Eastern Desert

The Eastern Desert separates the Nile valley from the Red Sea, with mountain chains, plateaus and broad wadis shaping the routes across it. Its historical importance came from both mineral products and passage between river and sea. Ancient Egyptian expeditions exploited copper, gold, iron and precious stones, while a route to Mersa Gawasis connected the Nile with a port from which ships could sail farther afield. Boats were even transported in pieces through the wadis and assembled at the coast. These were organized journeys across a difficult landscape, rather than settlement spreading continuously from the river. Under Ptolemaic and Roman rule, the wider desert became part of commercial connections with India. Berenice was a principal port, and the Via Hadriana linked it with Antinoopolis on the Nile. Fabrics and pearls appear among the goods carried through this network. The desert therefore formed an inland stage of maritime exchange: a coastward road, a quarry or a mine could draw labor and supplies into country otherwise far removed from the cultivated valley.