 Wādī Abū Saʿfa | ||
| Wādī Abū Saʿfa · وادي أبو سعفة | ||
| Governorate | Red Sea | |
|---|---|---|
no tourist info on Wikidata:  | ||
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Wadi Abu Safa, Arabic:وادي أبو سعفة, Wādī Abū Saʿfa, is a valley south of Biʾr Abraq in the egyptianArabian desert (Eastern desert). In the valley, which runs from east to west, there are rock carvings from different times as well as the water sanctuary Biʾr Abū Saʿfa, بئر أبو سعفة, From Greek times.
background
location
At the point where that Wādī Naʿām in the Wādī Ḥōḍein passes, two more wadis branch off to the west: the Wādī Abū Sa undfa and a little further south the Wādī Diff. Also the distance to the northerly Biʾr Abraq is quite small: about 13 kilometers as the crow flies or 22 kilometers when traveling through the wadis.
On the route from Biʾr Abraq to Wādī Abū Saʿfa there are rock carvings, but also graves, artificial stone mounds and remains of ancient ceramics, so that one can assume a route that has been used for a long time, on the goods over the Red Sea port Berenike were brought into the Nile Valley. From the Biʾr Abraq elephant representations are known, so it is very likely that this route is around this time Ptolemy II Philadelphus (King of Egypt from 285 to 246 BC), Ptolemy III Euergetes I. (Reign 246–222 BC) and Ptolemy IV Philopator (Reign 221-204 B.C.) was used, the elephants needed for war purposes.
Research history
First reported Louis Maurice Adolphe Linant de Bellefonds (1799–1883) from the source Biʾr Abū Saʿfa, which he saw in March 1832 during his search for gold mines. He left a brief description, a drawing and an entry on the card. He arranged the hieroglyphic inscription Ptolemaios III found by him. without leaving a copy. Unfortunately the card entry was also incorrect.
Later travelers like Col. Purdy and Colston around 1852[1] and Ernest Ayscoghe Floyer (1852–1903)[2] also mentioned the sanctuary, but without giving further details.
In September 2002 Stephen E. Sidebotham visited the sanctuary again and provided a new description. He also suggested that this would be a water temple. There are no parallels to this sanctuary in the Egyptian eastern desert, but the tradition in the Mediterranean area among Greeks and Romans to decoratively surround such sources. Temple like that of el-Kanāʾis and Sikait on the other hand served as pure places of worship for gods. The deity possibly worshiped here is also not known. The Greek shepherd god would come as a candidate Pan in question of the ancient Egyptian god Min was equated.
Sidebotham could not give an exact route from Berenike via Biʾr Abū Saʿfa into the Nile Valley either, but he learned from the Bisharin Bedouins that the route was in a west-southwest direction via Bir al-Morra, Bir al-Umrate, Bir Haymer into the Nile Valley within a radius of Aswan would lead.
getting there
For the journey and for an overnight stay in ʿElba sanctuary even you need a permit from the military and the national park administration of the Wādī-el-Gimāl-Ḥamāṭa National Parks. The journey is usually made from the north via the Wādī Naʿām or from esch-Schalātīn about the Wādī Ḥōḍein.
Several all-wheel drive all-terrain vehicles are required to get there. Sufficient spare parts and spare tires must be carried with you. It should be possible to repair the vehicles without the aid of special tools and electronic test equipment.
mobility
The slope through the wadi can be covered with an all-terrain all-wheel drive vehicle. The rest must be done on foot.
Tourist Attractions
Petroglyphs
Near the wadi entrance, on the south side of the wadi, there is a group of 1 Petroglyphs(23 ° 18 ′ 28 ″ N.34 ° 49 ′ 1 ″ E). Farm animals such as cattle and camels as well as several sailing boats were depicted. On two boats there is one person at the bow while the rudder is at the stern.
Immediately in front of this group with the rock carvings there is a local cemetery: respect dictates not to walk across this cemetery.
Biʾr Abū Saʿfa
The water sanctuary of 2 Biʾr Abū Saʿfa(23 ° 18 ′ 6 ″ N.34 ° 47 '47 "E.), بئر أبو سعفة, Is probably the most important sight in Wādī Abū Saʿfa. It is located on the north side of the wadi in the lower part of the southern slope of the rock. It has been cut almost entirely into the soft sandstone rock. The facade is about 5.10 meters high and 4.60 meters wide. Part of the facade is an entrance, but behind which there is no room. The top of the door is formed by a hollow. The border is framed with a round bar. Between the groove and the round bar there are remains of an inscription that is about 25 cm high and possibly extended over the entire width of a good 2 meters. References to a hieroglyphic inscription, as mentioned by Linant de Bellefonds, no longer exist or never existed. Sidebotham analyzed the remains of the four-line Greek inscription. The few remaining letters could lead to Ptolemy’s III royal title. belong, and the mentioned 19th year of government also suits him.
Above the round bar is the architrave, and above it four roughly square depressions that are about 30 centimeters wide and 20 centimeters deep. These are probably supports for wooden beams for a roof that was supposed to protect the visitors.
There is a newly drawn one about 100 meters east of the sanctuary 3 source(23 ° 18 ′ 6 ″ N.34 ° 47 ′ 51 ″ E) under palm trees, which the Bisharin Bedouins use to drink their animals such as goats, sheep, donkeys and camels.
More Attractions
There is also an agricultural project for the local population in the valley, which is supported by the Egyptian government. For this purpose, fields were created, greenhouses and accommodation were built.
kitchen
All food and drinks, but also dishes and stoves, must be carried with you during the entire expedition. Since there is not too much space in and on the vehicles, you have to limit yourself to the bare minimum. In any case, there must be enough water. It is needed for drinking (mineral water), for limited personal hygiene, for cooking and for washing dishes.
accommodation
There are no overnight accommodations. Tents have to be brought along, and you need some outdoor experience to find suitable sheltered and level set-up places. Usually, common outdoor tents that are impermeable to sand are sufficient. The ground is mostly sandy, for which you need suitable pegs. In addition, tents can e.g. B. be weighted with water cans. No special requirements are placed on sleeping bags, as temperatures hardly fall below 0 ° C even in winter.
trips
In addition to the mentioned wadis, Wādī Naʿām and Wādī Ḥōḍein, with its rock carvings, a further journey is also to the source 4 Biʾr Abraq(23 ° 24 '58 "N.34 ° 47 '48 "E.), to the source 5 Biʾr Amrīt(23 ° 13 '36 "N.34 ° 35 ′ 7 ″ E) and ins Wādī Diff possible.
literature
- : L’Etbaye, pays habité par les Arabes Bicharieh: geography, ethnology, mines d’or. Paris: Bertrand, 1869, P. 164 f., Plate 13. Work consists of one Text tape and a table volume (atlas).
- : A Water Temple at Bir Abu Safa (Eastern Desert). In:Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt (JARCE), ISSN0065-9991, Vol.41 (2004), Pp. 149–159, doi:10.2307/20297192.
- : The Red Land: the illustrated archeology of Egypt’s Eastern desert. Cairo: American University at Cairo Press, 2008, ISBN 978-977-416-094-3 , Pp. 113-115, 310.
Individual evidence
- ↑: Une Reconnaissance entre Bérénice et Berber, Expedition Purdy-Colston-Rapport du Colonel Purdy. In:Bulletin de la Société khédiviale de Géographie. 2 ser., No.8 (1886), Pp. 431–445, especially p. 433, map. Including the following items.
- ↑: Étude sur le Nord-Etbai entre le Nil et la Mer Rouge. Le Caire: Impr. Nat., 1893, P. 411.
