Nekhel

Nekhel (Arabic

Arabic language

Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...

 نِخِل is the capital of Nekhel Municipality of North Sinai Governorate, Sinai, Egypt

Egypt

Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...

. It is located in the heart of Sinai Peninsula along the southern border of North Sinai Governorate with South Sinai Governorate. It is located at the skirts of El Tih Mountains and foothills at an elevation of 420.6 m.
Coordinates of the city is 29°54'N; 33°45'E.
Nekhel city is divided into 10 Merkazs: Ras Naqb, Contilla, Sedr Elhitan, Tamd, Bir Grid, Khafga, Boruk, Netila, Ein Twibah and Assalam. In addition to 49 villages.

History

Pharaonic Era
Nekhel was always part of the Egyptian Empire throughout history and it was part of the province of "Du Mafkat" in Ancient Egypt

Ancient Egypt

Ancient Egypt was an ancient civilization of Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. Egyptian civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh...

. Nekhel was the ancient capital of the entire Sinai province of Egypt, thanks to its outstanding strategic location at the exact center of the peninsula. In the 16th century BC, the Egyptian Pharaohs built the way of Shur across Sinai to Beersheba

Beersheba

Beersheba is the largest city in the Negev desert of southern Israel. Often referred to as the "Capital of the Negev", it is the seventh-largest city in Israel with a population of 194,300....

 and on to Jerusalem. The region provided the Egyptian Empire with minerals, turquoise, gold and copper, and well-preserved ruins of mines and temples are excavated there.

Islamic Era
Being located on the new Hajj

Hajj

The Hajj is the pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia. It is one of the largest pilgrimages in the world, and is the fifth pillar of Islam, a religious duty that must be carried out at least once in their lifetime by every able-bodied Muslim who can afford to do so...

 Route, Nekhel gained additional significance. In addition to its previous role as a strategic fort capital of Sinai. Hence, the city became a main rest and trade destination for Muslims who passed through the Hajj Route during Hajj season from entire Africa

Africa

Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...

 and Egypt

Egypt

Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...

 towards Mecca for pilgrimage.

Ayubi and Memluki Era
During Islamic rule of Ayubid Caliphate and Mamluks in turn. Several Sultans built forts and castles in Nekhel to defend Egypt from Crusades

Crusades

The Crusades were a series of religious wars, blessed by the Pope and the Catholic Church with the main goal of restoring Christian access to the holy places in and near Jerusalem...

 of Middle East

Middle East

The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...

 and Red Sea

Red Sea

The Red Sea is a seawater inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. The connection to the ocean is in the south through the Bab el Mandeb strait and the Gulf of Aden. In the north, there is the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and the Gulf of Suez...

. Nekhel played a significant role as a influential military base for the Egyptian Army

Egyptian Army

The Egyptian Army is the largest service branch within the Egyptian Armed Forces and holds power in the current Egyptian government. It is estimated to number around 379,000, in addition to 479,000 reservists for a total of 858,000 strong. The modern army was created in the 1820s, and during the...

 during Middle Ages

Middle Ages

The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...

 in defeating Crusades and freeing numerous provinces of the Islamic Caliphate.

Geography and climate

The mountain ranges of El Tih look at the city from different directions, with several valleys leading from the Mediterranean in the north, the Red Sea

Red Sea

The Red Sea is a seawater inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. The connection to the ocean is in the south through the Bab el Mandeb strait and the Gulf of Aden. In the north, there is the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and the Gulf of Suez...

 and Suez Gulf to the city and the mountains in all directions. The altitude of the city is about 420.6m above the sea level, however nearby El Tih mountains are of higher elevation. Therefore, nearby foothills and mountains result in a continental climate. The summer days are quite hot reaching 40 C°, yet with cool nights. While excellent spring and autumn take place. For winter, days and nights get chilly cold, reaching -9 C° and even harsher freeze on the nearby mountains. Nekhel is one of the coldest cities in Egypt along with other Egyptian Mediterranean cities and the mountainous provinces of Sinai. Snowfalls in Nekhel are not regular although the sub-zero temperatures are always common in winters and autumns. But since precipitation is not high, the city doesn't get high snowfalls. In spite of that, rain and snow occur in winter months December, January and February. In addition to autumn and spring.

Climate

Nekhel City lies at the foot of El Tih Plateau Region which is a highlands province. The city and the towns themselves are at an elevation of 420.6 meters, which makes it a pleasant retreat in the hot summer months. Winters, on the other hand, are harshly cold, days could be sunny, despite that, at nights it does get sub-zero temperatures and -9 C° is reached making it extremely important to heat buildings and public places. Some trekking groups however prefer especially the winter season as they find it more interesting and lovely to hike and climb in these conditions. GRecently there have been less rains and snows and, although there are still many permanent water sources in the mountains, the area is drying.

