Wadi Al Allaqi in the Aswan governorate was declared a protectorate in 1989, covering about 30000 square km of a protected desert and biosphere reserve. Wadi Al Alaqi Protectorate is a valley formed from the drying of a large river and is 1 km wide and 275 km long. Wadi Al Alaqi is a very large dry river that used to once rise from the Red Sea hills. After the construction of Aswan High Dam, the water flowed and collected into Wadi Al Alaqi, which then became the lake’s part.
Location of Wadi Al Alaqi Protectorate
The massive Wadi Al Alaqi Protectorate lies between the western Red Sea mountains and the Nile Valley. It extends from Sudan below the Halaib Triangle, with its mouth to the south of Aswan on the eastern shore of Lake Nasser.
Wadi Al Alaqi
Wadi Allaqi (Arabic: وادي العلاقي), also transliterated as Wadi Allaqui or Wadi Alalaqi is a wadi (dry river) in southern Egypt. It begins in Sudan below Halaib Triangle, and its mouth is south of Aswan on the eastern shore of Lake Nasser.
Wadi Allaqi is the major dry river in the southeastern part of the Eastern Desert of Egypt, draining the area from the hills near the Red Sea to the valley of the Nile. With a length of 250 km (160 mi), the Wadi is used by the nomadic Bejas who live in the area – about 1,000 members of the Ababda and Bisharyn tribes as of 2003 – to graze livestock, for the production of charcoal for fuel, to collect medicinal plants, for quarrying for copper and nickel and agriculture on a small scale. As of 1989, the area has been a nature reserve managed by the Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency. It was declared a Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO in 1993.
There are 77 named mountains in the Wadi Al Alaqi Protectorate. The highest and the most prominent mountain is Jabal Mishbiḩ.
Mining in Wadi Al Alaqi Protectorate
The Wadi Allaqi region is unique in that it has the earliest reference to mining, which occurred here during the Twelfth Dynasty of the Middle Kingdom when the region was known by the name Akita and was located in the Land of the Wawat. In the 1900s, the area was also mined by British and South African companies.
The historical mining focused on mining high-grade quartz veins and alluvial gold. The stooped-out quartz veins clearly show the historical mining activity. Waste dumps and tailing, too, can be seen in several deposits, showing that the site saw significant mining activities in the past.
Wadi Al Alaqi Protectorate is famous for gold and ancient Egyptian inscriptions. A noteworthy rock inscription site is found at Umm Ashira. A Middle Kingdom of Egypt fortress was built at Quban, near the original Wadi’s mouth, with another fortress built at Ikkur. A stela attributed to the New Kingdom of Egypt Ramesses II discovered near Quban references the search and discovery of water for gold labourers. That well is located 60 km into Wadi Allaqi, near Umm Ashira, and past the now-flooded portion of the Wadi, constituting Lake Nasser. Gold deposits and mining are noteworthy in the upper parts of Wadi Allaqi, particularly at Hairiri, Heimur, Umm Garaiyat, Marahig, Seiga, Shoshoba, and Abu Fas. Gold mining continued in the Early Arab Period, especially under Ahmad ibn Tulun. Of note are two forts built during this period at Derahib.
Local Community
Wadi Al Alaqi Protectorate is also used by the nomadic tribes of Bejas who reside there. Also, around 1000 members of Bisharyn and Ababda have been seen here. The tribes used this land for livestock grazing, producing charcoal for fuel and collecting medicinal plants. Also, quarrying of nickel and copper and agriculture on a small scale was done here. A variety of medicinal plants was also gathered from the area.
However, all such activities were somehow stopped by the Wadi in 1989, after which the same was declared a nature reserve managed by the Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency. In 1993, it was also declared a Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO.
Wadi Allaqi Regional
Wadi Allaqi region comprises nine tenement areas, eight of which contain historic gold workings, and the ninth one is a rich reserve of copper-nickel deposits. There are, in total, nine Wadi Allaqi prospects, each of which covers 16km2 in area.
