Pharaoh's Island

The island sits a few hundred metres offshore south of Taba, a bare rock ridge with two summits, and it has been fortified because it controls the head of the gulf. The crusaders reached the head of the gulf in 1116, and medieval Muslim sources say they later fortified the island and that Saladin took it in 1170 and rebuilt it, adding towers, cisterns, storerooms and a mill; historians still debate the crusader phase, since no trace of it has been found. What stands now is largely his work: curtain walls following the ridge, round and square towers, and a system for collecting rainwater, since there is no spring. There is also evidence of much earlier use of the anchorage. The reef around the island is protected and the snorkelling is very good, which for many visitors is the better half of the trip.

History

Several scholars, among them Beno Rothenberg in 1967 and Avner Raban in 1997, have argued that the island was the biblical port of Ezion-Geber. Midianite and Negev pottery found here dates the oldest finds to the early Iron Age, which suggests a local population in the Ramesside period, while the casemate wall with towers that rings the island at shore level, harbour included, has not yet been dated. The crusaders reached the head of the Gulf of Aqaba in 1116 without settling there, and historians disagree over the medieval Muslim accounts of a crusader castle built here in the early 1160s and taken and refortified by Saladin in December 1170: Adrian Boas finds no evidence for either, Denys Pringle thinks them plausible, and the digs of 1975-81 brought no archaeological proof, so the fortress is more likely an entirely Ayyubid work of the late 12th and 13th centuries. In November 1181 Raynald of Chatillon raided Ayla and tried to blockade it with two ships through the winter of 1182 to 1183, without success. The name Ile de Graye, used in English writing, is a 19th-century invention from the Arabic qurayya, "small village"; medieval chronicles simply called the island Ayla, like the nearby town (Wikipedia, Pharaoh's Island).

What you'll find

• Curtain walls along the ridge - the Ayyubid fortress known as Saladin's Castle.
• Rock-cut cisterns - the water system on an island with no spring.
• The gulf view from the summit - four coastlines from the highest tower.
• Reef around the island - protected coral with excellent snorkelling.

When to go

October to May. Mornings are calmest for the crossing and best for snorkelling. Half a day including the boat. Access has closed at various times, so check locally before planning.

What to expect

Access depends on boat operators and on the site being open, and it has been closed for extended periods. The climb around the walls is on rough rock with drops and no railings. There is no shade and no water on the island. Bring your own snorkelling gear.

Nearby

Taba is a short boat ride north; the coast road runs south to Nuweiba.

Key facts