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Mons Porphyrites (Porphyry Mountain) was an important Roman quarry complex near Gebel Abu Dukhan (Father of Smoke Mountain) in the heart of the Eastern Desert. For over three centuries, from 29 AD to 335 AD, an exquisite purple rock found nowhere else in the world called Imperial Porphyry was extracted for the glory of Roman emperors. | This purple stone, fine-grained and speckled with white crystals, was discovered by a Roman legionnaire named Caius Cominius Leugas in 18 AD. Its beauty soon made it a symbol of royalty and successive emperors claimed exclusive rights to it. Much of this gem-like rock ended up as pillars, basins, statues and sarcophagi in Rome and Istanbul. | Today excursions to Mons Porphyrites can be arranged from Hurghada, Safaga and Quseir. You can explore the remains of ruined fortresses, dwellings, temples, shrines, wells, broken pillars and cracked stone baths. | | Find related books here! |
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