Ruins and power within them: The story of Serabit el-Khadim

Zeinab Abdelhamed

I am trying to remember when it all began, maybe when our professor Joszéf laszlovszky asked us to choose a ruin to present in the ‘power of ruins’ course. The ‘power of ruins’ course is a truly powerful course that inspire me to ask this very question ‘did the ruins really have any power?’ The story begins with the definition of the word (Ruin), which is the physical destruction or disintegration of something or the state of disintegrating or being destroyed. Then I realized that my country, Egypt, had so many of these already. My choice - with the help of professor Joszéf - was Sarabet El khadem. Located in the southwest of the Sinai Peninsula, Egypt (See Figure 1), where turquoise was mined extensively in antiquity, mainly by the ancient Egyptians. Ancient Egypt was one of the oldest and longest lasting civilizations. It was located along the Nile River in the northeast part of Africa and lasted for over three thousand years.

Figure 1 Map of Egypt

The archaeological site is today bounded by the reconstructed original Middle Kingdom enclosure wall built by Senwosret I, and recent conservation work has provided two paths for visitors, which follow the two ancient processional routes to the rock-cut shrines at the eastern end of the site. These routes lead to the sanctuaries of Hathor and Ptah and are lined with many groups of commemorative stelae in various states of preservation. . The ancient miners erected a great number of memorials carrying the dates of their mining expeditions, number and job of each worker and the names of their chief. For this reason, Serabit el-Khadim is often called the Temple of the People. The two main axes of the temple converge in a courtyard before the speos porticos. Because the original plan of the temple was expanded and reconstructed by successive kings, it is not easy to visualize the layout when you are there, especially as the remains are very scattered  halfway down the western coast, around 40 kilometers due east of Abu Zanima, and about ten miles from Wadi Mughara. Ruined and the inscriptions and decoration of the temple are in poor condition. Archaeological excavation, initially by Sir Flinders Petrie, revealed ancient mining camps and a long-lived Temple of Hathor, the Egyptian goddess who was favored as a protector in desert regions.(see figure 2,3,4,5&6)

Figure 2 : The map 

Figure 3 Part of Serabit el-Khadim ruins

Figure 4  one of the stelae of Hathor

Figure 5 another figure of Hathor the lady of Turquoise

Figure 6: The Tempel Entrance

After I attended “Creative Practices for Community Engagement in Heritage” I decided to work on this site but not from an archaeological approach only. I dream to teach kids the history of this place in order to enjoy the story and the mystery of it. And I know that unless you study archaeology you will never learn about this site. Through my experience, In order for me to help the communities I serve in a lasting way, there is a need to better understand what creates harmony between the preservation of different cultures and sustainable development. My goal is to help a generation of my people to gain the capacity to value their past, protect their own heritage, and use this foundation to enjoy a bright future grounded in strong cultural identity and understanding. My major concern will always be to stimulate curiosity and interest, and to motivate attention for Egypt’s architectural heritage.  Informal teaching and transmission of knowledge is as important as doing research, because without it cultural heritage becomes an academic abstraction rather than a driving force in our lives.