The Sinai desert as an alternative reality

Sinai Desert. This is the name of the part of the Sahara that is located on the Sinai Peninsula and belongs, for the most part, to Egypt.

My introduction to the area first took place in 2018, when I flew to Egypt to swim in the sea in winter on a regular package tour and decided to go to the famous St. Catherine’s Monastery.

Since the monastery is located in the central part of the peninsula, in the mountains, and Sharm el Sheikh on the southern coast, I had a long road through the desert on an old, traditional in the Middle East minibus toyota.

I must say that I did not regret it one bit. Even from the window of the bus, the surrounding scenery is breathtakingly beautiful.

These lands were developed and settled by the ancient Egyptians. Then this territory was controlled by the Ottoman Empire, and in 1906 it was taken over by Great Britain as part of Egypt.

In 1948, after the invasion of Israel by the Egyptian army, a systematic transfer of territory from Israel to Egypt began. At times (during the Suez Crisis) the area was controlled by France and Great Britain.

In 1979, after the signing of the peace treaty between Israel and Egypt, a gradual transfer of control from the former to the latter began. Most of the Israeli bases and settlements were dismantled, and the rest were taken over by Egypt (for example, Ophira, which is now called Sharm). In 1982, Israel finally withdrew from Sinai and transferred the land to Egyptian control.

It’s a very harsh land. What to us is an attraction, to the locals it’s an ordinary landscape. And there’s no water, no food. Just sunshine all day long.

There are not many roads on the peninsula. Moreover, some of them were built by Israelis. Therefore, the asphalt here in some places is almost 50 years old, but it has been preserved well enough, the climate allows it.

Now traveling here is not as easy as it used to be. Armed terrorists are hiding in the central and northern part of the peninsula, who carry out attacks, including attacks on tourist transportation. For this reason, now and not for all transportation tickets are sold to guests of the country. For example, on the bus from Taba to Cairo, which runs through the central part, tickets can be bought only by trickery, asking a local resident.

On the other hand, Egypt is a little more than completely filled with tourists, who, having heard the stories of hotel guides are sometimes afraid to look outside the hotel, I’m not talking about going to wheel around the peninsula, and therefore, they are not very disappointed.

But for all that, it’s incredibly beautiful here. The landscapes are sometimes simply cosmic. Looking at these mountains, millions of tons of sand of different colors around, you can’t help but think about the frailty of human existence. We are like a speck of dust in this kingdom of endless sands.

The desert turns out to be not so deserted. Bedouin settlements can be seen here and there. Sometimes there are groups of tourists who are entertained by quad bikes or camels. But even they can’t look that far off the beaten track.

The places here are very hot. In the summer, temperatures easily exceed 41º during the day. But if you go to the mountains, you can even catch snow. We managed to get caught in rain and fine snow, but that did not spoil our impressions of the trip.

Naturally, as everywhere else, to explore this area in detail, the ideal option would be to rent a car and set out on your own to conquer the desert. I think this will be possible in the near future, though who knows.

For now, you have to use the services of local drivers and carriers. But even here there is a plus: you do not care about traffic and you can fully glue your nose to the glass and look at the beauty passing by outside the window, occasionally asking to stop to get out and walk around the neighborhood.

A policeman is bored on the bus with us. His job is to guard tourists on long journeys, but I don’t see much use for him. All he has on him is a gun. One man against a group of terrorists? I sincerely doubt he’ll even try to interfere….. So it’s more of a tick box.

It is much more important to have a first aid kit and water. Anything can happen on the road, even a trivial car breakdown. It is not close to the nearest civilization.

The locals bring their own, special flavor to the area.

In any case, Sinai is worthy of admiration! It is a very beautiful area and not to drive here is to lose a lot! Therefore, if you will be in Egypt, for example in Sharm el Sheikh or Dahab, do not be lazy to walk in the desert, even as part of a tour!