Page:Africa by Élisée Reclus, Volume 1.djvu/404



The Siwah oasis, where spoke the renowned oracle of Ammon, consulted on one occasion by the Macedonian conqueror, rivals in beauty that of Dakhel, although the limestone hills forming its outer enclosure cannot be compared with the picturesque heights of the Bab-el-Cailliaud. Nevertheless they present scarcely less fantastic forms. In certain parts of the plateau the cliffs terminate in flights of steps with perfectly horizontal slabs and of uniform depth, like those leading to some palatial structure. The strange effect is heightened by the colour of the stone, which contrasts vividly with the white sand strewn over the steps. In the

depression enclosed by these remarkable cliffs the steep heights rise to the level of the plateaux, of which they originally formed an integral portion. They now stand isolated amid the cultivated plains and palm-groves, some crowned with edifices, others disposed in ramparts and turrets presenting the appearance of fortifications. The blue lakelets scattered over the verdant plain impart to the oasis of Jupiter Ammon the aspect of a pleasant retreat from the interminable wilderness, But the traveller’s anticipations are presently dashed by the brackish taste of the waters and by the miasmatic exhalations rising from the surrounding marshy tracts. Near the saline springs flow some streams of fresh water, though