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SIWA OASIS :
Gebel al-Mawta
The Gebel al-Mawta looks great from a distance, but it is even more
impressive up close. The name means simply Mountain of the Dead, and it
is the place where Siwans for over 2000 years buried their loved ones.
View from the
Gebel Dakrur, overlooking the oasis and the Birket Siwa in the distance,
dominated by the White Mountain.
The mountain is truly perforated, it must be centuries since there was
no more room for new graves. The lower part of the mountain has
countless mounds, with small passageways to the tombs.
Most of the tombs belonged to families, and arranged according to the
same patterns as graves all around Egypt. The larger ones had ceremonial
chambers, while the smaller ones had ceremonies performed outside the
grave.The mountain holds a couple of truly great graves, full of
wall-paintings equally beautiful to the noble tombs of Luxor or Aswan.
Every inch
of the lower platform of the mountain has been used for family
graves.
Entrance to
one of the richest graves.
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