Day 20 - Wednesday, April 24 - Egypt Nuweiba

The night boat from Aqaba in Jordan to Nuweiba in Egypt had been checked out for us and would leave every evening at 8 a.m. and arrive at noon. This would save time because we would not have to cross three border crossings. 

In reality the ticket said 10 in the evening, and even more in reality the departure was only in the middle of the night, and the arrival after 4 in the morning. We had a long delay at customs, so it was only after 6 o'clock in the morning that we could get into the cab we had arranged. The advantage was that we could take some pictures of our main subject right before we arrived at the hotel. Very nice people there, we slept in and in the early afternoon our breakfast was ready. 

Because of "the situation," the road through the gorge and almost all of the Sinai Peninsula is closed, but this place completely lives up to the description in Exodus chapter 14, as in verse 3 "closed in" and Josephus Flavius' description that the Israelites were ‘confined between inaccessible cliffs and the sea.’ (Jewish Antiquities, II, 324 [xv, 3]) and could not go anywhere. 

In the afternoon we saw the so-called pillar of Solomon in Nuweiba, there is no ancient lettering (anymore) on it, but it is said to be an identical pillar to the one on the other side (see Day 14 on April 18). 

We also went to the beach because it is possible that from here the Israelites crossed over to Midian, that is, the part of Saudi Arabia that lies across the street. 

We checked a few facts: 
(1) There is an opening in the mountain range only here, a sort of carved triangle, making an accessible gorge through which they may have passed after being told by YHVH to go south, and thus ended up here. There is no alternative to get to the Red Sea in this area. Also, the Bible account in Exodus 14:3 says that they were "closed in" by the wilderness, and here that is correct, because further south the beach "dead ends" because the mountain range continues down to the water. And to the north there is some space between the mountain range and the water, but not much, and it is clear from the shells and salt layers that the water was higher so many years ago than it is today. 

(2) Because this is the only gorge here, when it rains a lot of water flows through it and drains to the sea. As in Ecuador, we can see that a lot of earth and mud is carried through that, so that also flows into the sea and ends up on the sea floor. And that would be a logical explanation why only here, from the beach of Nuweiba, the seabed gradually deepens instead of at the rest of the Red Sea on this side going down too steeply to be accessible on foot, because the Israelites then walked across here with dry feet. 

It is interesting to know that even if there not had been all this water, there still would not have been any other place where you could cross this arm of the Red Sea then only here because of it's gradual descent of about 10.5 percent (6 degrees). Also at the other side it is sufficiently gradual to be able to go up, about 13 percent (7.4 degrees). As a comparison, for a wheelchair the maximum that is advised is 12.5 percent (7.125 degrees).

Videos: 
(1) The so-called Pillar of Solomon with this part of the Red Sea in the background and behind it Midian in present-day Saudi Arabia. (2) If you have Pharaoh's armies behind you here there is humanly no escape, with the sea in front of you and the mountains to the south almost down to the water. At the end you see the gorge in the mountains. (3) The wide gorge, first in the early morning sun and then in the evening sun, which is the only access from the desert or wilderness to get to this great plain. (4) This video shows that there was room enough here for a large group of people, and you can also see that the mud water flows from the mountain passage to the sea, under the bridge we are standing on, giving you a gentle descent into the sea instead of a steep one. 

Photos: 
(1) The night boat from Aqaba to Nuweiba, photo taken around 4 am. (2) The layout of the boat so everyone can watch soccer or something. (3) The pillar or column of Solomon. The one on the other side is said to have been thrown into the sea. (4-5) In the distance the entrance to Nuweiba through the mountains, and in the foreground the salt on the earth indicating that the water used to come further than it does now. (6) The gorge around ten o'clock in the morning. (7) Clearly this beach, this great plain, is enclosed by the mountains, even more so when the water used to be higher.