People:
Mahdi
Hweiti
(with daughter Jasmine
and Kelly)
We met Mr. Mahdi Hweiti of Siwa Oasis, Egypt a couple of times.
Not only does he run the tourist office from 9-2, he runs a shop and English bookstore
from 8-midnight. Talk about a corner on the market. We saw him as the Voice of Siwa
culture and traditions.
Mahdi is the local expert of the incredible oasis village.
His mission is the preservation of traditional Siwan culture. Go Mahdi! He studied to
become a sociologist in Alexandria but wasn't gone for long. He says Siwans are like fish,
they always return to Siwa wherever they may go.
He's had an interesting life. The road from Marsa Matrouh
to Siwa wasn't paved until 15 years ago, he said the 306 kilometer distance used to take
up to 24 hours. This wouldn't have been such a big deal if he didn't have to attend
secondary school there. He used to travel with other students on the top of a big truck
that used to stop intermittently to do business with Bedouins and would frequently break
down.
We met his 7-year old daughter Jasmine who really likes Xena the
Warrior Princess. He said when TV's first arrived in Siwa shows like Knotts Landing and
Falcon Crest were frequently broadcast, so people thought Westerners, or Americans in
particular all just sit around, drink, have affairs, nice furniture, and big houses. It
has taken awhile to convince residents that is not the case!
But access to images of the Western world have had some lasting
effects. Brides today don't want to wear traditional Siwan costumes but white dresses like
in the West. The silversmith died in 1951 without training a replacement, so one part of
their culture is now lost. After a short visit a few years ago, the Canadian ambassador
was afraid more of Siwan life would be lost and forgotten, so he funded the House of
Siwa, an area set up to showcase what life was like when Siwans lived in traditional mud
houses.
Mahdi has his work cut out for him. President Mubarak wants to
build an airport near Siwa, to make it more accessible to the rest of the country. Already
over 2000 Egyptians have moved to near the oasis since the road was constructed.
Schoolchildren now learn Arabic along with the Siwi language. We met a 6-year old little
girl named Sonia who wanted to practice her excellent English with us. She told us that
she likes learning Siwi and English (from her parents) but not Arabic. There are even more
plans to "Egyptize" and commercialize it in the next few years. No telling what
easy access and a flood of tourists could do to this quaint village. Hopefully Mahdi, with
the support of other Siwans will be able to keep ahold of their customs and traditions in
the wake of 21st century plans for Egypt.
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