Fifth Nome	Kuser
	"The Port City"

Want to go to Punt? From Gebtu, go through the Wadi Hammamat to the port on the Red Sea called Kuser, in the region called Sewew. We build ships in Kuser that go to the fabled land of Punt, after carrying the materials from Gebtu through the Wadi Hammamat.

Kuser was probably founded in the Middle Kingdom, in the reign of Mentuhotep IV (Nebtawyre) when he needed a harbor for building ships bound for Punt. He commanded his then vizier, Amenemhet, who may have also been his successor, to find a better port on the Red Sea than they had previously. Amenemhet founded Kuser, but the port was not established as a departure point for Punt until Amenemhet II. The Red Sea Coast is a good place to find a harbor because of the minimal tidal changes.

Kuser has seen many famous people come by. In a famous expedition Hatshepsut sent Senenmut to go to Kuser and then Punt to get myrrh, frankincense, ebony, and ivory.

Sources:

Alesii, Christina. (2004, January). "El Quseir: Travel into History." Issue #18. http://www.goredsea.com/EN_magazinearchive.aspx?article=elquseirtraveltohistory

Bunson, Bunson, Margaret. (1991). "Kuser," "Sewew." A Dictionary of Ancient Egypt. New York: Oxford University Press.

Dunn, Jimmy. "Mentuhotep IV Nebtawyre: The Last King of Egypt's 11th Dynasty." Tour Egypt Feature Story. InterCity Oz. http://touregypt.net/featurestories/mentuhotep4.htm

Fodor. (1999). Fodor’s Egypt: The Complete Guide to Cairo, the Ancient Wonders, the Red Sea, Sinai and Desert Oases. New York: Fodor’s Tavel Publications, Inc.

Kamil, Jill. (1984, 1996). The Ancient Egyptians: Life in the Old Kingdom. Cairo: The American University in Cairo Press.

"Pharaonic Egypt." Encyclopedia of the Rulers of Egypt. Egypt State Information Service.
http://www.sis.gov.eg/rulers/html/en01p.htm

 

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Fifth Nome