Sinai Desert: description, area, interesting facts

The Sinai Peninsula is considered the most important strategic part of the Egyptian state. He is given great importance in world history and culture.

Location of the Sinai Peninsula (Et-Tih)

Sinai resembles the wedge shape that surrounds: the Mediterranean Sea, the Suez Bay and the Gulf of Aqaba. On the main part (plateau Et-Tih) of the Sinai peninsula, the desert stretched out. The highest point of the desert is Mount St. Catherine (2637 m). East of the territory where the desert of the Sinai Peninsula is located, is the Negev Desert.

The natural and climatic characteristics of the peninsula

Sinai is translated as "rocky". This name is reflected in the nature of the area. The Sinai desert consists of endless sand, quaint mountains, rocks, valleys, valleys and canyons.

Precipitation in this endless desert does not exceed the index of 100 mm. They mostly seep through the sand, which is reflected in the small distance of groundwater from the surface (several meters).

The Sinai desert is part of the Arabian floristic region, which determines the nature of the local flora. On the stony Plateau of Et-Tikh there is basically no vegetation. Sometimes in the riverbeds of wadi you can find such plants as anabasis, joede jointed, zilla prickly.

On the western and northern parts of the Sinai peninsula there are sandy ergs, where you can find shrubs retam, aristids, oats. On the stone part of this territory, ephedra winged, thyme hairy and wormwood are sometimes found. At the bottoms of wadi grow acacia and tamarix, which forms a sweet juice. Among the endless sandy massifs one can find lakes and swamps.

The fauna of the Sinai desert is represented by small rodents (they are called gerbils), which dig burrows, unite in colonies. And also here are jerboas, an ordinary gazelle, a Nubian goat, a pheneque and other animals. Most recently, they found a large jackal, which usually lives in northern Africa.

Birds here are represented mainly by a passerine family. In the riverbeds of wadi, for example, a heater, larks, a desert sparrow. In the mountains there are chickens, crows, golden eagles and vultures.

Sinai desert: a description of the environmental problem

In view of the huge tourist influx on the Sinai Peninsula, the rapid development of industry and construction of cities, the ecology of Sinai faces a serious danger: sea corals are dying in huge numbers. This is due to the fact that the temperature begins to increase critically, corals are clogged with sand. And sadly, the environmental situation was affected by the massive vandalism of tourists who break off to themselves the "pieces of Egypt" - corals. State authorities have taken severe measures to stop such actions on the part of travelers: a fine for corrupting corals in the amount of $ 100 was imposed.

Sinai desert: first world fame

In history, Sinai gained worldwide fame, thanks to the Mount of Moses, which is of great importance to Christians. Here God descended to Moses and handed him the Ten Commandments. Until today it is not known where this mountain of the same name is located. The Bible gives her different names. Since the IV. Mount Sinai is the mountain of Moses, near the foundation of which was erected a monastery dedicated to St. Catherine.

Traditions: yesterday and today

In the Egyptian state the Sinai desert has long been especially revered, its history has deep roots. Until today, many traditional rituals have been preserved, in which even tourists can participate. But there are also new ones, for example, you can take part in the night climbing Mount Moses to meet the sunrise on its summit. This ceremony appeared relatively recently. It is connected with the peak of the influx of tourists to Egypt. Get to the top of the mountain at night on a long path, when the sun's rays do not burn yet, but descend in the morning along a short path. In the XVII century. Wallachian boyar Mihai Katakusino even built a monastery in Russia called "Sinai" after he visited the monastery of St. Catherine.

The Egyptians, more than 5 thousand years ago, have mastered the territory of the Sinai Peninsula, on which many monuments of various epochs of historical significance are preserved. A significant fact in the history of Sinai is that in 1979 a peace treaty was concluded between the Egyptian and Israeli states, according to which Sinai was returned to Egypt.

Interesting facts related to Sinai

The Bedouin Riddle

For many, the Sinai desert is associated with a lifeless and dreary place, where small oases are occasionally found. This is the usual representation of this territory in most people. Here all the living struggles for their right to exist. But here there is a curious paradox - if the average period of life in many countries is about sixty years, then living in the desert Bedouins - eighty years. Thus, the Bedouin lifestyle was completely adapted to the desert habitat. Only here there are no people wishing to settle in the desert area.

Origin of names

For example, the term "oasis" is derived from the Greek word Uasis, and it, in turn, is from the Egyptian word Uit, which denotes the name of several Egyptian settlements in the middle reaches of the Nile. That is, the term "oasis" Egyptians designated a site located in the middle of the desert, which has favorable conditions for life.

With the treatment of the desert, everything is clearer and clearer: it is empty and empty. Here and the question arises that the word is of Slavic origin, because it means an empty space. Then how did the local people call the desert? The Arabs gave the desert a name that means a place where there is no one except Allah. And one proverb from the Arabs says that the desert is a garden of God, where he removed all people in order to be alone with himself.

A bit about the Bedouins of the Sinai Desert

At the moment, the Bedouins also live in tents, which can easily be folded and loaded on camels to continue to wander through the endless sands, since the Sinai desert allows this. According to recently updated data, its area is almost 61 thousand km ² . From the north to the south its extent reaches 370 km, and from east to west it stretches 210 km. Sometimes there are permanent buildings refer to the "tourist infrastructure". And the Bedouins themselves are not averse to making money on travelers. Many of them can see even a mobile phone, but they are not yet ready for a radical change in their way of life. The most important source of income for Bedouins is, of course, camels, on which travelers can be hiked.

Bedouins use sea water for desalination in desalinated form, which is not very high quality. This led to the fact that recently they were almost the only indigenous inhabitants of this vast desert area. At the moment, in Sharm el-Sheikh, very rarely there are native townspeople. Here, basically, the residents of Cairo, who came to work, live.

What attracts tourists to the Sinai desert?

Of course, people accustomed to forests, fields and rivers are attracted here by the exotic terrain of the desert, its mysterious oases. The Sinai desert is full of numerous puzzles, which are yet to be solved. She has such beautiful places, saturated with bright colors, which sometimes ruffles in her eyes. Tourists do not clean the cameras for a second, because their views are presented with chic landscapes. On the way, they meet scattered parking lots of Bedouins, where they can ride a camel. Of course, in some places the road is very dangerous, but this only gives a greater sense of travel to the Sinai desert.