Page 45 - Tourism regions

This is not just a destination for people wanting a suntan and a

week at the beach. It is also a place where you can indulge in

history.

There is ample evidence that the area had its place in history. It

includes a famous group of the world’s oldest monasteries west of

Zafarana on the road to Kuraymat.

The most celebrated ones are those of St. Anthony (c. 251 -356),

the founding father of monasticism, and St. Paul, which were

built more than 16 centuries ago.

Rituals followed inside the monasteries today have hardly

changed in hundreds of years.

A group of historians also believe the northern part of the Mount

of Galala El Bahareya was the point from which Moses and the

Israelites crossed in their exodus from Egypt’s mainland into the

Sinai Peninsula. They cite in their claims the fact that the bottom

of the Gulf of Suez at this point is elevated.

Egyptian Tourism Regions Page 44