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Few of Egypt's
sights are more remote than Dush, 125 km
south of Kharga, deep into Sahara. The
ruins of this ancient city overlooks a valley that
was fertile some 1,500 years ago. Today only a
tiny little village remains. But trunks of palms
dot the sand in all directions.
The ancient name was Kysis, and Kysis was a
wealthy city benefiting from slave trade between
Sudan and North Africa. Its wealth is easy to
spot. The city must have housed 10,000
inhabitants, the distance between the 1st century
CE Roman temple and the later Christian basilica
is a few hundred meters, an area packed with house
ruins.
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The slaves transported
through the desert, along the Forty Days Road were
mainly blacks, often Nubians. Slaves were highly
treasured, and the most valuable were young Nubian
women. They were said to have a cool skin no
matter what the heat.
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