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Egypt's Red Sea coast runs from the Gulf of Suez to the Sudanese border. Its mineral-rich red mountain ranges inspired the mariners of antiquity to name the sea Mare Rostrum, or the Red Sea.
Hermits seeking seclusion founded early Christian monasteries here, sharing the wilderness with camel-trading Bedouin tribes. Today, the crags and limestone wadis of the Eastern Desert remain relatively unexplored, home to ibex and gazelle. But the Red Sea itself, dotted with coral reefs, fringed by ancient ports and teeming with underwater life, has a rich maritime history which stretches back to Pharaonic times.
Ships have sailed, and sunk, in the Red Sea since it was the main route to the Indies for Phoenician and Ancient Egyptian traders. In those times, ships loaded with copper, cooking pots and clothing departed from el-Quseir and Berenice and returned bearing elephants, ebony, gems and spices. For centuries, the Red Sea remained a scene of shipwreck and adventure for smugglers, merchants, pirates and pilgrims. After the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869, it continued its role as an international trade route and "Passage to India" for European travelers.
Suez (el-Suweis) is located on the Southern tip of the Suez Canal, and has been a commercial port since the 7th century. The spice trade and pilgrimages to Mecca made it prosperous throughout the Middle Ages. It became a naval base in the 15th century and, in 1869, the opening of the Suez Canal ensured its development as a modern city.
It is situated near the scenic Ataga Hills (Jebel Ataga), about 83 miles from Cairo and 55 miles from Ismailia. The town affords an excellent view of Sinai and the Red Sea. It is also interesting to watch ships passing through the Canal from Suez's vantage point.
Known in Ptolemaic times as the White Harbor, al-Quseir has a long history as one of the major ports of the Red Sea. From here, Queen Hatshepsut launched her expedition to the Land of Punt, as depicted in the reliefs in Deir el-Bahari temple at Luxor. Legend has it that the expedition returned with two live panthers and 21 incense trees. The 16th century fortress of Sultan Selim, still standing in the center of town, shows al-Quseir's former strategic importance. The town's narrow streets are lined with colorful bazaars which have a decidedly Bedouin accent. An ancient caravan trail, to Qift in the Nile Valley, leads from al-Quseir through the mountains, passing several Pharaonic and Roman sites.
The ancient city of Berenice, named by Ptolemy II Philadelphos after his mother, became a trading port in 275 BC. A ruined Temple of Semiramis built by Trajan and Tiberius is near the modern town, and inland there are the remains of the emerald mines of Wadi Sakait, which were worked from Pharaonic to Roman times. On the outer walls of the temple are representations of Emperor Tiberius before the god Min, and another depicts offerings to the deity of the Green Mines. The coast is lined with mangrove swamps. Offshore, visit the island of Zabargad, famous as the source of the semi-precious gem olivine, which has been mined here since 1500 BC.
St. Anthony the Great, when orphaned at the age of 18, became a hermit and lived till the age of 105. He lived as an Anchorite, such as still exists in Egypt, and it is said that he was tormented his entire life by flatteries and temptations of the devil. He, along with St. Pachomius, were two of the first exponents of Christian monasticism, which originated in the Egyptian desert. He is buried beneath one of the ancient churches (St. Anthony) of the monastery.
St. Anthony's Monastery (Deir Mar Antonios), and its neighbor St. Paul's, are the oldest monasteries in Egypt. Hidden deep in the Red Sea Mountains they rely on springs for their water supply. Both still observe rituals that have hardly changed in 15 centuries. A stay in either monastery can be arranged in advance.
St. Anthony's was founded in 356 AD, just after the saint's death. Between the 12th and 15th centuries, the monastery flourished but was plundered in 1454 by Bedouin servants. Today it is a self-contained village with gardens, a mill, a bakery and five churches with exceptional wall paintings of holy knights in bright colors and the hermit founders of the monastery in subdued colors and icons. There is also a library with over 1,700 handwritten manuscripts, but the Bedouin servants who plundered the monastery used many manuscripts for cooking fuel. At one time, there must have been a much more extensive library.
St. Anthony's Cave (magharah), where he lived as a hermit, is a short hike from the monastery and 2,300 feet above the Red Sea. It offers stunning views of the mountains and the sea.
St. Paul of Thebes, while born to wealthy parents, was a contemporary of St. Anthony and also abandoned civilization to live in the desert for 85 years. It was St. Anthony who pointed out his sainthood. It is said that he was fed by a raven which would bring him half a loaf of bread each day. The monastery (Deir Mar Boulos) has three churches. It was plundered several times during the 15th and 16th centuries, but was later repopulated by the monks of nearby St. Anthony's Monastery. The Church of St. Paul, built underground, was originally dug into the cave where the saint lived and where his remains are kept. The monastery has had few alterations, thus keeping its ancient heritage. This monastery has many illustrated manuscripts, including the Coptic version of the Divine Liturgy and the Commentary of the Epistle of Saint Paul the Apostle to Titus by Saint John Chrysostom.
Mons Claudianus is at the foot of Jebel Fatira, located about 30 miles from Port Safaga just of the Qena road. This was a Roman Penal Colony of substance, where Quartzy diorite, a high quality granite, was mined as building materials for the Roman Empire. This black stone can still be seen in Rome in the portico of the Pantheon, in Hadrian's Villa, and public baths and in the columns and floor of the Temple of Venus. A temple begun by Hadrian but never finished is in ruins, but the staircase leading to it can still be seen. There is also a Roman camp, dwellings, workshops, stables and a dromos. The camp is surrounded by granite walls with rounded defense towers on the corners, to protect it from Bedouin attacks. There are hot springs today, which where used in a complex underground heating system for the sweating baths. The actual quarries are on the opposite side of the wadi. There are fragments of granite, with several ruined artifacts such as a broken column and column slab.