SHARM EL-SHEIKH, EGYPT (Port No. 28, 4/6/12)

SHARM EL SHEIKH

∙ GEOGRAPHY 101
       ∙ Land Mass/ Continent: Sharm el-Sheikh (aka “Sharm”) is located on the southern tip of the Sinai Peninsula, which is the part of Egypt that is in Asia, as opposed to Africa (did you know a country could be on two separate continents?)
          ∙ About Sharm el-Sheikh: Sharm is a city in the South Sinai Governorate, the least populated administrative division of Egypt, with a coastal town and mountainous interior
          ∙ Estimated Population: 35,000
          ∙ Distance From Home (San Diego, CA): 7,845 miles
          ∙ The Water That Got Us Here: The Red Sea; the Sinai Peninsula is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Red Sea to the south (with the Gulf of Suez to the southwest and the Gulf of Aqaba to the southeast)

∙ ITS PLACE IN HISTORY/INTERESTING FACTS

 VIEW FROM THE SUMMIT OF MOUNT SINAI

          ∙ Local time: 
          ∙ Remarkably, the Christian, Jewish and Islamic faiths all agree on something:  Mount Sinai is where Moses received the Ten Commandments – and this 7,497-foot historical mountain is located a 2.5- to 3-hour drive away from Sharm el-Sheikh

SAINT CATHERINE'S MONASTERY

          ∙ Saint Catherine’s Monastery lies at the foot of Mount Sinai in St. Catherine city and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site; it is the oldest working Christian monastery in the world
          ∙ Sharm is sometimes called the “City of Peace”, referring to the large number of international peace conferences held here
          ∙ Sharm was captured by Israel during the Suez Crisis of 1956 and restored to Egypt in 1957
          ∙ In the 1967 Six-Day War, it was recaptured by Israel until the Sinai Peninsula was restored to Egypt in 1982 after the Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty of 1979
              ∙ Sharm's major industry is foreign and domestic tourism
           ∙ In 2005, the resort was hit by the Sharm el-Sheikh terrorist attacks, suicide bombings at a market and Moevenpick and Ghazala Gardens Hotels, perpetrated by extremist Islamic organization, aided by Bedouins in the Sinai
                    ∙ The attacks were aimed at Egypt’s tourist industry
                    ∙ 88 people were killed (mostly Egyptians) and 200 wounded
                    ∙ In response, there were many arrests, and Egypt started erecting a separation barrier around the city, to cut it off from the nearby Bedouin community
          ∙ Foreign tourists have been a common target of attacks dating back to the 1990s, either because of jihad extremism or opposition to the Mubarak government – ironic, the "City of Peace" sits at the foot of Mount Sinai, where God said, above all, “Thou Shalt Not Kill” - and yet some among them kill those that they need the most (tourists)

∙ CLIMATE
          ∙ Sharm has a year-round dry and temperate climate
          ∙ Average low for April: 67.8
          ∙ Average high for April: 85.6

∙ HIGHLIGHTS/THINGS TO SEE
          ∙ Mount Sinai
          ∙ Saint Catherine’s Monastery
          ∙ Petra/Red Rock (actually in nearby Jordan)

PETRA/RED ROCK CITY