The city also puts a great pressure on the water resources, as ground water in the valley is from the mountains. There is work under way to connect the city to the Nile

Nile

The Nile is a major north-flowing river in North Africa, generally regarded as the longest river in the world. It is long. It runs through the ten countries of Sudan, South Sudan, Burundi, Rwanda, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania, Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda and Egypt.The Nile has two major...

 via a pipe line.

Religion

Nekhel was an important destination on the Hajj Route for Muslims from whole Africa to Mecca and Medina cities.

Culture and Population

The traditional people of the area are Bedouins whom culture is very similar to other Bedouin groups. Nekhel Bedouin tribes practice cattle breeding and agriculture which depends on rain and partially common snow. There are also Egyptians

Egyptians

Egyptians are nation an ethnic group made up of Mediterranean North Africans, the indigenous people of Egypt.Egyptian identity is closely tied to geography. The population of Egypt is concentrated in the lower Nile Valley, the small strip of cultivable land stretching from the First Cataract to...

 who live there and work in governmental sectors and public services.
The chilly cold weather of the city, specifically in winter and autumn's nights, made people used to stay at their heated homes early, and keen on growing plants which produce drinkable liquids to warm themselves. The city could be a good skiing resort in Egypt beside Saint Katherine City, but there are no skiing

Skiing

Skiing is a recreational activity using skis as equipment for traveling over snow. Skis are used in conjunction with boots that connect to the ski with use of a binding....

 resorts established yet. There is no gondola lift

Gondola lift

A gondola lift is a type of aerial lift, normally called a cable car, which is supported and propelled by cables from above. It consists of a loop of steel cable that is strung between two stations, sometimes over intermediate supporting towers. The cable is driven by a bullwheel in a terminal,...

s and there is lack of snowboarding

Snowboarding

Snowboarding is a sport that involves descending a slope that is covered with snow on a snowboard attached to a rider's feet using a special boot set onto mounted binding. The development of snowboarding was inspired by skateboarding, sledding, surfing and skiing. It was developed in the U.S.A...

 shopes and skiing facilities.
Nekhel citizens are skilled gardeners and craftsmen who have been planting gardens, building houses, store rooms, water dams and other structures in the mountains for centuries.

The techniques used are very similar to the Byzantine

Byzantine

Byzantine usually refers to the Roman Empire during the Middle Ages.Byzantine may also refer to:* A citizen of the Byzantine Empire, or native Greek during the Middle Ages...

 methods, partly because of the natural environment. They grow vegetables and fruit in stone walled gardens called bustan or karm, and mastered grafting where a branch of a better yielding low land variety is planted on a more resistant but low yielding mountain variety.
Bedouin houses are simple, small stone structures with cane roofing, either incorporated in the garden wall, or standing alone a bit further up from the wadi floor, away from the devastating flash floods that sweep through after occasional heavy rains. Houses are often built next to huge boulders; natural cracks and holes are used as shelves and candle holders.
Smaller rock shelters and store rooms are constructed under boulders and in walled up caves and are found everywhere in the mountainous area.
You can see ancient leopard traps in many places. A goat was placed in as a bait, and the entrance was slammed closed with a big rock when the leopard entered. There are no more leopards left in Sinai, the last was spotted in the 1980s.
In many places you can see big boulders with oval marks engraved on the surface. They are marriage proposal rocks, where a lover drew a line around his foot on the rock face next to his lover's foot print. If the two marks are encircled, their wish was granted and they got married.
Wishing Rocks are boulders, usually a short distance from the main paths, with a flat top: if you throw a pebble and it stays on the top, your wish will come true.
According to governmental plans, the population of the city is expected to increase. The increasing numbers of Egyptians living there will succeed in accomplishing that developmental national plan. Most of Nekhel's population is formed of Bedouins while the rest are Egyptians.

Agriculture

Agriculture in Nekhel depends mainly on water wells which are found basically in Contilla, Tamd, Bir Grid and Khafga. Additionally, rain and snow help on planting crops such as wheat

Wheat

Wheat is a cereal grain, originally from the Levant region of the Near East, but now cultivated worldwide. In 2007 world production of wheat was 607 million tons, making it the third most-produced cereal after maize and rice...

, barley

Barley

Barley is a major cereal grain, a member of the grass family. It serves as a major animal fodder, as a base malt for beer and certain distilled beverages, and as a component of various health foods...

 and corn

Maize

Maize known in many English-speaking countries as corn or mielie/mealie, is a grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The leafy stalk produces ears which contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable...

. Variety of species of plants and crops grow in Nekhel. Mediterranean crops are the main agricultural products. Fruits include apple

Apple

The apple is the pomaceous fruit of the apple tree, species Malus domestica in the rose family . It is one of the most widely cultivated tree fruits, and the most widely known of the many members of genus Malus that are used by humans. Apple grow on small, deciduous trees that blossom in the spring...

, almond

Almond

The almond , is a species of tree native to the Middle East and South Asia. Almond is also the name of the edible and widely cultivated seed of this tree...

, pear

Pear

The pear is any of several tree species of genus Pyrus and also the name of the pomaceous fruit of these trees. Several species of pear are valued by humans for their edible fruit, but the fruit of other species is small, hard, and astringent....

