 Spring lake of ʿAin Qureishat | ||
| ʿAin Qureishat · عين قريشت | ||
| Governorate | Maṭrūḥ | |
|---|---|---|
| height | −13 m | |
no tourist info on Wikidata:  | ||
| location | ||
| ||
'Ain Qureishat (also Ain Qureishit, Ayn Qureishat / Qureishit, Arabic:عين قريشت, ʿAin Quraishat) is a spring in the east of the city Siwa about 30 kilometers away from Siwa.
background
ʿAin Qureishat is the greatest 1 source(29 ° 12 '40 "N.25 ° 42 ′ 21 ″ E) the valley and its water supplies an 8-kilometer-long lake, the Zeitūn Lake. But its water is of poor quality. Nowadays the water is drawn from a modern pump house.
The cultivation and processing of olives was carried out in its vicinity.
To the west of this spring are the two ancient sites of Qaṣr el-Ghashshām (Arabic:قصر الغشام, Qaṣr al-Ghashshām, also given as Qasr el-Chaschschām by Steindorff).
The so-called Siwa manuscript, a historical description of the Siwa basin, has the following to report on this place: ʿAin Qureishat is therefore the residence of a king named Ghashschām, whose kingdom extends up to the well mark (ḥaṭīyat) Arsanīn / Arhanīn, whose location is unknown today, was enough. The manuscript also mentions a mountain in the middle of which there was a statue of a man who could not be reached either from the foot or from the top of the mountain. There was also a spring in this mountain.
In 1900 Georg Steindorff found here the ruins of an ancient temple from Greek times, which rises on a low limestone hill. It was built from rubble stones and clad with limestone blocks. The lintels of the entrances were decorated with a solar disk flanked by urea. As Ahmed Fakhry (1905–1973) visited the site almost four decades later, hardly any remains of the ruins have survived.
getting there
For the journey you can take the asphalt road from Siwa over the Zeitūn lake to ʿAin āfī to use. The archaeological site itself has to be explored on foot.
Tourist Attractions
From ancient Qaṣr al-Ghashschām there is only a field of ruins with small structural remains in two different places (2 29 ° 12 '28 "N.25 ° 42 ′ 39 ″ E and a little further south at 3 29 ° 12 '24 "N.25 ° 42 '42 "E) preserved. These sites are 13 meters below sea level.
kitchen
There are restaurants in the nearby town Siwa. There is also a small rest area in Abū Schurūf.
accommodation
Accommodation is available in the nearby town Siwa.
trips
The visit to the archaeological site can be combined with the Abū Schurūf, ez-timeun, ʿAin āfī and Abū el-ʿAuwāf connect.
literature
- : Through the Libyan desert to the Amonsoasis. Bielefeld [et al.]: Velhagen & Klasing, 1904, Land and people: monographs on geography; 19th, P. 125, fig. 78 (p. 104).
- : Siwa Oasis. Cairo: The American Univ. in Cairo Pr., 1973, The oases of Egypt; 1, ISBN 978-977-424-123-9 (Reprint), p. 129 f. (In English).
