South Sinai Governorate

South Sinai Governorate
Governorate
Logo
South Sinai Governorate on the map of Egypt
Coordinates: 29°03′N 33°50′E / 29.05°N 33.83°ECoordinates: 29°03′N 33°50′E / 29.05°N 33.83°E
Country	Egypt
Seat	El Tor (capital)
Government
• Governor	Khaled Foudda Seddiq Mohamed [1]
Area
• Total	33,140 km^2 (12,800 sq mi)
Population (2014)
• Total	164,574
• Density	5.0/km^2 (13/sq mi)
Time zone	EET (UTC+2)
Website	South Sinai

South Sinai Governorate (Egyptian Arabic: محافظة جنوب سيناء‎‎ Muḥāfẓet Ganūb Sīnāʾ) is the least populated governorate of Egypt. It is located in the east of the country, encompassing the southern half of the Sinai Peninsula. Saint Catherine's Monastery, an Eastern Orthodox Church monastery and UNESCO World Heritage site of world renown, is located in central part of the governorate.

History

Sharm El Sheikh developed into a major tourist resort, but the industry has been severely affected in recent years due to to the threat of terrorism. In 2005, the resort was hit by terrorist attacks, which were perpetrated by an extremist Islamist organisation. 88 people were killed, the majority of them Egyptians, and over 200 were wounded by the attack, making it the deadliest terrorist action in the country's history (exceeding the Luxor massacre of 1997).^[2] In February 2014, a tourist bus was attacked in Taba, killing the Egyptian bus driver and three South Korean tourists.^[3] On October 31, 2015, the Russian plane Metrojet Flight 9268 took off from Sharm El Sheikh International Airport and was shot down en route to Pulkovo Airport, Saint Petersburg, Russia. All 217 passengers and seven crew members who were on board were killed.^[4] On October 14, 2016 twelve Egyptian troops were killed. ^{[5] [6]}

Demographics

According to population estimates from 2015 the majority of residents in the governorate live in urban areas, with an urbanization rate of 51.1%. Out of an estimated 167,426 people residing in the governorate, 85,502 people live in urban areas as opposed to only 81,924 in rural areas. ^[7] The Bedouin inhabit the Mount Sinai area. Due to poor accessibility, at times the orchards in the mountains have served to hide narcotics smugglers in the region.^[8]

Landmarks

Saint Catherine's Monastery

Saint Catherine's Monastery, an Eastern Orthodox Church monastery and UNESCO World Heritage site of world renown, is located in central part of the governorate, at the mouth of a gorge at the foot of Mount Sinai, in the city of Saint Catherine, Egypt. Built between 548 and 565, the monastery is one of the oldest working Christian monasteries in the world.^[9] The site contains the world's oldest continually operating library, possessing many unique books including the Syriac Sinaiticus and, until 1859, the Codex Sinaiticus.^[10][11]

Raithu Monastery is situated in El Tor. It was built on a site where some 40 monks were massacred in the 4th or 5th century.^[12]

Cities and towns

• Dahab
• El Tor
• Nuweiba
• Saint Catherine
• Sharm El Sheikh
• Taba

Sites

• Wadi Mukattab
• Wadi Feiran

References

1. "Egypt Government's Governorates Directory". Retrieved 17 October 2016.
2. "Bombers kill 88 at Egyptian resort". The Guardian. 23 July 2005. Retrieved 7 November 2016.
3. "Egypt warning: Britons told to avoid South Sinai". BBC. 19 February 2014. Retrieved 7 November 2016.
4. Sawer, Patrick (31 October 2015). "Russian airliner crashes in Egypt's Sinai peninsula with 219 or 224 people on board". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 31 October 2015.
5. Hughes, Clyde (October 14, 2016). "Sinai Checkpoint Attack Kills 12 Egyptian Troops". Newsmax. Retrieved 17 October 2016.
6. SWEILAM,, Ashraf (October 14, 2016). "Militant attack kills 12 Egyptian soldiers in Sinai". AP. Retrieved 17 October 2016.
7. "Population Estimates By Sex & Governorate 1/1/2015" (PDF). CAPMAS. Retrieved 23 October 2016.
8. Marx, Emanuel (30 June 2013). Bedouin of Mount Sinai: An Anthropological Study of their Political Economy. Berghahn Books. p. 74. ISBN 978-0-85745-932-9.
9. "Saint Catherine Area". UNESCO.
10. Schrope, Mark (1 June 2015). "Medicine's Hidden Roots in an Ancient Manuscript". NY Times. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
11. Jules Leroy; Peter Collin (2004). Monks and Monasteries of the Near East. Gorgias Press LLC. pp. 93–94. ISBN 978-1-59333-276-1.
12. El-Din, Morsi Saad; Taher, Ayman; Romano, Luciano (1 February 1998). Sinai: The Site & the History : Essays. NYU Press. p. 114. ISBN 978-0-8147-2203-9.

External links

• South Sinai Governorate Official website