Egypt unearths Mamluk-era pilgrim’s inn belonging to lost city along historic Sinai trade route

A medieval pilgrim's inn, believed to have belonged to the lost city of Asila, has been discovered in Egypt during recent excavations. The Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities announced the find earlier this month. Asila, situated in northern Sinai along the historic Hajj Route or Sultan's Road, once connected Egypt with the Levant and Arabian Peninsula during the early Islamic and Ottoman periods.

The site, which dates back to the Mamluk era, features mudbrick and red brick walls with limestone-reinforced foundations. These structures, Dr. Hisham El-Leithy, Secretary-General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, noted, likely contained several internal rooms that may have been used as storefronts attached to the inn. The overall layout of the site resembles that of Khan al-Khuwainat, another ancient commercial site found in northern Sinai, lending further support to the theory that both served as rest stops for merchants and travelers along the trade route.

Among the artifacts unearthed, green-glazed vessels and glazed and decorated pottery fragments indicate the site's connection to the Mamluk Sultan Al-Nasir Muhammad of the Bahri dynasty. Some of these artifacts display Arabic letters that may form part of the word "al-Nasir," but further analysis is required to precisely date the site and understand its function.

The excavation also revealed red and white decorated pottery and fragments of lamps, contributing to our understanding of the infrastructure supporting trade, pilgrimage, and military movements during the Islamic periods. This discovery sheds light on the strategic network of rest stations built along Sinai's routes to serve travelers and caravans, according to archaeological mission heads Mohamed Khalil and Saddam Hussein.

Egyptian Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Sherif Fathy called the discovery an "important addition to a series of archaeological discoveries that contribute to rereading Sinai's history and shedding light on the civilizations and communities that flourished on its land."