The road from Marsah Matrouh to Siwa called Masrab Al Istabl(Stable Road) also known as Sikket Al Sultan(Sultan’s Path);is the same road travelled by Alexander the Great in 331 BC when he went to Siwa to have his fortune told. This road will lead the traveler to El Maraqi the collective name for several villages at the southern end of the Oasis.

Three natural lakes occupy the central part of the oasis depression El Zeiton, Siwa and El Maraqi. Lake Maraqi or Birket Maraqi measures nine square kilometers, and is fed by underground sweet water springs. The saline content of the earth surrounding the lake seeps into the water, making all the efforts to stock the lake with fish impossible.

Rumors of treasures buried in the area of El Maraqi; such as the Sabre of Prophet Mohammed and the Crown of King Suleiman, have been attracting treasure hunters since the seventeen hundreds, but the main search has been for the body of Alexander the Great. More than 100 separate expeditions have been carried out in the past century, and all having proved futile. In 1991, Liani Souvaltzi, a self styled expert, made news by declaring that the body had been found in a temple in El Maraqi, but Doctor Hawass; the Egyptian Head of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, denied her claim. The site has been closed for more research, check with the local tourist office to see if it has reopened and can be visited.