Charmutha
Ancient Red Sea harbor
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Charmutha, also Sharmutha was an ancient Arabian harbor located on the shores of the Red Sea,[1] along the coasts of the Arabian Peninsula. Its exact position, between the city of Yanbu and the bay of Jeddha, is disputed.
According to Diodorus the Sicilian,[2] Charmutha was one of the most renowned ports of antiquity. Its cothon resembled that of Carthage and consisted of two basins, the first rectangular, the second circular.[3] It was large enough to accommodate 2,000 boats. There was a wooded island with the possibility of market gardening, fed by many freshwater canals.