Arish

El Arish العريش
Skyline of Arish, 1916
Flag
El Arish Location in Egypt
Coordinates: 31°07′55″N 33°48′12″E / 31.132072°N 33.803376°E / 31.132072; 33.803376Coordinates: 31°07′55″N 33°48′12″E / 31.132072°N 33.803376°E / 31.132072; 33.803376
Country	Egypt
Governorate	North Sinai
Elevation	32 m (105 ft)
Population (2012)
• Total	164,830
Time zone	EET (UTC+2)
Area code(s)	(+20) 68

Arish or El Arīsh (Arabic: العريش‎‎ El ʿArīš  Egyptian Arabic pronunciation: [elʕæˈɾiːʃ], Coptic: ϩⲣⲓⲛⲟⲕⲟⲣⲟⲩⲣⲁ Hrinokorura) is the capital and largest city (with 114,900 inhabitants as of 2002) of the Egyptian governorate of North Sinai, as well as the largest city on the entire Sinai Peninsula, lying on the Mediterranean coast of the Sinai peninsula, 344 kilometers (214 mi) northeast of Cairo. It borders the Gaza Strip and Israel.

Arish is distinguished by its clear blue water, widespread fruitful palmy wood on its coast, and its soft white sand. It has a marina, and many luxury hotels. The city also has some of the faculties of Suez Canal University.

Arish is by a big wadi, the Wadi Al Arish, which receives flash flood water from much of north and central Sinai. The Azzaraniq national park is on the eastern side of Arish.^[1]

History

Australian Light Horse camp beside the seaside at Arish, 1915–18

Staff of von Kressenstein at Arish, 1916

El Arish airfield, World War 2.

The city grew around a Bedouin settlement near the ancient Ptolemaic Dynasty outpost of Rhinocolura. In the Middle Ages, pilgrims misidentified the site as the Sukkot of the Bible. ʻArīsh means "palm huts" in Literary Arabic.

New fortifications were constructed at the original site by the Ottoman Empire in 1560. During the Napoleonic Wars, the French laid siege to the fort, which fell after 11 days on February 19, 1799. During World War I, the fort was destroyed by British bombers. It was later the location of the 45th Stationary Hospital which treated casualties of the Palestine campaign. The remains of those who died there were later moved to Kantara Cemetery.

Theodor Herzl, the founder of Zionism, proposed Arish as a Jewish homeland since neither the Sultan nor the Kaiser supported settlement in Palestine. In 1903, Joseph Chamberlain, the British colonial secretary, agreed to consider Arish, and Herzl commissioned the lawyer David Lloyd George a charter draft, but his application was turned down once an expedition, led by Leopold Kessler had returned and submitted a detailed report to Herzl, which outlined a proposal to divert some of the Nile waters to the area for the purpose of settlement.^[2]

On December 8, 1958, an air battle occurred between Egyptian and Israeli air forces over Arish.^[3]

Arish was under military occupation by Israel briefly in 1956 and again from 1967 to 1979. It was returned to Egypt in 1979 after the signing of the Egypt–Israel Peace Treaty.

Geography

Arish is in the northern Sinai Peninsula and is about 50 kilometres (31 mi) from the Rafah border crossing with the Gaza Strip.^[4]

Arish is the closest larger settlement to Lake Bardawil.

Transport

The city is served by Arish International Airport. The construction of the northern coast highway in Egypt (North Sinai part) was expected to be finished by 2008 linking El-Qantarah at Suez Canal (in the west) to Gaza strip border passing by Arish. The railway line from Cairo is also under re-construction and it recently reached the "Ser and Qawarir zone" west of Arish. This route was formerly part of the Palestine Railway built during World War I and World War II to connect Egypt with Turkey. The railway was cut during the formation of Israel. The North Sinai is a milestone for the Egyptian government planners to re-distribute the high-density population in the Delta, and it is expected that by accomplishing the transportation and irrigation projects, 3 million Egyptians will settle in North Sinai.

Climate

Köppen-Geiger climate classification system classifies its climate as hot desert (BWh), although prevailing Mediterranean winds moderate its temperatures, typical to the rest of the northern coast of Egypt.

The highest record temperature was 45 °C (113 °F), recorded on May 29, 2003, while the lowest record temperature was −6 °C (21 °F), recorded on January 8, 1994.^[5]

See also

• Sinai and Palestine Campaign

References

1. ↑ Arish. Britannica.com
2. ↑ Jerusalem: The Biography, page 380–381, Simon Sebag Montefiore, Weidenfeld & Nicholson, 2011. ISBN 978-0-297-85265-0
3. ↑ until return
4. ↑ "Palestinian airline resumes flights." Agence France-Presse with the Khaleej Times. 10 May 2012. Retrieved on 10 May 2012.
5. ↑ "Al Arish, Egypt". Voodoo Skies. 13 August 2013. 
6. ↑ "El Arish Climate Normals 1961–1990". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved June 25, 2015. 
7. ↑ "El Arish, Egypt: Climate, Global Warming, and Daylight Charts and Data". Climate Charts. Retrieved 8 July 2013. 

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