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The healing powers of sand

In Egypt, aching bodies are submerged in the searing desert

Picture of Jackie Friedman
by Jackie Friedman
November 5, 2015

Burying yourself in the scorching desert sand of high summer may seem like torture, but, for some Egyptians, it's medicinal. In Siwa, Egypt, amid the rolling sand dunes of an oasis, aching bodies seek out the healing powers of the blistering heat. Patients suffering from rheumatism, joint pain, infertility, or even impotence, are stripped of their clothes and buried up to their necks in the sand, where they stay for 15 minutes. Workers will massage their exposed heads and make sure they are shaded from the sun. Once excavated, the bathers will take refuge in a nearby sauna tent where they relax, while sipping hot mint tea.
And then they do it all over again. "Between three and nine days of sand baths are recommended to feel any benefit," one owner told Reutersreporter Asmaa Waguih. Below, a look at this unique tradition and the brave customers who pay to be buried.

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Patients relax in a small motel prior to their sand bath in Siwa, Egypt.

(REUTERS/Asmaa Waguih)

A worker digs fresh holes in the sand for patients.

(REUTERS/Asmaa Waguih)

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A worker helps a patient take off his clothes before he's buried.

(REUTERS/Asmaa Waguih)

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A patient grimaces as a worker covers his body in hot sand.

(REUTERS/Asmaa Waguih)

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A worker tends to buried patients.

(REUTERS/Asmaa Waguih)

A worker stands next to a patient's uncovered head.

(REUTERS/Asmaa Waguih)

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A worker helps a patient go to a sauna-like tent after his sand bath.

(REUTERS/Asmaa Waguih)

Patients relax in a tent after their sand bath.

(REUTERS/Asmaa Waguih)

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A worker helps patients, who are wrapped in a blanket, leave a sauna tent.

(REUTERS/Asmaa Waguih)

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Patients relax after finishing their treatment in a rest area where they spend the night.

(REUTERS/Asmaa Waguih)

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