Siwa consists of a little group of oases in a depression about 30 miles long and six miles wide, lying 72 feet below sea level, surrounded by a vast barren table-land, parched and featureless, where rain rarely falls, which can only be crossed if one carries sufficient water for the whole journey.

Belgrave’s account is one of geographical detail, alongside an intricate study of the people who live in the area. Accompanying his work are a wide selection of photographs, maps and paintings, must of which were sketched or taken by the author.

Prefacing Siwa is General Sir Reginald Wingate’s introduction, where he writes: “If the age of miracles has not gone forever then these Moslem devotees – the descendants of the ancient warriors of the Libyan Desert, side by side with their courageous and resourceful British helpers – may yet cause the great Oracle of Jupiter Ammon to reveal the secrets of that old-time sanctuary with which your book deals so interestingly.