Peninsula, northeastern Egypt. Located between the Gulfs of Suez and Aqaba at the northern end of the Red Sea, it covers some 23,500 sq mi (61,000 sq km). Its southern region is mountainous and includes Mount Sinai, while its northern two-thirds is an arid plateau known as the Sinai Desert. Inhabited since prehistoric times, it is famous as the purported route of the Israelite Exodus from Egypt.
For centuries its northern coast was the main trade route between Egypt and Palestine. From the 2nd century &AD; until the rise of Islam in the 7th century, it was part of the Roman Empire and its successor, the Byzantine Empire. It was ruled by various Islamic dynasties until the 16th century, when it became part of the Ottoman Empire. Turned over to Egypt at the end of World War I, in 1918, it was the scene of heavy fighting during the Suez Crisis (1956), the Six-Day War (1967), and the Yom Kippur War (1973); it was occupied by Israel (1967–82) and then was returned to Egypt. &See; Arab-Israeli wars.
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