Land of Punt?

  

             Arabian Peninsula?                          Or                             Horn of Africa?           

The oldest recorded expedition to Punt was organized by the Egyptian Pharaoh Sahure of the 5th dynasty some time between 2458 BC and 2446 BC (the dates indicate the time line of his reign).

The Land of Punt, also called Pwenet, by the ancient Egyptians, was once a trading partner known for producing and exporting gold, ebony, ivory, slaves and wild animals among other things.  Although information about Punt has been found in ancient Egyptian writings regarding trade missions to this particular area, the location of Punt is a mystery.

Most scholars believe Punt was located to the south-east of Egypt, most likely near the shore of the Horn of Africa, which is located in the east central portion of the continent.  On he other hand; opposing arguments insist  Punt was located somewhere inside the Arabian Peninsula which is north and east of the African all together. Such arguments are apparently supported by several ancient inscriptions which appear to place Punt in that region.  

We have learned from numerous ancient inscriptions that the trip was made by way of boat so common sense dictates that it was reasonably close to a port of some sort.  But then, I’m sure there were a lot of ports in Africa and Arabia even in those days.

Most scholars agree that the Egyptians were not especially proficient in sea travel, and a long voyage to Punt, was probably something like a journey to the moon would be today. But the rewards of obtaining frankincense, gold and myrrh, for example must have outweighed the risks, because numerous Egyptian expeditions have been documented.

The ancient Egyptians sometimes called Punt Ta netjer, which meant “God's Land”. This is thought to refer to the fact that it was located in the regions of the Sun God, or in, the area located in the direction of the sunrise, or to the east of Egypt.

A sizeable majority of opinions places Punt in Eastern Africa, based primarily on the fact that the products of Punt are found in abundance in East Africa but were less common or sometimes even absent in Arabia.  However, as I have indicated above, some scholars disagree with this view and point to several ancient inscriptions which places Punt in Arabia.  In my view, it makes little difference, the fact remains that the ancient Egyptians braved the waters which were treacherous (certainly in the day) in-deed to gain the obvious benefits of trade at great risk.

Sources …                                                    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Land_of_Punt                                           http://wysinger.homestead.com/punt.html                                              http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horn_of_Africa