Arish العريش
File:Areesh city.png
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
Population
• Total	114,900
Time zone	EST (UTC+2)

Arish or el-Arīsh (Arabic: العريش‎ Al 'Arīš) is the capital and largest city (with 114,900 inhabitants as of 2002^[update]) of the Egyptian governorate of North Sinai, lying on the Mediterranean coast of the Sinai peninsula, 344 kilometers (214 mi) northeast of Cairo. Al `Arīsh 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.

El Arish is by a big valley called the Wadi el Arish, which receives flash flood water from much of north and central Sinai.

History[link]

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

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. Arīsh means "palm huts" in 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. The fort was destroyed by British bombers during World War I. It was also the location of the 45th Stationary Hospital which treated casualties of the WWI Palestine campaign. The remains of those who died there were alter moved to Kantara Cemetery.

Theodor Herzl, the founder of Zionism, proposed Cyprus or 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.^[1]

On December 8, 1958, an air battle occurred between Egyptian and Israeli air forces over Al Ariesh.^[2]

El Arish was under military occupation by Israel from 1967 to 1979 and briefly in 1956. It was returned to Egypt in 1979 after the Israeli-Egyptian peace treaty. An increasingly popular tourist destination, El Arish is situated at 31°07′N 33°48′E / 31.117°N 33.8°E / 31.117; 33.8.

Geography[link]

El Arish is in the northern Sinai Peninsula and is about 50 kilometres (31 mi) from the Rafah border crossing with the Gaza Strip.^[3]

Transport[link]

The city is served by El Arish International Airport. The construction of the northern coast high way in Egypt (North Sinai part) is expected to be finished by 2008 linking Qantara at Suez Canal (in the west) to Gaza strip border passing by Al Arish. The railway line from Cairo is also under re-construction and it recently reached the "Ser and Qawarir zone" west of Al '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.^{[citation needed]}

Climate[link]

See also[link]

• Sinai and Palestine Campaign
• El Arish, Queensland

References[link]

1. ^ Jerusalem: The Biography, page 380-381, Simon Sebag Montefiore, Weidenfeld & Nicholson, 2011. ISBN 978-0-297-85265-0
2. ^ until return
3. ^ "Palestinian airline resumes flights." Agence Presse-France with the Khaleej Times. 10 May 2012. Retrieved on 10 May 2012.
4. ^ "Weatherbase: Historical Weather for Al Arish, Egypt". Weatherbase. 2011. http://www.weatherbase.com/weather/weather.php3?s=63326&refer=wikipedia.  Retrieved on November 24, 2011.

• Detailed map of Egyptian towns and temples: http://unimaps.com/egypt/index.html
• Sinai military campaigns: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinai_and_Palestine_Campaign

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Arish

• Falling Rain Genomics, Inc. - Al `Arish, Egypt

v t e Egypt's largest cities by population Cairo Alexandria Giza Shubra El-Kheima Port Said Suez El-Mahalla El-Kubra Luxor Asyut Mansoura Tanta Faiyum Zagazig Ismaïlia Kafr el-Dawwar Aswan Qena Damanhour Minya Sohag Beni Suef Shibin El Kom Banha Edfu Talkha Kafr el-Sheikh Mallawi Dikirnis Bilbeis Arish