Hashem el-Tarif

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Hashem el-Tarif is a mountain located in north-east Sinai in Egypt, close to the border of modern Israel. According to Google Earth, wherein the name of the mountain is rendered as "Gebel Khashm el Tarif," the coordinates are near 29°40'9.18"N and 34°38'0.28"E.

The James Cameron-produced History Channel special, The Exodus Decoded, suggests that this location, now in a military zone, is the best candidate for the Biblical Mount Sinai. Not only does it correspond to Biblical geographical clues, but it possesses three important traits described in Exodus:

1. a cleft that overlooks a natural amphitheatre
2. evidence of an ancient spring
3. a plateau below large enough to hold several hundred thousand people and containing enough foliage to sustain large flocks.

If Hashem el Tarif is the "Mount of God", artifacts of the great Israelite encampment may be found in the plateau. (Permission for archeological excavation must be granted by the Egyptian government, which closely guards and often denies access to any locations which may be related to Biblical history.)