Tīran Island, is an Egyptian-administered island that is also claimed by Saudi Arabia. It is located at the entrance of the Straits of Tiran, which separates the Red Sea from the Gulf of Aqaba. It has an area of about 80 km2 (30 sq mi). It is part of the Ras Muhammad National Park.
Tiran Island is of strategic significance in the area, as it forms the narrowest section of the Straits of Tiran, which is an important sea passage to the major ports of Aqaba in Jordan and Eilat in Israel. The island is currently only inhabited by military personnel from Egypt and the Multinational Force and Observers [MFO], although it has been inhabited during many centuries in the past. Chisholm Point is a cape of Tiran Island.
Some theologists claim that Tiran Island is the location of the parting of the Red Sea described in the Book of Exodus in the Torah. Israel briefly took over the island during the Suez Crisis and again between 1967 to 1982 following the events of the Six Day War. Procopius writes that there was an autonomous Jewish community on the island (then called Iotabe) until the sixth century AD, when it was conquered by the Byzantine Empire. This history figured in Israeli rhetoric during the Suez Crisis. Some sources also report that many beaches on the island are mined.
The Saudi–Egypt Causeway is a proposal to link Egypt and Saudi Arabia with a causeway and bridge. The entire project is expected to cost about 4 billion US dollars. The causeway would link Tabuk to the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh on the Sinai Peninsula and would pass through Tiran Island at the entrance of the Gulf of Aqaba.
The Project aims to create closer links between the two nations and will probably create plenty of jobs on both sides. This is part of a greater plan by the new Egyptian government that is thought to repopulate the Sinai peninsula.
Tiran Island is of strategic significance in the area, as it forms the narrowest section of the Straits of Tiran, which is an important sea passage to the major ports of Aqaba in Jordan and Eilat in Israel. The island is currently only inhabited by military personnel from Egypt and the Multinational Force and Observers [MFO], although it has been inhabited during many centuries in the past. Chisholm Point is a cape of Tiran Island.Some theologists claim that Tiran Island is the location of the parting of the Red Sea described in the Book of Exodus in the Torah. Israel briefly took over the island during the Suez Crisis and again between 1967 to 1982 following the events of the Six Day War. Procopius writes that there was an autonomous Jewish community on the island (then called Iotabe) until the sixth century AD, when it was conquered by the Byzantine Empire. This history figured in Israeli rhetoric during the Suez Crisis. Some sources also report that many beaches on the island are mined.
The Saudi–Egypt Causeway is a proposal to link Egypt and Saudi Arabia with a causeway and bridge. The entire project is expected to cost about 4 billion US dollars. The causeway would link Tabuk to the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh on the Sinai Peninsula and would pass through Tiran Island at the entrance of the Gulf of Aqaba.
The Project aims to create closer links between the two nations and will probably create plenty of jobs on both sides. This is part of a greater plan by the new Egyptian government that is thought to repopulate the Sinai peninsula.
