Siwa Oasis hosted dates festival from 14 to 16 October

The ninth International Dates Festival opened at Siwa Oasis (Wahat Siwah) in Siwa, Egypt, on 14 October 2026. The event ran through 16 October 2026 and brought together growers, manufacturers, exporters and researchers in the western Egyptian oasis.

Siwa Oasis hosted the dates festival from 14 to 16 October

The festival was jointly organised by Egypt's Ministry of Industry, the Marsa Matrouh Governorate and the UAE's Khalifa International Award for Date Palm and Agricultural Innovation. It formed part of cooperation linking cultivation, harvesting, storage, packaging and marketing in the dates sector, according to Ahram Online's festival report.

The programme included a scientific symposium on challenges facing growers and processors, including the role of research, technology and innovation. The opening ceremony also honoured winners of the ninth Egyptian Dates Competition, which drew 78 farmers from six governorates and used eight award categories.

For visitors arriving after 16 October 2026, the festival itself is no longer taking place. Its relevance to the oasis continued through discussion of date production and the presentation of Siwa's agricultural resources, rather than through a permanent change to the visitor route.

Siwa Oasis connects the festival to an ancient landscape

The oasis is in Matrouh Governorate in western Egypt, near the Libyan frontier and about 560 kilometres west-southwest of Cairo. It measures about 10 kilometres from north to south and 6 to 8 kilometres across, with about 200 springs, according to Britannica's Siwa overview.

Siwa supports thousands of date palms and olive trees, making the festival's focus on cultivation and processing directly connected to the setting. The oasis also contains the old walled settlements of Siwa and Aghurmi, built around rocky outcrops and mud-brick houses.

The ruins of Aghurmi include fragments of the oracle temple of Amon, with inscriptions dating from the fourth century BCE. The site was known in the ancient world and was consulted by Alexander the Great, while nearby remains include the ruined temple of Umm Beda and Roman remains.

Visiting Siwa Oasis: what travellers from Western Europe should know

• The International Dates Festival took place at Siwa Oasis from 14 October to 16 October 2026. The programme is therefore finished for visitors arriving after 16 October 2026.
• The event was a temporary festival rather than a permanent access change at the oasis. The reported programme centred on growers, researchers, processors, exporters and a scientific symposium.
• Siwa is in Egypt's western desert, near the frontier with Libya and west-southwest of Cairo. The oasis includes the old settlements of Siwa and Aghurmi, as well as the remains of the oracle temple.
• The landscape combines springs, salt pools, date palms, olive trees, rocky outcrops and mud-brick settlements. Visits to the historic remains therefore involve an arid oasis setting and uneven archaeological ground.
• Entry requirements depend on your nationality; UK travellers can check the FCDO travel advice at gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice, Irish travellers the Department of Foreign Affairs at ireland.ie.

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Frequently asked questions about Siwa Oasis

When did the International Dates Festival take place at Siwa Oasis?

The ninth International Dates Festival took place from 14 October to 16 October 2026. It brought together participants from the dates sector in the oasis.

Where is Siwa Oasis and how do you get there?

Siwa Oasis is in western Egypt's Matrouh Governorate, near the Libyan frontier and about 560 kilometres west-southwest of Cairo.

What is Siwa Oasis?

It is a fertile desert oasis with springs, date palms, olive trees, historic mud-brick settlements and the remains of an ancient oracle temple at Aghurmi.