A Guide to the Natural, Cultural and Historical Faces of South Sinai
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Discover Sinai A guide to the natural, cultural and historical faces of South Sinai This publication has been produced by www.discoversinai.net to promote responsible tourism and to support local communities. For this reason it is freely available as a pdf file and can be reproduced and distributed, but only in its entirety. Using images or parts of the document, or any unauthorized alteration, including deleting, editing or adding content, is prohibited. For personal use single pages can be printed or photocopied. This publication should only be used planning your treks and enhancing the experience; it is not a substitute for a local Bedouin guide, who is both necessary and also mandatory for most treks. No responsibilities are accepted for any loss or damage occurred from using this publication. Please feel free to point out inaccuracies or suggest necessary changes at [email protected]. All text and images remain the copyright of their respective owners. © 2009 www.discoversinai.net and Kelvin J. Bown, Mirjam Duymaer van Twist, Emily Eros, Dr. Francis Gilbert, Andy Killey, Joshua Lohnes, Dave Lucas, Said Mahmoud Salah, Zoltan Matrahazi, Suliman Subail el Heneny, Gordon Wilkinson, Dr. Samy Zalat and photographers of the fauna and flora section as named The publication is available as a pdf file on: www.discoversinai.net/downloads/discoversinai.pdf www.nottingham.ac.uk/~plzfg www.responseabilityalliance.com/ Table of contents PART I. – Introduction 3 • Discover Sinai 3 • Orientation 4 • Organizing a trek or safari 5 • Ecotourism in Egypt 8 PART II. – Sights in South Sinai 11 • Around St. Katherine: the High Mountain Region 12 • South of St. Katherine: towards Sharm el Sheikh and El Tur 34 • East of St. Katherine: towards Nuweiba and Dahab 43 • North-East of St. Katherine: towards the Nuweiba-Taba coast 60 • North-West of St. Katherine: towards Abu Zenima and Ras Sudr 66 PART III. – Fauna and flora of South Sina 74 • Fauna 75 • Flora 89 PART IV. – Dictionary 101 Map of the High Mountain Region 128 www.discoversinai.net – A guide to the natural, cultural and historical faces of South Sinai 2 PART I. – Introduction Discover Sinai South Sinai is a truly diverse and unique land that cannot fail to captivate any visitor that allows its blend of history, culture and nature to wash over them. We hope this guide will help you to experience the less well known parts of what makes this land so special. The most immediately striking aspect of this area is the incredible natural beauty. The South Sinai massif is an isolated block of some of the world’s oldest rocks dating back 700million years. Yet for such a barren land there really is wondrous variety. Within short distances visitors can find themselves walking through beautiful canyons to lush green oases; or, hiking down rugged sandy wadis, across stunning dunes and up incredible granite mountains. The natural beauty, and contrast that exist here, constantly take your breath away. The Sinai peninsula has been at the crossroads of much of world history. The pharaohs, Alexander the Great and Romans all left their mark here. In 641 AD the Muslim army that conquered Egypt, and would begin the spread of Islam throughout North Africa, marched through Sinai. The crusades fought here and in the 20th century Sinai would become the battlefield for the conflict between Israel and Egypt. Yet the peninsula is best known for its association with biblical tradition. The Exodus, the New Testaments descriptions of the flight into Egypt and the return of the Holy family to Palestine all have the desert of Sinai as their backdrop. Most famous, of course, is Mt Sinai, the mountain from which Moses spoke to God and brought down the ten commandments. This is an area of immense spiritual significance. At the foot of Mt Sinai stands the Monastery of St Katherine, the world’s oldest continuously inhabited monastery. Christian monasticism has its origins in Sinai. In the 3rd century, fleeing persecution from the Roman emperor Diocletian, Sinai was a logical location of retreat for many Christians who found safety in the remote wilderness, settling around the sites of religious significance in the South. The remains of small monasteries and chapels, dating back to this period, can still be seen in this area, some of them are still in use. But it is not only early Christianity that has left its archaeological footprint in South Sinai. The pharaohs built a temple at Serabit el Khadim, the area where they mined turquoise. The first roofed stone structures, the mysterious nawamis buildings, are only found in South Sinai; they are believed to date back to the copper age (4000 – 3150 BC). Rock inscriptions