Tjaru (Sile) has been called the Eastern Gateway and it is the gateway to the Way or Horus, which is a great military road. The Way of Horus or the Great Horus Route (the Biblical Way of the Land of the Philistines) crosses northern Sinai from Sile (Tjaru) to Gaza. It has also been called the Way of the Sea or Via Maris and an extension of it runs to Damascas. In the time of Seti I, illustrations at Karnak showed there were 12 fortresses and military compounds.
The ancient border fortress of Tjaru is also known as Sile, Tell Abu Seifa, or Qantara. The local deity is Sutekh (Set), although there is also a Temple to Heru (Horus) of Mesen or Hebenu. The military fortress of Sylah is also at Tell Abu Seifa near Tell Habouh. Sylah is the Eastern Gate of Egypt. It has an eastern tower and a Roman temple. Students are taught there by the priests. The city continues into Ptolemaic times.
Nearby Pelusium (Egyptian Per-Amun or Sena, which was later known as Tell el-Farama) is another starting point of the route. At one time, Pelusium (Per-Amun or Sena, Coptic Peremoun) was surrounded by two branches of the Nile, the Ostium Pelusiacum. As such it is considered to be part of the Delta. Pelusium is the eastern gateway to Egypt (Kemet). It is a major port and trading center as well. During Greco-Roman times, Pelusium is second only to Alexandria as a port.
There are two other nearby fortresses in Qantrah Sharq or eastern Qantarah, Tell Habouh and Tell al-Borg. Tell Habouh is the ancient fortress of Tharou, which is the oldest fortress on the route. It dates to at least the time of Thutmose III. The fortress has soldier barracks, houses for the officers, supply stores, and a stable. Tharou was the first to be fortified with two parallel walls. It is also a place where customs taxes are collected. Blue-colored pottery from the 18th dynasty, jars with the seals of Tutankhamun, and a drawing of Ramesses II can be found at nearby Tell al-Borg. The Tharou area is also known for its wine. Grapes have been planted at eastern Qantarah. Tharou's connections with the east are shown by the remains of pottery from Palestine, Syria and Cyprus at the cemetary in Tell al-Borg. Make sure you drink some of the famous wine before you continue of the Way of Horus!
Then the route heads south of coastal Bir el-Abud (Bir al-Abd), then to Bir el-Mazar, and beyond the Wadi el-Arish. The fortress in the Kharoub area of the Wadi el-Arish has been archaeologically explored. The Wadi el-Arish has also been called the Brook of Egypt. It marks the southern boundary of Israel. Once you have left Kemet, the Way of Horus continues to Deir el-Balah, Sharuhen, and then Gaza.
Thutmose III and Amenhotep II used this route during their campaigns in Palestine. The route was well fortified by Egyptian troops. The Israelites did not use this route when leaving Egypt, even though it was more direct, because it was well fortified by the Egyptians. Instead they went on the Way of the Wilderness to the Red Sea, ie. they headed into southern Sinai.
Other routes across the Sinai have included the Way to Mount Seir, which crosses the Sinai from northern Sinai to Ezion-geber on the Gulf of Aqaba. The Gulf of Aqaba and the Gulf of Suez are both arms of the Red Sea and both are often called the Red Sea in ancient writings. The Way of Shur travels across the Sinai in an east-west direction but iss a little more southerly than the Way of the Sea.
The Egyptians also have a presence in many of the wadis or dry valleys of southwestern Sinai. Southern Sinai is mountainous and rich in turquoise and copper. Based on inscriptions at Maghara, the mines there were exploited by early kings such as Djoser, Sekhemkhet, and Zanakht. Middle and New Kingdom kings represented at the site include Amenemhet III and IV, Hatshepsut, Thutmose III, perhaps Ramesses II.
Serabit el-Khadim, on the Wadi Ba'ba, was the most important Egyptian site in the Sinai. The rock-cut Cave of Hathor dated to the early 12th dynasty. Hathor was the goddess of the desert and minerals. The Temple of Hathor was expanded during the New Kingdom, especially by Hatshepsut and Thutmose III. In addition, a temple for Sopd, the god of the eastern desert, was also built during the New Kingdom. Thoth was also worshipped there as was the deified Snofru. Ramesses VI is the last king whose name is inscribed at Serabit el-Khadim. Serbait el-Khadim was associated with the Oasis of Dophkah.
The third major mine was at the turquoise mining center in the Wadi Kharit. Sahure is represented there by a rock text and Senwosret I left a large stela there. In the nearby Wadi Nash there was a rock stela from Amenemhet III's 20th year and Middle Kingdom and Ramessid texts.
Sinai is 235 miles long at its furthest point. It is 160 mile from the modern Suez Canal to the Dead Sea. The northern part of Sinai is a broad wasteland of limestone and chalk hills. The ground is mostly gravel and sand. Sinai is higher in the south, east, and west, which turns north-central Sinai into a basin that is drained by the Wadi el-Arish.
Back to Khent Abt, the 14th nome of Lower Kemet.
Updated April 28, 2009
Sources:
Akhet - The Horizon: The Provinces of Ancient Egypt, Sepats (Nomes) & their Main Cities.
Concise Bible Atlas: A Geographical Survey of Bible History, J. Carl Laney, Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers, 1977.
Cultural Atlas of Ancient Egypt, John Baines and Jaromir Malek, New York: Checkmark Books/ Facts on File, 2000.
Egypt - Pelusium (Tour Egypt).
The Exodus: Israel's Ox-carts, herds of Cattle, and survival probabilties in crossing the Sinai - by Walter Reinhold Warttig Mattfeld y de la Torre, - 26 Dec. 2005.
New International Version Atlas of the Bible, Carl G Rasmussen, Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 1989.
The Nomes (Provinces) of Ancient Egypt, a TourEgypt Feature by Jimmy Dunn.