Apart from its religious significance, Sinai has been the "crossing land" for various civilizations in the past, on their journeys from Africa to Asia, or vice versa. It all started in the 16th Century BC when the soldiers of Pharaoh Tuthmosis III crossed the Red Sea and Sinai to conquer Syria and Palestine. Next came Alexander the Great, who crossed the peninsula on his way to Egypt in 332 BC. Also in Sinai was the battle of 48 BC over the Egyptian Throne between the Armies of Cleopatra and Ptolemy her brother. The Arab general Amr Ibn El Aas was next to cross Sinai in his Islamic conquest of Egypt and North Africa. In 1160 Salah El-Din, built the fortress of Qalat El-Guindi to protect Egypt from Invaders. 500 years later, the Ottomans crossed the peninsula to include Egypt in their vast empire.

The modern-day Sinai international border was originally laid down by the British prior to W.W.I, to prevent the Axis forces from using the Suez Canal. After the formation of Israel in 1948, a series of Arab Israeli wars broke out in and around the peninsula. During its battle for Independence in ’48 Israel made a first attempt at gaining the Sinai Peninsula, but failed. Another attempt was made in 1956 with the participation of the U.K. and France, but Egypt (with the help of the UN) miraculously held on. It was in 1967, when Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser closed of the Straight of Tiran, blocking Israeli access to The Red Sea, that the Israeli’s retaliated and succeeded in occupying the entire peninsula, which remained under their possession until the Egyptian Armed forces, under president Anwar El-Sadat, crossed the canal and the notorious Barleef Line, regaining control of Sinai, in the highly celebrated October victory of 1973. Five years later, Sadat was to sign the Camp David Peace Treaty with Began (Israeli Prime Minister) in Washington DC. According to the treaty, Israel was to withdraw from Sinai, and a UN MFO (Multinational Force & Observers) group was formed to ensure that Egypt and Israel comply with the agreement. MFO troops can be seen today at Na’ama Bay in Sharm El Sheikh.

In the past, Sinai was fairly deserted with a few Bedouins here and there. Today, it is changing and developing by the hour. Roads, hotels, diving centers, resorts, swimming pools, hospitals, desalination plants etc. The last fifteen years have seen an annual increase in the number of tourists each year, namely along the eastern coast, Taba, Basata, Nuweiba, Dahab and Sharm El-Sheikh.