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| Umm el-Ḥuweiṭāt · أم الحويطات | ||
| Governorate | Red Sea | |
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| height | 198 m | |
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The egyptian Village Umm el-Huweitat (also To El Howeitat, Um el Huetat, Arabic:أم الحويطات, Umm al-Huwaiṭāt) is an abandoned miners' settlement in the area of a phosphate mine about 27 kilometers south-southwest of Safāgālocated in a side valley of the Wādī Gāsūs (also Wādī Jāsūs, وادي جاسوس, Wādī Ǧāsūs) is located. Today it is a popular destination for vacationers at the Red Sea Coast, that under the name Ghost City, the Ghost town, is marketed.
background
Between 1911 and 2001 were in the area of the now abandoned miners' village Phosphates degraded for use as fertilizer in agriculture. Until the 1950s, the raw material was mined for use in Europe, especially in Great Britain, and later for Egyptian agriculture, which after the construction of the Aswan High Dam was replaced by artificial fertilization with phosphates due to the lack of natural fertilization during the annual Nile inundation is instructed.
The local phosphate deposit extends for about 20 kilometers in a north-south direction. It belongs to a geographical range of three mining areas in Egypt, the Duwi formation, to which the Abū-Ṭarṭūr plateau between between in the west el-Chārga and ed-Dāchla in the Western desert and on Nile the area between between Edfu and Qinā, especially with es-Sibāʿīya (السباعية) Belong. On the eastern edge of the Red Sea Mountains, in the sand-lime brick, there are layers of phosphate 0.6 to 1.5 meters thick, which in exceptional cases can be 2-3 meters thick. The occurrences are in the Upper crayon Originated from marine deposits in depressions about 80 million years ago. The phosphates contain additions of Pyrite and Apatite.
British geologists had been searching for exploitable minerals in the Red Sea area since 1902. They succeeded in discovering the local phosphate deposits, which were documented as early as 1905.[1] At that time, however, economic exploitation still seemed difficult. 1910 left the Scottish company based in Glasgow Egyptian Phosphate Co. Ltd.[2] here one Miners' Settlement create in a side valley of the Wādī Ǧāsūs (Wādī Jāsūs), which at 1 26 ° 32 '10 "N.33 ° 55 ′ 55 ″ E branches off from the Wādī Ǧāsūs to the west. The settlement was named after the mountain four and a half kilometers north-west 3 Gebel Umm el-Ḥuweiṭāt(26 ° 33 '17 "N.33 ° 52 '57 "E.).
For the removal of the phosphates as well as for the supply of the miners' settlement a 28 km long one was Railway line with a gauge of 1000 millimeters after Safāgā. From the port there, the phosphates, which had been mined since 1911, were shipped to Great Britain.
The phosphate mining took place underground in Chamber constructionwith the minerals blasted out of the rock.
After the Egyptian Revolution of 1952, the local facilities were Nationalized in 1956 and henceforth from Egyptian society Safaga Phosphate Co. Ltd., 1975 after restructuring into Red Sea Phosphate Company renamed, continued to operate.
Umm el-Ḥuweiṭāt quickly developed into one of the largest mining settlements in Egypt. It had a complete infrastructure such as hospitals, schools, mosques and shops. At peak times around 16,000 people lived here, the miners and their families. During a flood in 1996, the settlement was seriously affected. Phosphate production ceased entirely in 2001 and residents were relocated. Everything that could still be used, such as doors, wooden beams, etc., was taken away.
In neighboring deposits, phosphate mining continues today.
getting there
12.5 kilometers south of Safāgā one branches off at a crossroads 2 26 ° 38 ′ 0 ″ N.33 ° 57 ′ 32 ″ E from trunk road 24 to the southwest onto an asphalt road to Umm el-Ḥuweiṭāt, which is reached after another 15 kilometers. The road passes a modern village of the same name (2 26 ° 37 ′ 18 ″ N.33 ° 57 ′ 21 ″ E). The junction to Umm el-Ḥuweiṭāt is signposted.
Alternatively, one can visit at 23 kilometers south of Safāgā 3 26 ° 34 '6 "N.34 ° 1 '37 "E Turn off the trunk road 24 to the west onto a dirt road through the Wādī Ǧāsūs. All-terrain vehicles such as pickups should be used for the onward journey.
Some organizers use quads to get to Umm el-Ḥuweiṭāt.
mobility
The village can easily be explored on foot.
Tourist Attractions
The settlement consisted mainly of single-storey stone and adobe buildings, which were grouted and plastered with adobe mortar. The roofs were only lightly covered with wood and strong branches. There are still paintings on some buildings that indicate that the homeowners made Mecca trips. All buildings are empty. Easily removable fixtures were taken away when leaving the settlement.
The only building still intact today is the 4 mosque(26 ° 32 '2 "N.33 ° 55 ′ 3 ″ E). It has a square minaret with a six-sided top part with a surrounding balcony. In addition to the mosque, only the grave of the local saint Awad Suleiman is kept.
To the west of the mosque were the 1 schools(26 ° 32 ′ 3 ″ N.33 ° 54 '56 "E).
About 500 meters south of the village was the 5 graveyard(26 ° 31 '47 "N.33 ° 54 '47 "E.) the settlement created.
The Remains of the phosphate mines are about a kilometer before the miners' settlement on the south side of the road (6 26 ° 32 ′ 1 ″ N.33 ° 55 '34 "E).
Kitchen and accommodation
There are no accommodations or restaurants on site. This is only available in Safāgā.
literature
- : A world survey of phosphate deposits. London: The British Sulfur Corporation Limited, 1987 (5th edition), ISBN 978-0-902777-81-1 .
- : A review of Egyptian Late Cretaceous phosphate deposits. In:Notholt, A [rthur] J. G.; Sheldon, R.P .; Davidson, D. F. (Ed.): Phosphate deposits of the world; 2: Phosphate rock resources. Cambridge [et al.]: Cambridge Univ. Pr., 1989, ISBN 978-0-521-30509-9 , Pp. 187-193.
Web links
- Fertilizer Raw Material Resources of Africa, Inter-réseaux Développement rural, in particular pp. 182-185.
- Manu Schwingel: Photo Diary: Inside Umm el Howeitat, Egypt’s Ghost City, accessed February 5, 2017.
Individual evidence
- ↑: The phosphate deposits of Egypt. Cairo: National Printing Department, 1905 (2nd edition), P. 15 f.
- ↑See also Records of Egyptian Phosphate Co Ltd, University of Glasgow Archive Services
