Siwa Oasis is an oasis in Egypt, between the Qattara Depression and the Egyptian Sand Sea in the Libyan Desert, nearly 50 km east of the Libyan border, and 560 km from Cairo. Siwa Oasis is one of Egypt's most isolated settlements, with 23,000 people, mostly Berber speakers, who speak a distinct language of the Berber family known as Siwi. Its fame lies primarily in its ancient role as the home to an oracle of Amon, the ruins of which are a popular tourist attraction which gave the oasis its ancient name Ammonium.