using ancient scripts – Proto-Sinaitic, Nabatean, ancient Greek, Hebrew and Arabic – can be seen in many places. Linking all of these incredible archaeological sites are the ancient caravan routes and desert trails that have been used since prehistoric times. In South Sinai you really are walking in the footpaths of history. Tying all this natural beauty and history together are the Bedouin people of South Sinai. Traditionally they belong to 7 tribes, although some tribes from the North are also present at some places. The Bedouin are mostly descended from people of the Arabian peninsula who arrived in Sinai in several waves along the centuries. The one exception to this is the Jabaleya tribe who live in the High Mountain area around St Katherine’s monastery. The tribe trace their origins back to when families from around the Black Sea were sent by Emperor Justinian to aid the building and running of the monastery. The lifestyle of these Bedouin is in a constant state of flux; traditionally water, herding, and in the specific case of the Jabaleya, seasonal orchard gardening, dictated their lives. Today it is mostly tourism. For many of the Bedouin of South Sinai their lives have become almost entirely sedentary. This is not to say that their traditions have disappeared, just that they have become mixed with modernity. The best way to experience the Bedouin way of life is to head out into the desert with a local guide and a camel. And this is precisely what this guide wants to enable people to do. Sinai is a land of wondrous variety of nature, history and people. We hope this guide goes someway towards opening your eyes to the possibilities offered here, and how to go about experiencing them. www.discoversinai.net – A guide to the natural, cultural and historical faces of South Sinai 3 Orientation IMPORTANT: This is a reference book only. It is intended as an information tool, something that sparks the imagination of the traveler. This guidebook should be used in collaboration with local guides. Each page on the sights is laid out as follows: 1) Brief overview of the specific area. 2) Non-specific information about South Sinai. This section is designed to greater information to the reader about a particular point of interest regarding the history, culture and environment of South Sinai. 3) Geographical description: detailing the location of this site in relation to others. 4) Large Scale map: The red box marks the specific area. 5) Zoom map: Map showing the detailed geographic location of the area. 6) Points of interest within this area. Maps to South Sinai The best way to use the guide is with a map. There is only one usable map available locally (pictured) which you can get from most bookshops in the Sinai or Cairo. Some prints are better, others are lower quality – check before buying. It is based on an Israeli map. The main places are all on it. Although the smaller details may not be there, it is still useful, and does help to orientate. The Royal Geographic Society’s map of Sinai, coming in many separate sheets, is more detailed, but is rather expensive and for the High Mountain Region the local map’s inset is the better. We used this inset for the sights around St. Katherine. For other destinations we used Google Earth images. www.discoversinai.net – A guide to the natural, cultural and historical faces of South Sinai 4 Organizing a trek or safari Sinai, and Egypt in general, is not for the hard-core independent traveler; you can’t just wander alone off to the mountains or the desert, since in most areas it is prohibited. There are various reasons for this, and your safety is one of them. Maybe you think you can do it alone, like you are used to at home, but the environment is very different and confusing with extreme weather conditions. A simple mistake could cost you your life: the Egyptian authorities don't want to see you hurt, and also don't want bad publicity either. This law also supports local communities in a direct way – in most places you have to be accompanied by a local Bedouin guide. And it makes sense; since they are the traditional inhabitants, they know the area best. This also applies to companies; they have to have a local Bedouin guide in the Sinai. You can organize your program through different operators or independently – the options are explained below, followed by some points on costs, what to expect along the way and what to bring, when to come, dangers and annoyances, and recommendations. Big international companies usually do not run treks and safaris off the beaten path – they probably include the Monastery of St. Katherine and Mt. Sinai and possibly a fast 4x4 visit to an oasis or canyon. If they do Sinai, they do it through smaller local operators, so you might as well go straight to them.