Wadi Feiran

Wadi Feiran runs west from the high Sinai mountains toward the Gulf of Suez, and where the water table comes near the surface it supports the largest oasis in the peninsula, several kilometres of date palms and tamarisk in a valley walled by red and grey granite. It has been settled for a very long time. In the fourth to sixth centuries it was a monastic centre with a bishop, hermit cells in the surrounding cliffs and churches on the valley floor, and a small convent stands there still. Mount Serbal rises above it, which some early traditions identified as the mountain of the biblical account rather than the peak by the monastery. The Gebeliya and Tawara Bedouin farm the gardens and the road to St Catherine runs through it.

What you actually see

• A palm oasis several kilometres long - the largest in the peninsula.
• Granite walls above the valley - red and grey rock enclosing the green.
• A working convent - the surviving trace of the early monastic settlement.
• Bedouin gardens - walled plots and irrigation under the palms.

When to go

October to April. Half a day, usually as a stop on the drive between the coast and St Catherine. Morning light down the valley is best. Date harvest in late summer is the busiest time in the gardens.

Honest expectations

It is a stop rather than a destination and there is little visitor infrastructure. The archaeological remains are scattered and unsigned. The convent may not admit visitors. The road through is used by trucks and is not pleasant to walk along.

Nearby

Mount Serbal rises directly above; St Catherine is east up the valley road.