Ain Sokhna

History

Recent archaeological excavations have shown that there was an ancient Egyptian port and settlement in this area. The site was first brought to attention in 1999 by Professor Mahmud Abd El Raziq. French and Egyptian archaeologists have been investigating this area since that time. It can be compared with the port of Mersa Gawasis further south. It connected the mining areas of the Sinai with Memphis some 120 km across the Eastern Desert, important for turquoise and copper. As early as the Old Kingdom, seafaring expeditions on the Red Sea were organized from this port. Similar material was also found at the Wadi Maghareh, where many Old Kingdom inscriptions are found. In the Middle Kingdom, activity continued along the Red Sea and across to the mining areas in the Sinai. In Year 1 of Mentuhotep IV, an expedition of 3,000 men was sent to bring back "products the desert". Some 4,000 men were sent in an expedition during the reign of Amenemhat I. In Year 9 of Senusret I and Year 2 of Amenemhat II more expeditions were sent. Ity, son of Isis, was an official serving Amenemhat II and he also has two inscriptions at Wadi Maghara dated to the same year. Ten storage galleries cut into the rock has yielded items, including wooden boat planks, ceramics from the 12th Dynasty, and a gold pendant with parallels to some found at Dahshur dating to the reign of Senusret III.

Most-observed species

• House Crow

  Corvus splendens Vieillot, 1817 · Aves
  86
• House Sparrow

  Passer domesticus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  61
• Common Myna

  Acridotheres tristis (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  55
• Spur-winged Lapwing

  Vanellus spinosus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  52
• Eurasian Collared-Dove

  Streptopelia decaocto (Frivaldszky, 1838) · Aves
  49
• Barn Swallow

  Hirundo rustica Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  46
• Graceful Prinia

  Prinia gracilis (Lichtenstein, 1823) · Aves
  40
• Eurasian Hoopoe

  Upupa epops Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  37

Most recent

• M 5 — 2026-08-03
  41 km NNE of Suez, Egypt
• M 3.8 — 2023-02-23
  23 km NNW of Suez, Egypt
• M 4.3 — 2022-02-01
  33 km E of Al W?si?ah, Egypt
• M 3.3 — 2018-03-30
  15 km ESE of New Cairo, Egypt
• M 4.3 — 2017-01-21
  35 km SE of Bilbays, Egypt
• M 4.1 — 2014-07-22
  15 km SW of Suez, Egypt