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Hurghada is among the most popular tourist destinations in Egypt, and visitors from all over the world visit Hurghada for its sunshine, diving and the sea. Hurghada has recently become conscious of the tourist rush and so, a lot of developments have taken place in the past decade. Considering this, the number of flights to Hurghada has also increased with almost every major city connected to it by air. There is a continuous luxurious stretch of 20 kilometers on the sea coast. The only part of the city that gives that traditional ambience is the Ed Dahar quarter. At the coast you will witness couple of coral reefs that can be reached by swimming and going to the moderately deep seas.

Other tourist attractions include Marine Biology Museum, Aquarium, Anfish Mountain, Gebel Abu Dukhan, Red Sea Mountains and Shadwan Island. Apart from being a place of sea lovers it is also surrounded by several cultural and ancient monuments and quarries. Roman Mons Porhyrites happens to be one of them.

Roman Mons Porhyrites was a significant excavated site. The site reveals some exhilarating remains of the Roman Empire and this makes it a very attractive tourist destination in Hurghada. The site also forms part of the Porphyry Mountain. The site is located right at the centre of the Eastern Desert.

Situated 38 miles to northern Hurghada, Mons Porphyrites is an ancient quarry of Roman porphyry. Porphyry is a tough purple and pinkish stone that was mined by ancient Romans so that it could be utilized by them to build various structures. As expected the pink stones have been used and its structures were excavated a few decades ago.

The remains of mining reveal a lot of artifacts from the Roman Empire. This pink stone was found near the Gebel Abu Dukhan also called Father of the Smoke Mountain. Historical evidence reveals that the stone was discovered in 18 AD by Caius Cominius Leugas and it represents the glory and honor of the early Roman Kings. This stone is unique and it is found only at Hurghada and hence its name as The Imperial Porphyry.

The stone is considered to be a precious gem that is found at selected few locations at Hurghada. They were highly valued especially by the Roman Emperors as they stood for prosperity. The stones are usually made into jewelry with white crystals. Since it always used to be in the possession of kings at the time, it also symbolizes royalty and power. The gem was, in fact, passed from the kings to the future rulers of the state. It is truly fascinating to visit this site that brings forth the Roman past once again.