ʻArish or el-ʻArīsh is the capital and largest city of the North Sinai Governorate of Egypt, as well as the largest city on the Sinai Peninsula, lying on the Mediterranean coast 344 kilometres (214 mi) northeast of Cairo and 45 kilometres (28 mi) west of the Egypt–Gaza border.
Beach in the city of Arish
Arish in 1916
Staff of Friedrich Freiherr Kress von Kressenstein at el-ʻArīsh, 1916
Anti-aircraft guns of an Australian Light Horse regiment near the beach at 'Arish, during World War I.
The Sinai Peninsula, or simply Sinai, is a peninsula in Egypt, and the only part of the country located in Asia. It is between the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Red Sea to the south, and is a land bridge between Asia and Africa. Sinai has a land area of about 60,000 km2 (23,000 sq mi) and a population of approximately 600,000 people. Administratively, the vast majority of the area of the Sinai Peninsula is divided into two governorates: the South Sinai Governorate and the North Sinai Governorate. Three other governorates span the Suez Canal, crossing into African Egypt: Suez Governorate on the southern end of the Suez Canal, Ismailia Governorate in the center, and Port Said Governorate in the north.
Image from Gemini 11 spacecraft, featuring part of Egypt and the Sinai Peninsula in the foreground and the Levant in the background
St. Catherine's Monastery is the oldest working Christian monastery in the world and the most popular tourist attraction on the peninsula.
The wilderness of Sinai, 1862
Egypt-Israel border, looking north from the Eilat Mountains (2008)