Before Port Sudan became what it is today, Old Suakin was the main port - a city built on a small island at the end of a deep inlet. As far back as 10th century BC, Pharaoh Rameses III used Suakin as a trading port. Literally years later (1428-29), Suakin became the most important harbour on the African side of the Red Sea.

During this period, many fine houses were built using coral stone on the outside with the interiors washed with white lime. Often built with two storeys and more, the large windows showed a high level of carpentry skills. The only low buildings were the mosques.

Today the city is in ruins except for the Customs enclosure and Mufafaza, the ancient governor's residence and a mosque. Through lack of maintenance and money, the fine houses have mainly become piles of stones. Yet Suakin is unique and different from the rest of the Sudan and is reached by a causeway built by General Gordon in 1877 using convict labour.

Suakin's decline began with the arrival of the steamship and the change in trading conditions. The narrow, coral-choked access channel was unsuitable for large ships and this led to the building of Port Sudan, forty miles away.