Explore Sinai Peninsula Definition, Map, History, & Facts
Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula is in the northeast. Between the Gulf of Suez and Aqaba, the northern Red Sea spans 23,500 square miles (61,000 square kilometres). The northern two-thirds are made up of the Sinai Desert, and Mount Sinai dominates the southern third. On it, the Israelites left Egypt. For ages, trade between Egypt and Palestine passed over its northern shore. It was a part of the Roman Empire and Byzantine Empire from the second century CE until the rise of Islam in the seventh century. Islamic dynasties ruled it prior to the Ottoman conquest in the sixteenth century. It fought in the Yom Kippur War (1973), the Six-Day War (1967), and the Suez Crisis (1956) before being annexed by Egypt in 1918. It was under Israeli administration from 1966 to 1972. Israeli-Arab conflict.
Sinai peninsula location in Egypt
The Sinai Peninsula, known in Arabic as Shibh Jazirat Sina, is a triangle peninsula that connects Asia and Africa and is 23,500 square miles (61,000 square kilometres) in size. In addition, the Gulf of Suez and the Suez Canal divide the dry area of the peninsula known as the Sinai Desert from Egypt’s Eastern Desert. It yet travels on with little change in relief eastward into the Negev desert. They are typically seen as geographically belonging to Asia.
The Sinai Peninsula is in northeastern Egypt, and to the east it is bordered by Israel and the Gaza Strip. Administratively, the Sinai has been split into the governorates of Shamal Sina in the north and Janub Sina in the south in the shores of The Red Sea.
In accordance with the conditions of a 1979 peace pact, Egypt regained control of the peninsula in 1982 after Israeli forces conquered it during the Six-Day War in June 1967. A map illustrating the location is also provided below.
Sinai Peninsula Map
In the beginning, Sinai was home to early Christian hermits and ascetics, especially in the south’s mountainous terrain. On the lower slopes of Mount Sinai, Justinian I constructed the St. Catherine monastery in 530 AD. In the Middle Ages, the monastery served as a destination for pilgrims from various Christian communities. A representative from Constantinople (now Istanbul) oversaw the Sinai’s administration when the Ottoman Empire acquired it in 1517. After Egypt gained independence from Ottoman domination in the early 19th century, access to the Sinai became challenging. After the battles at Al-Arsh during World War I, Egypt ruled the Sinai Peninsula.
Sinai was governed by Egypt until the Six-Day War in June 1967. In each Israeli-Egyptian conflict from 1949 to 1973, the Giddi and Mitla bridges in the northeastern peninsula saw intense fighting in 1956, 1967, and 1973. Arab-Israeli wars The Sinai Peninsula was demilitarized and restored following the Egypt-Israel peace accord of 1979. Afterwards, there were numerous violent Islamic attacks on the peninsula. Tourists were attacked in October 2004, Sharm el-Sheikh in July 2005, and Dhahab in April 2006 (among other places). Due to attacks on Egyptian military personnel and civilians in the 2010s, the 2011 Egyptian Uprising made the security situation worse. Egypt’s biggest terrorist attack occurred on November 24, 2017, when a Sufi mosque in Al-Rawah (next to Al-Arsh) was attacked. 300 worshippers were slain in this attack.
Sinai Has Two Primary Components,
Mount Catherine e (8,668 feet/2,642 metres), Umm Shmar (8,482 feet/2,585 metres), Al-Thab (7,997 feet/2,437 metres), and Mount Sinai (7,497 feet) (2,285 metres) are some of the highlands in the south. Volcanic rocks make up the majority of the southern region’s landscape, which is suddenly cut through by steep, canyon-like wadis (seasonal watercourses) that flow into either the Gulf of Suez or the Gulf of Aqaba. The Gulf of Aqaba is on the eastern side of this skeleton mountain range, and a narrow coastal plain separates it from the Gulf of Suez on the western side. A vast plateau, which makes up two-thirds of Sinai, borders this bulk on the north and descends from heights of more than 3,000 feet (900 metres) to the Mediterranean. It is defined by the vast Wadi Al-Arsh plain, island-like massifs, and enormous coastal plains in the north and west with enormous sand dunes.
The Sinai Desert
A substantial ridge that extends in a broad horseshoe curve along the southern edge of the Sinai has given rise to three main drainage basins. The principal stream of the northern drainage basin, Wadi Al-Arsh, empties into the Mediterranean in Al-Arsh. There are a number of minor streams in both the eastern (Gulf of Aqaba and Dead Sea) and western (Gulf of Suez) basins. Local precipitation supplies more than 1.6 million acre-feet (2 billion cubic metres) of water to the Sinai Desert. It has significant water-saving potential because one-fourth of this water evaporates and another quarter seeps into groundwater reserves.
Sinai Climate
The climate in Sinai is arid. Sinai is extremely arid, as seen by the wadis, dunes, salinization, and crumbling soil. A wetter climate is suggested by isolated terraces with substantial alluvial and lacustrine deposits. The low topography of Sinai’s northern, Mediterranean section has a winter precipitation of 5 inches (125 mm), a scorchingly dry and hot summer, and dry southern khamsin winds and infrequent heavy showers in the spring and autumn. The Red Sea or the southern climates differ because of the harsh geography. The main summits are covered in winter ice. In July, the southeast monsoons deliver a lot of rain to the south. The nights in summer are cool. breezes in North Sinai. The Mediterranean has a relative humidity of 74%, compared to the Red Sea’s 60%.
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