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History of Sinai
he Sinai has borne witness to many visitors who have crossed the land in both directions. Bronze Age Semites from Mesopotamia mined copper and turquoise here some 8000 years ago. |
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Places to visit Rest of Egypt
Cairo Only an hour by plane or 6 hours by car or bus, the bustling, cosmopolitan city of Cairo and capital of Egypt is a must for all visitors to the country. The largest city in Africa, |
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 Mangroovy Places to visit |
In Sinai
Dahab
An hour’s drive from Sharm through the stunning mountainous scenery and you arrive at the picturesque coastal resort of Dahab (the name of which translates literally as ‘gold’). Originally a Bedouin settlement, where the inhabitants subsisted on fishing, herding goats, rearing camels and harvesting dates from the date palms, Dahab became a popular destination for hippy travellers.
Still retaining much of its old bohemian charm, Dahab offers a pleasant alternative to cosmopolitan Sharm and is a popular destination for day-trippers from Sharm. It is also home to a number of superb dive sites; the Blue Hole is very popular with experienced divers.
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Nuweiba
North of Dahab lies the resort of Nuweiba. Nuweiba is a small port town and a regular ferry service connects the town with the port of Aqaba in Jordan.
Like Dahab, Nuweiba was originally a Bedouin settlement and a popular place for hippy visitors in the 1970s. You can still find a number of beach camps suitable for low-budget travellers but these have now been joined by several international standard hotels including a Hilton Hotel. |
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Taba
For many years Taba was just the name of the border crossing from Sinai into Israel. A hotel was built almost on top of the border, the Taba Hilton Hotel, and this was the only proper hotel in the region.
However, recent development in the area has seen the arrival of many other first-class hotel chains such as Hyatt, Marriott and Sofitel, to name but a few. These have developed in an area now known as Taba Heights, 23 km or so south of the border.
The drive up to Taba Heights and beyond is extremely scenic as the road follows the coastline at this point and the mountains are virtually on top of you. |
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St. Catherine’s Monastery and Mt Sinai
From the mountainous interior of South Sinai, the peak of Gebel Katherina emerges at a height of 2,641m, Egypt’s tallest mountain. Nearby is Mt Sinai (also called Mt Moses) whose summit reaches 2280m and where Moses is believed to have received the Ten Commandments. At the foot of Mt Sinai lies the monastery of St. Catherine, built in 527AD.
The Monastery contains ancient religious manuscripts and icons, which are second only in their religious and historical importance to those held within the Vatican in Rome. Within the Monastery walls lies a Byzantine Basilica, reputed to have been built directly on the biblical site of the Burning Bush. |
| Visitors to the Monastery are permitted to enter the Basilica where they will be awe-inspired by its ornate interior, rich in works of art including a myriad of silver lamps hanging down from the ceiling.
The Monastery and Mt Sinai are popular visitor attractions. Many people who visit Mt. Sinai, do so to climb the mountain overnight and then wait for the dramatic sunrise over the range of mountains. For others, the Monastery itself with its huge amount of artefacts is the main attraction. Certainly, visitors to South Sinai should make a trip out to St. Catherine’s and Mt Sinai. |
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The Coloured Canyon
North of Nuweiba is the popular attraction of the Coloured Canyon,so-called because of different coloured and types of rocks which lie stratified against each other.Excursion to the Coloured Canyon is by 4-wheel drive. |
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The White Canyon
On the road to St. Catherine’s, you can turn off and head off across a stretch of sandy desert by 4-wheel drive until you reach the White Canyon.One is able to walk through the Canyon in the cool, |
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winter months which then opens out at the Oasis of Ain Hudra, with its natural spring feeding the many date palms to be found there. A Bedouin community lives in the oasis and they are happy to provide their visitors with sweet Bedouin tea and lunch. |
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