By 3500 BC, the great turquoise veins of Serabit el-Khadem had been discovered. This ancient mining complex of Serabit el-Khadim lies on a small plateau north of modern Al-Tor. It is located about halfway down the western coast, around 40 kilometers due east of Abu Zanima, and about ten miles from Wadi Mughara. It was one of the most important sites for the Egyptians on the peninsula. it is not difficult to reach the Serabit el-Khadim area, by jeep safari trip . Serabit el-Khadim, a large, systematic operation was set up that would flourish for thousands of years. It was important enough to the Egyptians that a number of policing actions and protective measures were taken to protect the mines throughout most of Egypt dynastic period To mine the turquoise, the Egyptians would hollow out large galleries in the mountains, carving at the entrance to each a representation of the reigning pharaoh who was the symbol of the authority of the Egyptian state over the mines. A huge quantity of turquoise over that period was mined, carried down the Wadi Matalla to a garrisoned port located at el-Markha (south of Abu Zenima), and loaded aboard ships bound for Egypt. The turquoise was then used both for jewelry and to make color pigments for painting.The temple at Serabit el-Khadim, though really only scattered ruins, is one of the few phraonic monuments we know of in the Sinai