Quseir Fortress and Old Town
An Ottoman fort and pilgrims' port on the Red Sea, with coral-stone houses, mosques and wooden balconies.
A port of pilgrims and spices
Quseir, on the Red Sea coast about 140 kilometres south of Hurghada, is one of the oldest ports on Egypt's Red Sea. For centuries it was the gateway between the Nile valley and the Red Sea: caravans crossed the desert along the Wadi Hammamat from Qift and Qus to Quseir, carrying grain to Arabia and returning with spices, coffee and other goods, while pilgrims from Upper Egypt and North Africa sailed from here to Jeddah on the way to Mecca. Its importance declined after the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869.
The fortress
The fortress was built in the sixteenth century during the Ottoman period, to protect the port and the pilgrimage route. It was occupied and strengthened by the French in 1799 during Napoleon's expedition, bombarded by the British navy, and later used by Muhammad Ali. Restored as a heritage site and visitor centre, it has thick stone walls, towers and a courtyard, with displays on the history of the town and its trade, and views over the old town and the sea from its ramparts.
The old town
Around the fortress, Quseir's old town preserves houses built of coral stone and plaster, some with wooden mashrabiya balconies and carved doors, as well as old mosques, the former customs and quarantine buildings, and the shrines of saints venerated by sailors and pilgrims. It offers a rare picture of a traditional Red Sea port town, far quieter than the resorts further north.
Exhibo editorial
Quseir is the Red Sea before the resorts: a small, sleepy port of coral-stone houses with wooden balconies, old mosques by the shore, fishermen mending nets and the Ottoman fortress keeping watch over it all. It's easy to imagine the caravans arriving from the desert and the pilgrims boarding their ships for Arabia.
Visit the fortress in the morning, walk through the old town afterwards, and end with grilled fish by the sea. It's a perfect half-day away from the beaches, and a reminder that this coast had a long history long before tourism.
How to find it
Quseir lies about 140 km south of Hurghada and 85 km south of Safaga on the coast road. The fortress stands in the old town, a short walk inland from the seafront; the old houses, mosques and the former customs buildings lie in the lanes between the fortress and the sea.
