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Suez
City
Suez is located on the Southern tip of the
Suez Canal, and has been a commercial port since the 7th century. The spice trade and pilgrimages to
Mecca made it prosperous throughout the middle Ages. It became a naval base in the 15th century and, in 1869, the opening of the
Suez Canal ensured its development as a modem city. Today,
Suez is one of
Egypt’s largest ports. It is situated near the scenic Ataga Hills (Jebel Ataga), about 134 kilometers (83 miles) from
Cairo and 88 kilometers (55 miles) from
Ismailia, this city affords an excellent view of Sinai and the
Red Sea. It is also interesting to watch ships passing through the Canal form
Suez’s vantage point.
Suez lies at the northern tip of the
Suez
Gulf, 134 km east of
Cairo. The city is noted for its dry climate, and numerous beautiful beaches, which scattered between
Suez and Port Tawfik .It is considered both a winter and a summer resort the history of
Suez
City dates back to the Pharaonic Ages, as it was one of the citadels that protect the
Eastern
Desert from the enemies.
Suez Canal
The Suez Canal is an artificial waterway that connects the Mediterranean and
Red
Seas. This vital waterway provides a much needed “shortcut” for ships traveling between North America and Europe to eastern Africa and
Asia. The canal is 121 miles long and runs north and south through
Egypt. It has no locks, because the water levels are essentially the same in the Mediterranean Sea, and the
Gulf of Suez. The first known canal between the
Nile
River delta and the
Red Sea was constructed around the 13th century BC.
Moses springs
They are natural welt about 15-km south east
Suez
City. These springs are related to the prophet Moses and the Hebrews where they stayed after their exodus from
Egypt.
El Ain El Soukhna
Am Soukhna, the Arabic -for “hot spring”, was named after the nearby sulfur springs. The springs originate at Gebel Ataka, the northern most mountains in the
Eastern
Desert. Close enough to
Cairo for a day-trip; this popular weekend resort has fine beaches, coral reefs, fishing and water sports. It is located about kilometers (34 miles) south of
Suez, and is the nearest bathing resort to
Cairo. Some hotels in Am Soukhna are the best on the
Red Sea.
St. Anthony’s Monastery
St. Anthony the Great, when orphaned at the age of 18, became a hermit and thus lived to 105 years old. He lived as an Anchorite, as still exists in
Egypt, and it is said that he was tormented his entire life by flatteries and temptations of the devil. He, along with St. Pachomius, was two of the first exponents of Christian monasticism, which originated in the Egyptian desert. He is buried beneath one of the ancient churches (St. Anthony) of the monastery.
St. Anthony’s Monastery (Deir Mar Antonio’s), and its neighbor St. Paul’s, are the oldest monasteries in Egypt Hidden deep in the Red Sea Mountains and relying on springs for their water supply, both still Observe rituals that have hardly changed in 16 centuries. They are accessible by special tours from
Cairo,
Suez or Hurghada and a stay in either monastery can be arranged in advance. St. Anthony’s was founded in 356 AD, just after the saint’s death. Between the 12th and 15th centuries, the monastery flourished but was plundered in 1454 by Bedouin servants.
Today it is a self-contained village with gardens, a mill, a bakery and five churches with exceptional wall paintings of holy knights in bright Colors and the hermit founders of the monastery in subdued colors and icons, There is also a library with over 1 700 handwritten manuscripts, but the Bedouin servants who plundered the monastery used many manuscripts for cooking fuel. At one time, there must have been a much more extensive library. St. Anthony’s Cave (magharah), where he lived as a hermit, is a 2 km hike from the monastery and 680 m. above the Red Sea It offers stunning views of the mountains and the sea, and the chance to see a Wide range of bird life.
Mons Claudianus
Mons Claudianus is at the foot of Jebel Fatira, located about 30 miles from Port Safaga just of the Qena road. This was a Roman Penal Colony of substance, where Quartzy diorite, high quality granite, was mined as building materials for the
Roman Empire. This black stone can still be seen in
Rome in the portico of the Pantheon, in Hadrian’s Villa, and public baths and in the columns and floor of the
Temple of
Venus. A temple begun by Hadrian but never finished is in ruins, but the staircase leading to it can still be seen. There is also a Roman camp, dwellings, workshops, stables and a dromos. The camp is surrounded by granite walls with rounded defense towers on the corners, to protect it from Bedouin attacks. There are
hot springs today, which where used in a complex underground heating system for the sweating baths. The actual quarries are on the opposite side of the wadi. There are fragments of granite, with several ruined artifacts such as a broken column and column slab.
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