# Itbay > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Itbay > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Itbay.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Itbay > Source revision: 1342030949 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) Region of southeastern Egypt and northeastern Sudan "Red Sea Hills" redirects here. For the mountains in Saudi Arabia on the opposite coast of the Red Sea, sometimes also called the Red Sea Hills, see [Sarawat Mountains](/source/Sarawat_Mountains). Red Sea Hills in Egypt Closer view of the arid, rocky Red Sea Hills **Itbāy** ([Arabic](/source/Arabic_language): اطبيه; **ʿAtbāy** / **Atbai** ) is a region of southeastern [Egypt](/source/Egypt) and northeastern [Sudan](/source/Sudan). It is characterized by a chain of mountains, the **Red Sea Hills**, running north–south and parallel with the [Red Sea](/source/Red_Sea). The hills separate the narrow coastal plain from the [Eastern Desert](/source/Eastern_Desert).[1] ## Geology The Red Sea Hills are composed of the exposed [Neoproterozoic](/source/Neoproterozoic) [volcano-sedimentary](/source/Volcano-sedimentary_sequence) [rock](/source/Clastic_rock) of the [Arabian-Nubian Shield](/source/Arabian-Nubian_Shield). Although the rock itself is 550–900 million years old, the mountains were created by [uplift](/source/Orogeny) when the Red Sea itself was formed in the [Oligocene](/source/Oligocene), only some 23–34 million years ago. The Red Sea Hills are thus part of the same formation as the [Sarawat Mountains](/source/Sarawat_Mountains) of [Saudi Arabia](/source/Saudi_Arabia) and the mountains of the [Sinai Peninsula](/source/Sinai_Peninsula).[2] The Red Sea Hills rise almost to 3,000 metres (9,800 ft) today, but in the past were much higher. The Oligocene uplift caused the [rejuvenation](/source/River_rejuvenation) of their streams and the increased erosion removed most of the limestone and sandstone to expose the [basement](/source/Basement_(geology)) layer.[3] The Itbāy is arid, receiving less than 200 millimetres (7.9 in) of rainfall each year with high variability.[4] The [Barka River](/source/Barka_River), the most significant of the few seasonal streams that flow into the Red Sea, rises in the Red Sea Hills of Sudan and empties into the sea at the [Tokar Delta](/source/Tokar_Delta). In prehistoric times it was probably a permanent river.[5] ## History In prehistoric times, the Red Sea Hills were likely the area where the [Proto-Cushitic language](/source/Proto-Cushitic_language) was spoken.[6] The Red Sea Hills are a source of [porphyry](/source/Porphyry_(geology)), which was being mined as early as the fourth millennium BC.[7] The Red Sea Hills are inhabited by the [Beja people](/source/Beja_people) who speak a Cushitic language and practice [pastoralism](/source/Pastoralism). They mainly live near the dry riverbeds, [*wādī*s](/source/Wadi), that flow seasonally into the sea and the [Nile](/source/Nile), where there is limited vegetation.[4] In antiquity, the Beja were known as the [Blemmyes](/source/Blemmyes) and their presence in the hills is detected archaeologically by the presence of [Eastern Desert Ware](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Eastern_Desert_Ware&action=edit&redlink=1) from the fourth century AD. The [material culture](/source/Material_culture) of the hills places it firmly within [ancient Egypt](/source/Ancient_Egypt)'s sphere of influence. Extensive mining settlements have been found in the [Wadi Allaqi](/source/Wadi_Allaqi) and the [Wadi Gabgaba](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wadi_Gabgaba&action=edit&redlink=1). The early Blemmyes built [platform tumuli](/source/Tumulus) (flat-topped burial mounds), and the appearance of [cairns](/source/Cairn) to mark burials in the late [Middle Ages](/source/Middle_Ages) may be linked to [Islamization](/source/Islamization).[7] ## References 1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** ["Itbāy"](https://www.britannica.com/place/Itbay), in *Encyclopædia Britannica* (online 7 May 2012), accessed 31 December 2018. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** M. Sultan, S. Sefry and M. AbuAbdallah, "Impacts of Climate Change on the Red Sea Region and its Watersheds, Saudi Arabia", *The Red Sea: The Formation, Morphology, Oceanography and Environment of a Young Oceanic Basin* (Springer, 2015), p. 364. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** Bonnie M. Sampsell, *The Geology of Egypt: A Traveler's Handbook* (American University in Cairo Press, 2003), pp. 27–28. 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-manger_4-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-manger_4-1) Leif Manger, *Managing pastoral adaptations in the Red Sea Hills of the Sudan: Challenges and Dilemmas* (IIED, 1994), p. 2. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** W. Bosworth, "Geological Evolution of the Red Sea: Historical Background, Review, and Synthesis", *The Red Sea: The Formation, Morphology, Oceanography and Environment of a Young Oceanic Basin* (Springer, 2015), p. 50. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** Stevens, Chris J.; Nixon, Sam; Murray, Mary Anne; Fuller, Dorian Q. (July 2016). [*Archaeology of African Plant Use*](https://books.google.com/books?id=32-TDAAAQBAJ&dq=proto+cushitic&pg=PA239). Routledge. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-1-315-43400-1](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-315-43400-1). 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-edwards_7-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-edwards_7-1) David N. Edwards, *The Nubian Past: An Archaeology of the Sudan* (Routledge, 2004), pp. 64, 209, 251–52. Authority control databases VIAF [25°39′40″N 33°57′12″E / 25.6611°N 33.9533°E / 25.6611; 33.9533](https://geohack.toolforge.org/geohack.php?pagename=Itbay¶ms=25.6611_N_33.9533_E_source:kolossus-ruwiki) --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Itbay](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Itbay) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Itbay?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.