North Sinai archaeological Sites Zone

This tentative property's selling point is still unclear and will not likely be pursued as an active nomination in the coming years.

However, I wanted to share this travel log to preserve fragments of memory during our weeklong mission between El-Arish and Rafah, at the border between Sinai, Egypt and the Gaza Strip, in November 2023. The photo shows El-Arish Castle ruins, in a condition that would later still be improved. 

In the six years I lived in Egypt, I never imagined I would be able to visit any one of the North Sinai archaeological sites. The whole North Sinai Governorate is labeled a "no-go zone" due to security concerns. But strange circumstances last year allowed me and my team to be given special permit to stay in El-Arish City. 

On another note, El-Arish is one of the stops of the venerated Holy Family Trail, i.e., when Jesus, Mary and Joseph left Palestine to escape King Herod. They traveled from Bethlehem to Gaza, entered Egypt through El-Arish, then went to Cairo/Nile Delta, and all the way to Assyut in the south.