This 1921 narrative begins in the prehistoric period, suggesting that the inhospitable landscape and climate dissuaded large-scale permanent settlement until the first hermit and monastic communities of the Christian era (although the Egyptians had been drawn there by resources of turquoise and copp...

This 1921 narrative begins in the prehistoric period, suggesting that the inhospitable landscape and climate dissuaded large-scale permanent settlement until the first hermit and monastic communities of the Christian era (although the Egyptians had been drawn there by resources of turquoise and copper), and continues down to the nineteenth century.