Sinai has a lot to offer its visitors and the Blue Desert is one of the treasures this Egyptian territory contains, even as it is not as famous as other attractions in it.
This Sinai attraction was created by Belgian artist Jean Verame in 1980.
Verame dyed the rocks of this special site in blue. He did the same with the boulders of the desert.
When he did this, Verame could not imagine that the area would turn into one of the wonders of Egyptian desert life.
Verame painted the rocks of this part of the desert, a few kilometres from the Red Sea resort of Dahab and the St Catherine Monastery, to celebrate the 1979 Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty, the first between an Arab country and the self-proclaimed Jewish state.
He used tonnes of blue — the colour of peace — paint donated by the United Nations.
Verame spent days dyeing the rocks and stones of the area, once a battleground in the 1967 war between Egypt and Israel.
The area remains a wonder carrying the marks of man and nature in the heart of Egypt’s desert.
It combines the beauty of nature and the artistry of man. The idea of creating it by the Belgian artist was untraditional at first, but the motivation behind this work was to highlight the importance of peace and coexistence.
Verame’s selection of blue complements Sinai’s deep blue sky and matches the arid desert, creating a rare mix with the yellow sands and the brown of rocks and boulders.
In Egypt, some deserts derive their names from their natural colours. These include White Desert and the Black Desert in the western part of the country.
The Blue Desert is most known to tourists and pilgrims visiting Mount Sinai and the St Catherine Monastery, the site where God is believed by many to have appeared to Moses.
The monastery, the oldest continually inhabited, was built in the seventh century and receives thousands of foreign and local visitors every month. It contains the relics of St Catherine and its well-preserved church displays Greek and Roman heritage.
Not far from the Blue Desert, the Dahab resort on the Red Sea is a major attraction for beach tourism. The resort has hotels suiting all types of budgets and boasts some of the Red Sea’s most eye-catching beaches.
An outing into the Blue Desert from any of the nearby sites can be rewarding, especially for the eyes and the senses.
It is easy to reach from any of these places. It most suits those who want to spend times in the serene atmosphere the desert provides.
The Blue Desert is most visited during the Christmas season.
At night, the blue-dyed objects look like stars denting the vast desert. Some painted stones are more than 30 metres tall. At times they appear to be giant balloons or great chewing gum bubbles.
Activities in the area include camping, mountain climbing and cycling.
The austerity and simplicity of the place makes it full of fun for visitors.
Yet, it has an amount of charm that makes it unforgettable for these visitors.
