Taba Border Crossing

Taba Border Crossing

The Egyptian border terminal
Carries Pedestrians, Vehicles, Containers
Crosses Border between Egypt and Israel
Locale Egypt Taba, Egypt
Israel Eilat, Israel
Official name Taba Border Crossing
מעבר טאבה
معبر طابا
Maintained by Egypt Arab Republic of Egypt
Israel Israel Airports Authority
Characteristics
Total length 200 metres (Israeli side)
Width 45 metres (Israeli side)
History
Opened 26 April 1982
Statistics
Daily traffic 2,147 pedestrians in 2005
74 vehicles in 2005
Toll LE £75.00 (Inbound Egypt)
NIS ₪96.00 (Outbound Israel)

The Taba Border Crossing (Arabic: معبر طابا‎, Hebrew: מעבר טאבה‎) is an international border crossing between Taba, Egypt, and Eilat, Israel.

History

Opened on April 26, 1982 it is currently the only entry/exit point between the two countries that handles tourists. The site is at the bottom of Mount Tallul and was close to Raffi Nelson's Nelson Village and the Sonesta Hotel which both closed due to the handing over of the Sinai to Egyptian control in exchange for normalization of relations. Under terms of the deal, Israelis would be able to visit the Red Sea coast from Taba to Sharm el-Sheikh (and Saint Catherine's Monastery) visa free for visits up to fourteen days. In 1999, the terminal handled a record amount of 1,038,828 tourists and 89,422 vehicles.

The terminal is open 24 hours a day, every day of the year except for the holidays of Eid ul-Adha and Yom Kippur.

In February 2014, a coach taking tourists to Saint Catherine's Monastery in Sinai exploded in Taba shortly before crossing the border to Israel. Three South Korean nationals and one Egyptian national were killed, while 14 South Koreans were injured; the blast was blamed on terrorists.[1]

Israeli terminal

The Israeli border terminal was opened in September 1995 at a cost of US $3 million.

Services within the terminal

Transportation to and from the terminal

The Israeli border terminal can be reached from within Israel via Egged bus number 15 from Eilat's central bus station. Privately owned Israeli cars and rental cars may cross through the terminal. But rental cars from Israel may only stay in the confines of the Egyptian border terminal (this includes the parking lots of the Hilton Taba and Mövenpick Taba Resort) while privately owned Israeli cars may travel within the Sinai after a change of license plates, registration and the payment of a tax.

Passage fee

All travelers to Egypt must pay a border-crossing fee before leaving Israel. The border-crossing fee is NIS 100 (February 2013) per traveler. The fee is quoted in NIS and is updated once a year (on January 1) linked to the Consumer Price Index. It is also payable by credit card for an additional Service charge of 5 NIS.[2]

See also

Photographs

References

  1. ↑ "Sinai attacks: Deadly bombing hits Egypt tour bus". BBC NEWS. 16 February 2014.
  2. ↑ , Rates and Passage Fees

External links

Official

Coordinates: 29°29′28″N 34°54′12″E / 29.49111°N 34.90333°E