What's on in Siwa, Egypt through the year

Busy — Mid-year holiday in Egypt, school holidays in 5 of the markets that fill it

• Holiday

  Ramadan

  19 Feb – 19 MarClosures

  A conservative oasis takes the fast seriously: nothing open by day beyond the lodges, then the town wakes at sunset. Drivers for the sand sea run late afternoon trips instead. Source ↗

Still on: The good months for the sand sea (15 Oct – 15 Apr (usually))

Peak crowds — Ramadan, Mid-year holiday in Egypt

Nothing new starts in February.

Still on: Ramadan (19 Feb – 19 Mar), The good months for the sand sea (15 Oct – 15 Apr (usually))

Busy — Ramadan, school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in March.

Still on: Ramadan (19 Feb – 19 Mar), The good months for the sand sea (15 Oct – 15 Apr (usually))

Busy — school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it, one of its best months for weather

Nothing new starts in April.

Still on: The good months for the sand sea (15 Oct – 15 Apr (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

• Season

  Oasis summer

  15 May – 15 Sep · usuallyExtreme heat

  Everything happens before nine and after six, and the shaded pools and the cold springs are the whole day in between. Sand sea trips stop being a good idea altogether.

Busy — Summer holidays in Egypt, school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in June.

Still on: Oasis summer (15 May – 15 Sep (usually))

Busy — Summer holidays in Egypt, school holidays in 5 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in July.

Still on: Oasis summer (15 May – 15 Sep (usually))

Busy — Summer holidays in Egypt, school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in August.

Still on: Oasis summer (15 May – 15 Sep (usually))

Busy — Summer holidays in Egypt, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

• Nature

  Date harvest

  20 Sep – 15 Nov · usually

  Siwa's own crop, and the oasis smells of it for six weeks: palms stripped by hand, dates spread on roofs, lorries loading for Cairo on every track out of town.

Still on: Oasis summer (15 May – 15 Sep (usually))

Busy — Siyaha, the reconciliation festival, school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it

• Festival

  Siyaha, the reconciliation festival

  1–31 Oct · usuallyMajor festivalCrowded

  Three days around the October full moon when the oasis gathers at the foot of Dakrour to eat, sing zikr and settle the year's arguments. Visitors are welcomed rather than catered for. Source ↗

• Season

  The good months for the sand sea

  15 Oct – 15 Apr · usuallyDry season

  The half of the year when the dunes, the salt lakes and the springs are all usable in the middle of the day, and the nights are cold enough for a fire at the camp.

Still on: Date harvest (20 Sep – 15 Nov (usually))

Busy — school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it, one of its best months for weather

• Nature

  Olive harvest

  1 Nov – 31 Dec · usually

  The presses run from November and the year's oil turns up on every table. It is the quietest and most workmanlike season in the oasis, and the walking weather is at its best.

Still on: Date harvest (20 Sep – 15 Nov (usually)), The good months for the sand sea (15 Oct – 15 Apr (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 5 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in December.

Still on: The good months for the sand sea (15 Oct – 15 Apr (usually)), Olive harvest (1 Nov – 31 Dec (usually))