Qinā

Qena lies on the eastern side of a great bend of the Nile in Upper Egypt. The river valley here approaches the desert routes leading to the Red Sea. Medieval travellers included Qina among the towns on the journey south toward Qus, and it later became an important commercial centre. Potters around Qena made porous clay vessels used to cool and store water, a craft linked to the resources of the Nile Valley.