Information about St. Katherine and the Sinai High Mountain Region: www.st-katherine.net
Mountains, desert and sea... the Sinai has much more to offer than most people think. The high mountain region, with its religious and historical importance, orchard gardening tradition and unique nature, is like no other place in the World. The desert is just as beautiful as any in the Middle East and North Africa and you will find an amazing variety of different landscapes within a small area: a maze of long rocky wadis, fine sand deserts and dunes, surrealistic rock formations and ranges, canyons and oases. Bedouin culture still holds strong and here 4x4s still haven't pushed out the traditional camel work. The coral reefs of the Gulf of Aqaba are rated internationally as some of the best and a number of coastal protectorates, with their different eco systems, offer quiet get aways from the resort towns.
The capital of the Governorate of South Sinai is El Tur (1), although the biggest and most developed city is Sharm el Sheikh (2). Another popular destination is Dahab (3), a smaller and more laid back town, attracting mostly the independent traveler. In Nuweiba (4), the gateway to Jordan, and further north along the road until Taba (5), there are many quiet and laid-back camps offering simple huts right on the beach. The road beyond Taba leads to the only border crossing to Israel. In the center of the mountainous interior is the town of St. Katherine (6), famous for Mt. Sinai and the Monastery of St. Katherine. Wadi Feiran (7) and Serabit el Khadim (8) are smaller settlements with important historical and archeological sites. The coastal town of Abu Zenima (9) is a small place with a few shops and cafeterias from where transport can be organized to Serabit el Khadim. Ras Sudr (10), further to the north, is a sea-side destination popular with people from Cairo. To Suez and Cairo the road connects via a tunnel (11) under the Suez canal, and from here there is also a road going to North Sinai, and another, the ancient caravan route of pilgrims from Cairo to Mecca, cuttingacross the peninsula via the interior at Nakhla (12) and connecting to the Gulf of Aqaba.
The aim of this website is to promote the South Sinai region and responsible tourism,
to draw attention to environmental issues and to provide accurate, impartial and practical information for visitors.
Your feedback, suggestions, critisism are welcome, we'll be happy to hear from you.
This is the most complete work available about the region, with descriptions, almost 400 color photos, over 60 maps and relevant information so you can plan a trip and discover Sinai for yourself.
Although South Sinai is a popular holiday destination the interior is not very well known. It is, however, a world class trekking country. This book, despite describing only some of the highlights, is the first trekking guide to South Sinai as such. It contains 8 treks from 6 different regions, 17 maps with GPS coordinates, trek images, index of places in English and Arabic and a Bedouin-Arabic glossary.
This concise book gives background info on the unique orchard farming tradition which lives on from Byzantine times; practical info for visitors; two case studies about simple sustainable development models; a map of the region with a list of gardens; and a gallery of 40 full-page images with rare glimpses of snow, spring, gardens and Bedouin life.
· See sample pages online Royalties from the sale of this book are automatically transferred to the South Sinai Foundation and are used in full to support gardeners to improve their gardens.
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