, apricot

Apricot

The apricot, Prunus armeniaca, is a species of Prunus, classified with the plum in the subgenus Prunus. The native range is somewhat uncertain due to its extensive prehistoric cultivation.- Description :...

, peach

Peach

The peach tree is a deciduous tree growing to tall and 6 in. in diameter, belonging to the subfamily Prunoideae of the family Rosaceae. It bears an edible juicy fruit called a peach...

, pistachio

Pistachio

The pistachio, Pistacia vera in the Anacardiaceae family, is a small tree originally from Persia , which now can also be found in regions of Syria, Lebanon, Turkey, Greece, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, India, Pakistan, Egypt, Sicily and possibly Afghanistan , as well as in the United States,...

, dates and grapes. Wild walnut

Walnut

Juglans is a plant genus of the family Juglandaceae, the seeds of which are known as walnuts. They are deciduous trees, 10–40 meters tall , with pinnate leaves 200–900 millimetres long , with 5–25 leaflets; the shoots have chambered pith, a character shared with the wingnuts , but not the hickories...

, mulbery and fig

Ficus

Ficus is a genus of about 850 species of woody trees, shrubs, vines, epiphytes, and hemiepiphyte in the family Moraceae. Collectively known as fig trees or figs, they are native throughout the tropics with a few species extending into the semi-warm temperate zone. The Common Fig Ficus is a genus of...

 are gown in wild at the eastern portions of the city who get higher precipitation. Like other Mediterranean, Egyptian and North Africa

North Africa

North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, linked by the Sahara to Sub-Saharan Africa. Geopolitically, the United Nations definition of Northern Africa includes eight countries or territories; Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, South Sudan, Sudan, Tunisia, and...

n cities, olives are very important in Nekhel, found in many locations.
The gardens are usually built in the wadi floors in the main water course, and are encircled by massive stone walls. These walls have to withstand the regular flash floods, retain the soil - thus called retaining wall - and protect the garden from animals. Water wells are either built in the garden or a number of gardens have one but these wells freeze in winter and sometimes in spring and autumn. Today usually generators pump the water, but you can still see many shadoofs. Water is often found at higher elevations, either in natural springs or in wells made at dykes called jidda. The Bedouin built small dams and closed off canyons to make reservoirs. In either case water is chanelled to small rock pools called birka, from where it was available for irrigation. Water was flown in narrow conduits made of flat rocks sometimes for kilometers -they are still visible but today gardens rely on plastic pipes (khartoom).

Nature

The city of Nekhel and the enrite Central Sinai Region fall within the region of El Tih Plateau.
It is a unique high altitude eco-system with many endemic and rare species. Some of the species are endangered, but there are many wild animals, birds, flowers to see. There are many Sinai Agamas, foxes, rock Hyraxes. Rock Hyraxes are frequenting gardens, and there is a wide range of migrating and resident birds from Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

. Also, there is a large number of feral donkeys in the mountains who migrate to the region and lower lying areas (reportedly as far as El Tur) in the winter and go back to graze for the more plentiful summer. Many of them belong to families and are stamped with marks. However, they put a big pressure on the eco-system.

One of the principal goals of the Protectorate is to preserve the bio-diversity of the fragile eco-system, with an emphasis on the Nubian Ibex and the wild medicinal and aromatic plants.

Rain and Snow are the best source of water, thus releasing water at a steady pace, replenishing the underwater catchment areas better. Water from rains flows down fast in the barren mountains, which may cause flash-floods and less water remains.

The views from El Tih foothills are spectacular, and there are many other natural sights in the wadi system. There are springs, creeks, water pools, narrow canyons, steep wadis with huge boulders, amazing rock formations, barren plains with islands of lush vegetation. On the top of the mountains there are many interconnected basins with a unique high altitude ecosystem.

Places of interest

Nekhel is a great historical place with archeological landscapes and monuments in addition to pretty nature.
Several Pharaohnic archeological sites are expected to be found nearby. The main attractions of the city are:

• "Nekhel Castle" of the Circassian Mamluki sultan Al-Ashraf Qansuh al-Ghawri
  Al-Ashraf Qansuh al-Ghawri
  Al-Ashraf Qansuh al-Ghawri was the second last of the Mamluk Sultans. One of the last of the Burji dynasty, he reigned from 1501 to 1516.On the disappearance of Sultan Al-Adil Sayf ad-Din Tuman bay I, it was not till after some days that the choice of the Emirs and Mamluks fell upon Al-Ashraf...
  
  .
• Fountainheads of Arish Valley which runs from the tops El Tih mountains and foothills.
• Old Hajj Route.
• Al-Ashraf Qansuh al-Ghawri Carved Rock.
• Metla Corridor.
• Tih Mountains.

External links

• http://www.woeurope.eu/Egypt/Nekhel.htm
• http://www.weatherreports.com/Nekhel,_Egypt?units=c