. JANUARY 2013 BACK ISSUE by Matt Moyer The Sinai, a gnarly sliver of land wedged between Africa and Asia, has long served as a bridge. It was a land bridge for the first humans that crossed from Africa to Asia and it was a metaphysical bridge between man and God when, it is believed, Moses climbed one of its tallest peaks and descended with the Ten Commandments. The Sinai of today hides its troubled past behind a glitzy veil. It is hard to believe that a generation ago this bustling tourist destination was known more for warfare than water sports. Here, along the shores of the Gulf of Aqaba, bronzed bodies lounge on beaches that in the 1970’s witnessed bloody battles between Israeli and Egyptian troops. Germans, Italians, Russians and, yes, Israelis, now flock to the Sinai's cobalt blue waters to explore reefs exploding with color and encounter the submerged ecosystem. The amount of skin, and how readily it is displayed is jarring when one realizes this is in the middle of the Muslim world. Tourist hotels, nick-knack shops and discos lay along Sharm El Sheikh’s promenade like the layers of the arid mountains muted by haze in the distance. It is perhaps completely lost on the visiting throngs that this place was once defined by conflict. Today it is a melting pot of East and West, where Jews, Christians, and Muslims share the land and its heritage. Even though there has been recent unrest, the Sinai, is still a place where cultures mix and commerce trumps conflict. TABA, EGYPT: A tourist wades in the tranquil waters of the Gulf of Aqaba along the Sinai coast as Saudi Arabia rises in the distance. NUWEIBA, EGYPT: A European woman sits on the beach with her Egyptian boyfriend and other Egyptian men near Nuweiba, Egypt. NUWEIBA, EGYPT:  Israeli tourists enjoy relaxing while vacationing at camp Ras Shitan during the Passover holiday near the city of Nuweiba in the Sinai, Egypt. Ras Shitan was attacked by a suicide bomber in 2004. MOUNT SINAI, EGYPT: A young bedouin man prays in the pre-dawn hours near the summit of Mount Sinai near St. Catherine, Egypt. NAMA BAY, EGYPT: Two Jordanian sisters sit along the beach in Nama Bay, Egypt as European tourists stroll past in the Sinai. The Sinai is known as a place where diverse cultures mix. DAHAB, EGYPT: A Mubarak era police officer stops the photographer from taking a pictures in Dahab, Egypt. SAINT CATHERINE, EGYPT: Archbishop Damianos, far left, speaks with another monk as bedouin tribal chief, Mohammed Oude, second from right, speaks with Salam Hussein. Hussein brought X-rays of his injured leg for the archbishop to look at. The bedouin work closely with the monks and the Monastery and will often come to the archbishop for help and guidance. SAINT CATHERINE, EGYPT:  A bedouin man prays outside the entrance of the Monastery of St. Catherine as other bedouins look on, in Saint Catherine Egypt. TABA, EGYPT: Two women from Russia take pictures of each other on a beach near the Taba Hilton. SHARM EL SHEIKH, EGYPT: Bedouin women make bread over an open fire. The bedouin live in a makeshift squatter camp near a garbage dump on the outskirts of Sharm El Sheikh. A seven year drought has forced the bedouin down from their traditional mountain homes. Discrimination by Egyptian business owners and operators in Sharm El Sheikh leave the Bedouin no jobs and little to no income. The Bedouin have resorted to sifting through the garbage thrown out by tourists to feed themselves and their livestock. SAINT CATHERINE, EGYPT: Members of the Mizena Bedouin tribe meet for an annual celebration in honor of their ancestors near St. Catherine, Egypt. The Bedouin visit with many of their friends and relatives, smoking the water pipe, drinking tea, and eating a feast all throughout the night. NUWEIBA, EGYPT: A group of Egyptians, many of whom work in the tourism industry, belly dance at a public beach on a day off in Nuweiba, Egypt. MOUNT SINAI, EGYPT: A bedouin boy guides a donkey from the summit of Mount Sinai after delivering supplies to shops along the stairs to the summit. TABA, EGYPT: A tourist does a headstand on a jetty in front of the Taba Hilton in the Sinai. The Taba Hilton was attacked by terrorists in 2004. The hotel is popular with Egyptians and Israelis. SAINT. CATHERINE, EGYPT: Nawamees stone structures are illuminated by moonlight in the desert between Nuweiba and St. Catherine, Egypt. Back to current issue