Diaa Rashwan

Sinai… Land, History, Customs and Traditions Chairman Diaa Rashwan Chief of the Information Sector Dr/Ahmed Abu Zayed Prepared by Public Administration for Editing Cover design Ramy Ahmed Maquette & Art Direction Ahmed Sayed Follow-up Supervision Nehad Raafat Translated by Sinai Foreign Editing Department Land, History, Customs and Traditions English Section Heba Nabil Nesreen Nabeel Ola Gamal Rania Saad Riham Al Wakeel Yosra Gamal English Review Azza Abd Rabou English Proofreading Nesreen Nabeel Executive Supervision Samia Badawy General Supervision Adel Hussain 2021 Printing General Supervision Hossam Amin Printing Press Director Eman Gaafar (1) 2021 Sinai… Land, History, Customs and Traditions 2021 )2) Sinai… Land, History, Customs and Traditions Contents Introduction…………………………………………………………….……….5 Sinai Ancient Historical Name………………...………..………………………7 History of Sinai along Ages……………………………………………………11 Geographical and Climate Characteristics………………………………...…19 Location………………………………………………………………...…21 Landforms…………………………………………………………………22 Climate…………………………………………………………………….24 Geological Formations………………………………………………….…26 Demographic and Social Characteristics…………………………………..…27 Bedouin Tribes in Sinai……………………………………………………30 Population Activity…………………………………………………..……32 Social Life of Sinai Residents………………………………………….......33 Customs and Traditions……………………………………………………36 Food Etiquette………………………………………………………..……39 Bedouin Woman in Sinai………………………………………………..…42 Bedouin Man in Sinai………………………………………………...……50 Marriage Traditions……………………………………………………..…51 Bedouin Music and Singing…………………………………………….…53 Administrative Division of Sinai………………………………………………55 North Sinai Governorate………………………………………………..…57 South Sinai Governorate……………………………………………..……64 (3) 2021 Sinai… Land, History, Customs and Traditions 2021 )4) Sinai… Land, History, Customs and Traditions Introduction Sinai is the heart of Egypt, the eastern gateway and strategic region to protect national peace and security. It is the land of Egypt that embraced the prophets and religions who came carrying the torch of civilization. There is no doubt that the Sinai Peninsula has a special position in the heart of every Egyptian; a position shaped by geography, recorded by history and underlined by the arms and blood of Egyptians throughout ages. It has a strategic location, and is the key to Egypt's distinguished location in the heart of the world with its continents and civilizations. It is also the hub of communication between Asia and Africa, Egypt and the Levant, and the Arab East and West. Sinai is the rich environment with all components of beauty, nature and life with golden sands, majestic mountains, charming beaches, green valleys, wealth beneath seas, and the subsoil incorporating creatures, water, oil and minerals. (5) 2021 Sinai… Land, History, Customs and Traditions 2021 )6) Sinai… Land, History, Customs and Traditions Sinai Ancient Historical Name (7) 2021 Sinai… Land, History, Customs and Traditions 2021 )8) Sinai… Land, History, Customs and Traditions According to the modern dictionary, the meaning of the name Sinai is "the land of the moon", in the ancient Canaanite or the Semitic language. Some historians mentioned that the origin of the word "Sinai" means "stone" due to the large number of its mountains, while its name in ancient hieroglyphs is "Toshret", meaning the land of aridity and bareness. Sinai was known in the Torah as "Horeb". It is agreed that the name Sinai, which was given to the southern part of Sinai, is derived from the name of the god "Sin", the god of the moon in ancient Babylon, where it was worshipped in western Asia, including Palestine. Then they united him to the god "Thoth", the Egyptian god of the moon whose worship was widely spread in this area. In the inscriptions of Serabit el-Khadim Temple and the Cave Valley, it became clear that there was no special name for Sinai. However, in some Egyptian sources dating back to the era of the (9) 2021 Sinai… Land, History, Customs and Traditions modern Pharaonic state, Sinai is referred to as “Khast Mefkat” and sometimes "Ta Mefkat", meaning "the land of Turquoise." Allah the Almighty honors this precious land by mentioning it in the Munificent Quran. In Surah1 Al-Mu’minoon2 verse 20, Allah the Glorified refers to Sinai: “And [We brought forth] a tree issuing from Mount Sinai which produces oil and food for those who eat”. He the Almighty also mentions it in Verse 1 and 2 of Surah Al-Teen: “By the fig and the olive, and [by] Mount Sinai”. 