Serabit el-Khadim (Arabic: سرابيط الخادم Arabic pronunciation: [saraːˈbiːtˤ alˈxaːdɪm]; also transliterated Serabit al-Khadim, Serabit el-Khadem) is a locality in the southwest Sinai Peninsula, Egypt, where valuable resources such as turquoise were mined extensively in antiquity, mainly by the ancient Egyptians. Archaeological excavation, initially by Sir Flinders Petrie, revealed ancient mining camps and a long-lived Temple of Hathor, the Egyptian goddess of sensual power, who was favored as a protector in desert regions and known locally as the mistress of turquoise.
The Sinai Peninsula between Egypt and Western Asia was an important mining area for copper and malachite in ancient Egypt, Serabit el-Khadim being the most important copper mining site in the region. The temple was first established during the Middle Kingdom in the reign of Senusret I (reigned 1971 BC to 1926 BC) and was partly reconstructed in the New Kingdom. The temple is located about 10 kilometers north of Wadi Maghara, another archaeological site, and roughly 43 kilometers east of the modern-day city, Abu Zenima. The function of the temple was to honor the goddess Hathor who acted as a guide to the Egyptian Kings who had undertaken expeditions to utilize these mines, and to glorify the power of the Pharaohs that had overseen these missions.
