scriptures say that 40 Siwans built it using Kershef (the traditional building material of Siwa, also used to construct the ecolodge) with palm trunks for the ceilings. In 1926, heavy rains, unusual in Siwa, destroyed the Kershef buildings, leaving only the remains of old Siwan houses.

Siwa has 200 natural springs dating from the Roman era. Until the mid 20th century, when modern drilling techniques were brought to the oasis, these springs were the main source of water in Siwa.

Siwa's oldest spring is the Juba Spring, or Cleopatra's Bath. It can be dated back as early as 331 BC, when historians under Alexander's reign documented it, though there is no historic evidence that Cleopatra ever visited Siwa. Due to its close location to the Market, it's the favourite with locals, while tourists generally prefer to visit Fatnas and Abou Sherouf.

Abou Sherouf is located about 35km east of Siwa, close to other historical attractions like the Roman tombs at Awaf@.

Kreshet spring is close to the important archeological sites of Sallam, El Zeitoun and Kasr Menyal - all within about 10km of Abou Sherouf.

The majority of Siwan cliffs hide Roman tombs, which are not all under the control of relevant authorities, most of them emptied by theft over the years.

Made of Kershef bricks (the traditional mixture of mud and salt rock), El Beit el Siwi is the only so-called museum in Siwa, with exhibitions about daily life and culture in traditional Siwa.

The spring at Fatnas Island is another favorite bathing spot on the salt lake of Siwa, reached by crossing a causeway. It is surrounded by palm trees and lush vegetation, and has a small restaurant nearby.

Bir Wahed, 70km south of Siwa, has hot sulfur spring in the middle of a green oasis. Along the way you can take a look at the Fossilized Forest.

Meditate by the banks of the vast and beautiful Sheyata lake, a natural protectorate in the desert 35km southwest of downtown Siwa.

insider tips

From June to September the weather can be very hot (high 30s) during the day and warm at night. The nights cool off substantially through the winter, though days remain in the 20s.

Sustainability

In 1997, Environmental Quality International acquired 75 acres of palm and olive groves at the foot of a mountain called Adrère Amellal (White Mountain in the native Siwa Berber language) overlooking Lake Siwa. Built out of indigenous material using traditional Siwan building techniques and styles that have a minimal impact on the land, Adrère Amellal sets the standard for eco-lodge development. Natural ventilation, which takes advantage of the dry desert climate, removes the need for energy-sapping and expensive air conditioning. The lodge relies on solar and alternative energies, with gas for cooking. All the waste and wastewater it produces are recycled, while food prepared at the lodge is organically and predominantly locally grown.

Through its Siwa Sustainable Development Initiative, EQI has made investments in four main areas: 1) Eco-tourism 2) Siwan Artisanship 3) Sustainable Agriculture and 4) Renewable Energy. These form an integrated plan that aims at establishing a sustainable private sector-led development model, which is socially and environmentally responsible.

materials used & environmental policies

• Kershef, a mixture of sun dried salt rock mixed with straw, is used for wall building. Furniture and fixtures are made of palm trunks and fronds, while carpentry and accessories demonstrate the rich and colorful variety of the region's indigenous handicrafts. Oil lamps and candles are used for lighting and coal-filled braziers are used for heating. A stone-built swimming pool is fed by a natural spring. Solid waste is recycled: food waste is composted on site, and local residents pick up recyclables. Wastewater is first settled in self-contained sedimentation tanks, allowing the supernatant to flow through perforated pipes into a wetland where indigenous papyrus plants complete the biodegradation and waste reduction process. The wetland is completely sealed off from the surrounding environment to avoid any possibility of contamination of surface and ground water resources.

local staff

• Since the lodge's inception, EQI has relied on recruiting and training local people for the design, construction and furnishing of the lodge as well as for the supply of goods and services, and operational staffing. Adrère Amellal employs 56 people.

women's project

• In August 2001, EQI launched the Siwa Women's Native Artisanship Development Project - a community development project designed to increase the empowerment and economic self-sufficiency of Siwan women through the revitalization of traditional handicraft production and the promotion of a culture of artisanship. The project has focused on opening up viable business opportunities for Siwan women and enhancing their skills to ensure that their workmanship is of the highest standard. The project has provided home-based business opportunities for a total of over 300 Siwan women, who are applying their embroidery skills to a line of garments, accessories, and household items that are both exported to Europe and sold in shops in Cairo and in Siwa.
• The objective of the Sustainable Agriculture Initiative is to make Siwa a center of excellence for the production of organically grown produce and agro-culinary products, while improving the standard of living of Siwan farmers. The project is working to (1) overcome the financial constraints of Siwan farmers; (2) add value to Siwan agricultural produce through adopting organic farming and farm management systems compatible with international certifications; (3) brand the products and establish market linkages with regional and international markets; and (4) implement a cattle disbursement initiative increasing the amount of livestock in the oasis, providing farmers with milk products as well as high quality manure.

Getting There

Adrère Amellal is located 16 kilometers from the center of Siwa, which is Egypt's remote Western Desert. The drive from Cairo to Siwa is a good eight hours. If you are flying to Cairo from abroad, plan on spending at least one night in Cairo before setting off to Siwa.

Visit our Transport section for flights, hybrid car rentals and train bookings.

Rates & Bookings

Single: US$415 p/per/per night

Double: US$550 for 2 persons/per night (

Junior Suite: US$660 for 2 per night

Royal Suite: US$1290 for 2 persons/per night

included

• All meals
• Beverages
• Daily Desert Trip

booking & cancellation policy

• One night's room rate secures a booking.
• If a cancellation is made any time after 14 days before arrival then the deposit is forfeited

Want to avoid cancellation fees? Visit our Insurance section for information on travel insurance.