Women lead the way in Sinai hike
A new hiking initiative in Egypt's Sinai governorate, where hikes are led by local Bedouin women, creates new opportunities and showcases compelling narratives.
Umm Yasser, a Bedouin woman from Egypt’s Hamada tribe, remembers the difficulties of growing up in a cave in a mountain in Wadi Sehia, a valley in South Sinai.
More than three decades later, Umm Yasser revisited the cave that she lived in as a child with her mother — this time in the company of 15 women of seven different nationalities who hiked in Sinai between March 29-31. What makes this hike special is that local Bedouin women — including Yasser — lead it.
“I felt pain because I want to forget the bad memories I had [in the cave], but I don’t mind being in pain for a while if it is for the hikers’ sake,” Yasser, who is now 47 and was the lead guide during the hikes, told Al-Monitor. She added, “I am happy to exchange my knowledge and culture with the hikers.”
The initiative was launched by organizers of the award-winning Sinai Trail, a 550-kilometer (342-mile) hiking trail across South Sinai through the territories of eight Bedouin tribes. It starts from the isolated Wadi el-Sahu, the main settlement of the Hamada tribe, which is a one-hour walk from Serabit el Khadem, a well-known locality in southwest Sinai Peninsula.
