Posted on 09/11/2011 7:33:22 PM PDT by SunkenCiv
Sinai is often referred to in Arabic as "Ard Al-Fayrouz" (the land of turquoise) after its ancient Egyptian name "Ta Mefkat" or "Khetyou Mefkat", which means turquoise terraces. Minerals were of great use in ancient times -- for making royal jewelry and divine offerings, and more importantly for mummy ornaments and amulets, encouraging pharaohs since the Early Dynastic Period (ca. 3050-2890 BC) to send mining expeditions to extract turquoise and copper from South Sinai.
Wadi Maghara, Wadi Kharig, Bir Nasb and Serabit al-Khadem were among the premium mining spots in antiquity... The archaeological sites of Southern Sinai relay aspects of daily life in old mining communities... At Serabit al-Khadem, inscription number 56 reads: "Gallery (mine) has been opened by Chief Sanofret and named 'Admiring the Beauty of Hathor.'" Other inscriptions at mining sites emphasize the power of the pharaoh over regions distant from the ruling capital in the Nile Valley. In Wadi Maghara, the wall carvings executed by miners show a typical Early Dynastic scene of the pharaoh smiting a man with a mace head...
The site of Serabit al-Khadem still preserves the remains of the largest ancient Egyptian temple in the Sinai Peninsula. Located on an elevation, almost 800 meters above sea level... The actual archaeological spot of Rod al-'Air still acts as a resting point for today's visitors on the way up to Serabit al-Khadem, just as it did for ancient miners. While resting, one can see graffiti of boats, animals and mining tools. The graffiti is believed to refer to the boats used by expeditions to cross from the Eastern Desert to Sinai. Remains of such boats were uncovered by the archaeological mission of the French Institute of Oriental Archaeology, which has been excavating at Ain Sokhna since 2001.
(Excerpt) Read more at almasryalyoum.com ...
One can always tell when Egypt’s in need of some serious PR as a diversionary tactic, or to try to drum up tourism. :’)
Sinai’s turquoise goddess
Al-Ahram Weekly | 26 February — 4 March 2009 | Nevine El-Aref
Posted on 03/01/2009 6:56:44 PM PST by SunkenCiv
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2197015/posts
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Quite interesting.
That would have been quite a sight in its heyday.
Professor Bob Brier, in the Ancient Egypt lectures from The Teaching Company, talks about meeting a turquoise miner in the Sinai in, iirc, the 1980s. It’s still there, if a person doesn’t mind a lot of digging for a little cash.
I lived in Cairo about a dozen years ago and saw some of the native turquoise in the local Cairo jewelry shops. It is a lighter shade than a lot of American turquoise, but it is very nice. In fact, if I recall correctly, there is some inlaid on the King Tut golden death mask.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/47/Tuthankhamun_Egyptian_Museum.jpg
Thanks JPB.
Thanks!
Dynasty 0 (Egyptian colonies in Canaan)
xoomer.virgilio.it | Francesco Raffaele
Posted on 11/27/2004 9:48:47 PM PST by SunkenCiv
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/1289651/posts
Cooool!
Thanks.
It’s a little surprising that it wasn’t more popular at the time. :’)
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