Hydreuma
Hydreumata (today's Arabic dêr ; kariyah , also kurêyah , wekâla ) were fortified water stations in the eastern desert in Egypt on the various caravan routes between the ports on the Red Sea ( Erythrean Sea ) and the Nile Valley .
They were usually rectangular fortifications with corner towers and a gate flanked by round towers on one narrow side. Inside was a cistern in an inner courtyard in which the pack animals could be housed. The cisterns were often made of bricks and guarded by a unit of archers.
The main caravan routes ran between:
- Berenike and Qift (Koptos)
- Quseir and Qift, with signal stations (through the Wadi Hammamat )
- Philoteras and Cainopolis (Kenah)
- Aiḏâb to Kûs (Apollinopolis Parva) south of Qift (medieval)
Individual stations:
- Badi'â
- Abu Krêyah (Vetus hydreuma), Hydreuma troglodyticum after Pliny
- Wadi Gasus
- Wadi Umm Wikala