CAIRO — Visitors to the Siwa Oasis quickly notice the good nature of the people who welcome them. With warm smiles, oasis residents are proud to show visitors their culture heritage and traditions.

Unlike in many other parts of Egypt, the Siwa Oasis, located 50 kilometers (31 miles) east of the Libyan border and 560 kilometers (348 miles) from Cairo, is practically free of attempts of theft, fraud and sexual, physical or verbal harassment. It seems that the geographical remoteness of the area and longstanding marginalization of its residents are the main reasons the oasis is a safe and pleasant area to live in and visit.

About 30,000 Amazighs (Berbers) live along the Egyptian-Libyan border in what is known as the Siwa Oasis, which is administratively affiliated with the Marsa Matrouh governorate. The Amazighs have been marginalized for decades and their isolation has prevented them from fully integrating with wider Egypt society. They have remained a “tribal” community that adheres to tribal customs and traditions, and they maintained a unique lifestyle and their own language that they speak in addition to Arabic, Egypt’s official language.

According to Tariq Jahlan, a historian and researcher in Amazigh genealogy, in Egypt there are about 12 million people with Amazigh origins, while “the Amazigh-language speakers do not number more than 30,000 — they live in the Siwa Oasis.”