SNAP SHOTS

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ROMAN palaces were adorned by the precious emerald stone, while Cleopatra declared Egyptian emerald mines her personal property. Join Mohamed El-Hebeishy as he digs up the story behind one of the oldest emerald mines in the world.

The Emerald Mountain -- or rather Mons Smaragdus as the Romans used to call it -- is a complex of around 180 square kilometres located in the central Egyptian Eastern Desert. Marsa Alam and the village of Sheikh Al-Shazli are the nearest urban centres to the site. Mons Smaragdus is composed of around nine small mining communities, with the one in Wadi Sikeit representing the most important archaeological site, due to the large temple carved into the body of the mountain.

The temple of Sikeit was first built during the Ptolemaic times and was later restructured during the Roman era. During that period, Wadi Sikeit was a bustling industrial community. Emeralds mined out of Mons Smaragdus supplied the rest of the Roman Empire, as it was the only emerald mine within the vast areas it covered. When Egypt fell to Arab conquerors in 641 AD, mining in the area continued on a much smaller scale. Importation of a higher emerald grade from India signalled the downfall of the Emerald Mountain. Mining in the area finally came to an end when the Spaniards discovering high-grade emeralds in Colombia around 1545. Mons Smaragdus was long forgotten until French goldsmith, mineralogist and adventurer Frédéric Cailliaud rediscovered the temple of Sikeit in November 1817 while on a mission commissioned by Mohamed Ali Pasha to search for emerald mines.

Mons Smaragdus and the temple of Sikeit are part of Wadi Al-Gemal National Park. Camel and jeep safari tours can be arranged, courtesy of Fustat Wadi Al-Gemal Ecolodge. For more information log on to www.wadielgemal.com.

photo: Mohamed El-Hebeishy