Al Arish Travel Guide

About The City Of Al Arish

Arish or el Arīsh is the capital and largest city (with 164,830 inhabitants as of 2012) 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 Zaraniq national park is on the eastern side of Arish.

The city is served by Al Arish International Airport. The construction of the northern coast highway in Egypt (North Sinai part) has finished in 2008 linking El-Qantarah at the Suez Canal in the west to the Gaza Strip border passing by Arish. The railway line from Cairo is also under reconstruction and it recently reached the “Ser and Qawarir zone” west of Arish.

This route was formerly part of the Palestine Railways 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 redistribute the high-density population in the Nile Delta, and it is expected that by accomplishing the transportation and irrigation projects, three million Egyptians will settle in North Sinai.