The Eastern Desert

The Eastern Desert, also called the Arabian Desert, is the long strip of land between the Nile valley and the Red Sea. Similar in topography to the Sinai but on a larger scale, the northern part of this desert consist mainly of sedimentary formations, while towards the south, the mountains are volcanic or metamorphic in nature and mainly made of granite. The Eastern Desert is rich in minerals such as phosphate, manganese, tin, quartz, gold, emeralds and uranium to name only a few. The mountains reach their highest around Hurghada (Gabal Shayeb el Banat, 2187m, 7215 ft).

The Bedouins inhabiting the Eastern Desert of Egypt are divided into four main tribes; the Maaza and Rashayed that originally came from Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Palestine and Sinai; the Ababda and Bisharyin who have moved from Sudan and Ethiopia. The Maaza and Rashayed are relatively new settlers to the area since they moved in only about 150 years ago following a period of extreme drought in their homeland. Ababda are direct descendants of the Blemmys, the old caravan raiders of Roman times.
The northern part of the Eastern Desert, roughly all that is north of the Qena – Safaga paved road is Maaza territory together with some smaller clans. Moving south of this road is Ababda, Bisharyin and Rashayed territory respectively.

Wildlife in the Eastern Desert is fairly rich; gazelles, ibex, fennecs, gerbils, wild hares and hyrax are the most common mammals. Reptiles include a variety of lizards and snakes, the "dabb" lizard (Uromastyx aegyptius), sometimes reaching 40 cm. in length is thought to bring good luck to a household if a stuffed specimen is hung at the entrance of a home. Osprey or fish eagles are found near the coast, hawks, ravens, wild pigeons are endemic to the region, ducks, storks and other migrating birds are also found seasonally. To complete the list there are of course the beetles, spiders, scorpions and praying mantis.

The Eastern Desert has played an important economical and strategical role throughout the history of Egypt. Different civilizations have risen and fallen on its land; practically everywhere are ruins of old houses, shards of pottery, cairns and shrines. Most of the ruins date back to Ptolemaic and Roman times with some Arab evidence here and there. Some sites bear Hieroglyphic inscriptions dating from the 23rd century BC as in Wadi Hammamat and Wadi Hod. Scores of caravan routes cross the desert from the Red Sea coast to the Nile Valley. Mining and the management of trade routes were the principal occupation of inhabitants at that time.

The routes formed an important link in the trade and transport of merchandise between the Far-East and what is now Europe. Ships coming from India and China cross the Indian Ocean westwards using the monsoon winds. They would be carrying pearls, silk, spices and even exotic animals. They enter the Red Sea through the straits of Bab el Mandab and sailed north until Berenice in Egypt where they would unload their cargo. The goods were transported by donkey or camel caravan across the desert to the Nile. There they would board flat bed boats called “sandals” following the river north to the Mediterranean Sea. Finally the merchandise would be loaded on sea-faring ships to European and Turkish ports on the Mediterranean Sea. The same route backwards would see red coral, glassware, textiles, wine, grain, silver as well as human cargo for the harems of Indian princes.

Across the desert, and at one-day walking intervals along the roads, wells were dug with an adjoining “castello” or multi purpose fortress for hosting, securing taxes on, and protecting caravans, these were called “Hydreumatas” or water stations. Built on low grounds, their purpose would be only the control of traffic and water sources without dominating large expanses of desert.
A signal communications system made of watch-towers built on mountain tops was used to monitor potentially hostile actions from marauders as well as to announce and relay information about port traffic and merchandise arrival. It is interesting to note that on stretches of road extending along easy wadis, stations can be up to 36km apart whereas in rough terrain they tended to be closer.

A typical station is a building comprising several cells or rooms and open spaces to accommodate travelers and their pack animals. One or more water cisterns lined with waterproof mortar would be located in the central court of the building. The well may or may not be within the enclosure. The walls are made of stacked flat slabs of stone. The shape of the external walls doesn’t seem to follow any definite pattern in all hydreumatas, ranging from a perfect rectangle to a vaguely elliptical shape.

Water in the Eastern Desert, as in Sinai comes mainly from rain; it is a very precious resource since rainfall is not regular and occurs, if any, only during October – November. The water collects in underground wells as well as high reservoirs on the mountains. Rain can be so violent and localized, an elderly Bedouin once described a flash flood as “a cloud that came and poured all its water over this mountain alone”.