1 Surah: Quranic Chapter 2 Al-Mu’minoon: The name of a Quranic Chapter in Arabic; meaning the believers 2021 )10) Sinai… Land, History, Customs and Traditions History of Sinai along Ages (11) 2021 Sinai… Land, History, Customs and Traditions 2021 )12) Sinai… Land, History, Customs and Traditions Studies have proven the existence of stone constructions in Sinai that are known as “the Nawamis” dating back to the early Bronze Age and are believed to belong to the original dwellers of Sinai. In 1869, Palmer, the British Archaeologist uncovered some of these " Nawamis" near Ain Hadara on Catherine-Nuweiba Road. The first mention of Sinai was on the remaining written monuments, dating back to 3000 BC. It began with the formation of the first Egyptian Pharaonic family starting with Narmer, the founder of the family and the unifier of the country. Sinai was referred to as a source of copper, turquoise and aquamarine mines. It was known during the era of the Old Kingdom as a source of copper and turquoise, especially in Wadi Al-Maghara where inscriptions bearing the names of the most important kings of these countries were found. Sinai then played an important role, as it was a mine of raw materials used by the ancient Egyptians in industry. (13) 2021 Sinai… Land, History, Customs and Traditions During the era of the Middle Kingdom, the Egyptians continued to exploit the area of mines in Sinai, but they moved to another site close to Wadi Al-Maghara, which is Serabit Al-Khadim, where they built a temple for the god Hathor and left hundreds of inscriptions bearing the names of their kings. Moreover, scientific and historic evidence proved that the Egyptians had lived in Sinai and reconstructed many areas in its north, middle and south lands. The Nabataeans extracted the turquoise from Wadi Al-Maghara and the copper from Wadi Al-Nusb in Sinai and left numerous rock inscriptions in the valleys of Sinai, such as “Wadi Umm Sidra” between Taba and the Negev, the Dafadef Plateau, and the Hajjaj Plateau between Catherine, Nuweiba and Dahab. Such inscriptions include memorial writings and several names. A commercial and religious center for the Nabateans in North Sinai was discovered, which was the path of the Holy Family's on its way to Egypt from Bethlehem to Hebron and then Beersheba at the coastal road northern Sinai. 2021 )14) Sinai… Land, History, Customs and Traditions Sinai was also one of the most important crossings during the first centuries of the Islamic expansion. In this vein, the Islamic expansion encouraged some Bedouins in the Arabian Peninsula to migrate to Sinai and settle there; which helped in spreading the religion of Islam among the dwellers. During the era of the Crusaders, Baldwin I; the Crusader ruler of Jerusalem constructed a fortified castle in "Ayla" on the coast of the Aqaba Gulf to be able to control the land route of the convoys between Egypt and the Levant. He also constructed another fortress on "Pharaoh's Island", thus enabling the Crusaders to oversee the Sinai Peninsula, which stirred cherished religious memories and feelings. In the Ayyubid era, Salah al-Din al-Ayyubi rebuilt and repaired the port of Al-Tur. In 1184, boats were reassembled and the port was reconstructed, as well as boats carrying goods arrived from Yemen. Afterwards, grains were regularly sent to the Hijaz, thus encouraging trade in the Red Sea. Salah Al-Din had also built his famous castle in Sinai on the “Pharaoh’s Island” and “Al-Gondi Castle” in Ras Sidr. He was also able to take advantage of the surrounding (15) 2021 Sinai… Land, History, Customs and Traditions environment in building the castle and found a hill from which the granite stones were cut and used in the construction. The Mamluk era is considered the beginning of the phase of stability in the Sinai Peninsula as a result of the cessation of the waves of Arab migration, the remarkable interest in the pilgrimage route to Mecca and Medina, and the change in the importance of Sinai as of the fourteenth century AD. After it was, since the Islamic expansion, a mere bridge crossed by the different tribes of the Hijaz and the Levant, on their way to the Nile Valley, it became a tribal refuge. As for the Ottomans, they took a keen interest in Sinai due to their awareness of its strategic and commercial importance, so the movement of trade between Egypt and the Levant gained popularity. This had an impact on the Sinai residents who transfer the commercials between the two countries. Due to its low cost and facility of transportation, the land route was the preferred for transporting goods, thus the state paid due attention to securing it. The French campaign had also shed light on the strategic and defense importance of Sinai and revived the idea of digging a canal between the Red and the Mediterranean Seas. In the era of Muhammad Ali's family, Muhammad Ali Pasha established the governorate of Arish within the administrative divisions that he made. A famous French scientist had also visited 2021 )16) Sinai… Land, History, Customs and Traditions Sinai and collected information on all its plants, presented the first scientific edition and published his journey in 1835 AD in the Geographical Society's Journal of Paris. Ibrahim Pasha, the son of Muhammad Ali, paid due attention to the road to Qatiya, Bir al-Abd, Masudiyah, Arish, Sheikh Zuweid and Rafah, so he restored wells along the road, such as wells of Qatiya, Bir al-Abd, Sheikh Zuweid, and others. During that period, many important reforms and services were carried out.

Load more