1. Sinai- In the
Shadow of Moses
The Sinai is Egypt’s land
bridge to the Middle East. It is a spread of parch desert, thinly
scattered with oases and dotted with sparse Bedouin settlements. It has
deceptively little to offer but is actually one of Egypt’s
tourist super-sites and a top holiday destination in the Middle East.
Its attractions range from top end sun, sand and sea resorts, to
breathtaking mountainous landscapes with unique climbing opportunities,
desert culture tours, wildernesses, souvenir shopping, and historic
sites.
On your visit to Sinai, you get the best value by taking an Egypt tour
that combines Sinai with the other attractions that Egypt is famed for.
The Sinai Peninsula occupies 60,000 square km and is almost entirely
surrounded by water. It extends from the eastern banks of the Suez
Canal, and is washed by the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Red
Sea to the south. It borders Israel and the Gaza Strip to the
northeast, Jordan to the east and Saudi Arabia to the southeast. The
peninsula prongs the Red Sea into two, forming the Gulf of Suez to the
west, and the Gulf of Aqaba to the east.
The Red Sea is the world’s most northern tropical sea, and
flows with extremely saline waters. It stretches 350km at its widest,
taking up 450,000 square km, and flowing 2300 km to spill into the
Indian Ocean at the horn of Africa. A WWF (World Wildlife Fund)
conservation priority, the sea is listed among the Global 200 list of
eco-regions. It is rich in marine life, and is a popular underwater
attraction that is highly regarded by diving enthusiasts.
The Red Sea has a unique abundance and brilliance of flora and fauna,
and diving in its waters is an enchanting experience. The sea is
relatively well protected and its waters are calm, warm and run deep;
creating the perfect ecosystem for coral reefs to flourish. The sheer
quantity and assortment of corals triggers an outburst of sea life.
The Red Sea waters have registered 1,000 invertebrate species, over
200 coral species –both hard and soft, and well over 1,100
fish species. About 10 percent of these fish are unique to the Red Sea
while about 6 per cent are deep-sea species. The sea’s
pelagic zone has recorded 44 species of Red Sea sharks, which include:
pelagic thresher, bignose shark, Whale shark, Arabian smooth-hound,
Milk shark, and sharpnose sevengill shark.
The Sinai was in its youthful days a great turquoise and copper mining
region. Its earliest settlers were miners who are estimated to have
arrived 8,000 years ago. The Pharaohs became masters of the mines 3,000
years later, which as you may expect are long exhausted. Sinai is
referred to in the Bible as the "great and terrible wilderness" through
which Moses and the Israelites wandered for most of the forty years
after their momentous exodus from Egypt. Today, Sinai is a holy land to
all three of the great monotheistic religions: Christianity, Judaism,
and Islam.
Up until mid 13th century, historians knew little about the peninsula.
The Mamluks ruled in the period 1260-1518,after which the Ottoman
Sultan forcefully took over. Except for a few wars thereafter, things
remained quiet, till the British arrived in 1906, leading to the fall
of the Ottoman Empire. The Sinai headland then became a British
protectorate, as a part of Egypt. The British took the trouble due to
the peninsulas strategic advantage. Control over the Suez Canal was
well calculated, as Egypt was to become their base of action against
the Ottoman Turks in World War I.
1948 saw the emergence of the state of Israel, and the resulting
conflicts marked the beginning of the Sinai’s most trying
times. It experienced numerous Arab-Israeli hostilities and full-blown
wars, interspersed by short-lived peace agreements. However, all hell
broke loose in 1967 when Egypt kicked the United Nations Emergency
Forces (UNEF) out of the Sinai and blockaded the Israeli port of Eilat.
Israel responded by declaring war, and in six days had taken over the
peninsula, crossing international borders as far as the Suez.
War flared again in the 1973 Yom Kippur War, when Egypt and a coalition
of Arab armies in a surprise move crossed closing lines of the 1967
war. After initial setbacks, the Israelis eventually gained the upper
hand, before a UN ceasefire calmed hostilities. The two countries
signed a peace treaty in 1979, and Israel withdrew from the peninsula
in slow progression between 1979 and 1982. On exit, Israel spared only
one
city- Sharm el Sheikh: the rest returned to dust.
Despite these setbacks, the Sinai has slowly healed from its past and
moved on. It has risen to establish and sustain itself as a unique
tourist destination. Its amazing beauty, historic and religious
significance, the people, natural attractions and resorts have
especially become popular with travellers from all walks of life. Its
main regions include the Suez
Canal -whose capital is Port Said in the northwest, Shamal Sina in the
north, and Janub Sina in the south.
Port Said on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea is a large fishing
city and the main port, at the mouth of the Suez Canal. Away from the
port, there are some good resorts along the beach. Within and around
the city, monuments stand in honour of the past. Places of interest
include: the Military Museum, the bazaar, the Roman Cathedral and Saint
Auginai Church, Al Salam Mosque, Tennis Island, San El Hagar Town, and
Port-Fouad Marine Clubs. The area is mostly popular with local tourists.
The Suez Canal bridges the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea, and then
opens out into the Gulf of Suez. At the canal, it is business as usual
as freighters course through in convoy. But while on transit through
the canal, you will find the surrounding landscapes quite scenic.
Today, most of the western and northern regions are largely
uninhabited, and are not as touristy as the south. Shamal Sina region
is an important archaeological and World Heritage Site, though it has
little else to offer to tourists. The harsh, scorching parch
lands’ proximity to the war prone Gaza Strip has shattered
the possibility of desert safaris. Nevertheless, those who manage to
come will find the vistas here breathtaking, and the sunrises and
sunsets over the mountainous
ranges just as marvelous.
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