Shālī - Schālī

Shali (Arabic:شالي‎, Shali, engl. Shali) or Shālī ghādī (‏شالي غادي) Is a fortress-like settlement on the hill of the same name in the west of the city Siwa in the Western desert in Egypt. The settlement offered space for up to 5,000 people.

background

Shālī is a Muslim city founded. According to the Siwa manuscript, a written chronology available in Siwa, Shālī was established around 1203 (600 AH) from seven families Aghūrmī founded. Her name means city or country. It was surrounded by a fortress wall, which initially had a gate, later four gates that were closed at night. The fortress was supposed to protect against wandering Bedouins.

Shali is not the first settlement in Siwa. The oldest is the settlement further east Aghūrmī. To distinguish, residents of Shali are referred to as West Siwaners.

Shālī was the main residence of the people of Siwa until the 19th century. Since 1820 the houses of the wealthy residents have also been built outside of Shālī. Since 1944 the resettlement of the local population to the city has been made Siwa operated.

The main line of business was the cultivation of olives and the operation of oil mills in the surrounding area.

The destruction of the old town of Shali is usually attributed to heavy rains in 1926 and 1930. The amount of precipitation in Siwa is low: 10 millimeters per year. In exceptional cases, values ​​of 20 millimeters per day can also be achieved.

But rain is probably not the main cause of the decline, it happens again and again. Rather, several houses in Shali have already been given up. The necessary maintenance and repairs have not been carried out since the end of the 19th century, so that a heavy rain could take care of the rest.

On the west side of the western hill there are rock tombs that are sure to date to the Greco-Roman period. It is possible that there was a settlement nearby at the time.

getting there

The old town of Shali can be easily reached on foot from the city Siwa, can be reached from Mīdān es-Sūq (Suq Sq., market place).

mobility

The alleys are so narrow that the old town can only be explored on foot.

Tourist Attractions

Parts of the Outer wall with its gates, the mosque and houses from the 19th century can be visited. They extend up to a height of 60 meters. To the east are the oldest houses, which are also hardest hit by the decay, and the old mosque. The younger buildings in the west are much better preserved. There is also a new mosque in this area. In the meantime, paths have been laid. You pass it on the way to the old mosque Fountain the city. Near the old mosque, a path leads to a viewing platform.

The buildings were made from the salt clay that was present here, Karschif, usually erected directly on the rock without a foundation. The houses could contain up to seven floors. The load-bearing walls are up to a meter thick and their corners are usually rounded. The houses of the wealthy are plastered and whitewashed.

The ceilings consist of halved palm trunks at a distance of 50 to 70 cm. The spans reached four meters in individual cases. Layers of palm ribs were placed over the palm trunks and tied with ropes. Palm leaves were placed on top and a 10 cm thick layer of salt clay was applied. Of course, no walls could be placed on top of these ceilings.

Palm trunks were also used for door and window lintels and "built-in furniture". The windows are square and some of them had crossbars and shutters. However, none of the wooden components have any decoration.

The old mosque can be seen quickly from its tall, tower-like minaret. The interior of the mosque is divided by two rows of pillars, each with three pillars, which support the palm trunk roof. The interior is simply designed, the walls are painted blue and finished with an ocher-colored plinth. The direction of prayer is indicated by a simple prayer niche. The mosque is mostly closed, but midday prayers are still held in it.

The streets are narrow, not even donkey carts could drive them. From the second floor onwards, these paths were covered, and there was a light shaft about every 100 meters.

On the north side there is still the gate "el-Bāb Inschāl" (that is the "gate to the city") near the old mosque and near the fountain of the city. The gate on the south side "el-Bāb Atrāt" (the new gate) is about a century younger.

At night the old town is illuminated with colored light.

Also the western hills can be climbed. The ascent is not easy and you have to be sure-footed. At the beginning you can see rock tombs on the west side of the hill, which certainly come from Greco-Roman times. They have neither inscriptions nor architectural features. From the top of the mountain you have a good view on all sides.

To the south of the west hill is the modern one graveyard the city of Siwa. The deceased are buried here for a period of around two years and then reburied.

kitchen

There are restaurants in the nearby town Siwa.

accommodation

Accommodation is available in the nearby town Siwa.

literature

• Bliss, Frank: Siwa - the oasis of the sun god: Living in an Egyptian oasis from the Middle Ages to the present day. Bonn: Political Working Group Schools (PAS), 1998, Contributions to cultural studies; 18th, ISBN 978-3-921876-21-3 (Pb), ISBN 978-3-921876-22-0 (Linen), pp. 36, 167-173.
• Fakhry, Ahmed: Siwa Oasis. Cairo: The American Univ. in Cairo Pr., 1973, The oases of Egypt; 1, ISBN 978-977-424-123-9 (Reprint), pp. 17-19 (in English).