1974 excavation in an ancient silo in Bir al-Abed (restored)

Bir al-Abed ( ar, بئر العبد, biʾr al-ʿabd; arz, بير العبد) is one of the cities of North Sinai in the north east of

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...

. It is the capital of Bir al-Abd Markaz, located on the international coastal road on the shores of

Lake Bardawil Lake Bardawil ( ar, بحيرة البردويل ''Buḥayrat al-Bardawīl'' or سبخة البردويل ''Sabḵat al-Bardawīl''), is a large, very saline lagoon nearby the protected area of Zaranik (also known for diversities of insects and w ...

History

On 9 August 1916, the

Battle of Bir el Abd The Battle of Bir el Abd or the Abd well (9 August 1916) was fought between the forces of the British Empire and the Ottoman Empire, during the Sinai and Palestine Campaign of the First World War. The battle took place in the Sinai Desert fol ...

, which was part of the Sinai and Palestine Campaign of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, occurred. Following the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

success in the

battle of Romani The Battle of Romani was the last ground attack of the Central Powers on the Suez Canal at the beginning of the Sinai and Palestine campaign during the First World War. The battle was fought between 3 and 5 August 1916 near the Egyptian town ...

, ANZAC Mounted Division, with the

5th Mounted Brigade The 1st South Midland Mounted Brigade (later numbered as the 5th Mounted Brigade) was a yeomanry brigade of the British Army, formed as part of the Territorial Force in 1908. It served dismounted in the Gallipoli Campaign before being remount ...

under command, was tasked to follow a retiring Turkish Army force. British patrols discovered them on 8 August and the remainder of the ANZAC Division got into a position to attack the next day. The assault was launched on early 9 August and became a day of attack and counter-attack. Finally in the early evening Chauvel, commanding the ANZAC Division, ordered his troops to withdraw leaving the Turkish force in command of the battleground. On 24 November 2017, in the al-Rawda

mosque A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, ...

near the town, known as the birthplace of the founder of Sufism in the

Sinai Peninsula The Sinai Peninsula, or simply Sinai (now usually ) (, , cop, Ⲥⲓⲛⲁ), is a peninsula in Egypt, and the only part of the country located in Asia. It is between the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Red Sea to the south, and is ...

, was attacked by around forty gunmen during

Friday prayers In Islam, Friday prayer or Congregational prayer ( ar, صَلَاة ٱلْجُمُعَة, ') is a prayer ('' ṣalāt'') that Muslims hold every Friday, after noon instead of the Zuhr prayer. Muslims ordinarily pray five times each day according ...

. The gun and bomb attack killed at least 305 people and injured more than 100 others, making it the deadliest attack in

Egyptian history The history of Egypt has been long and wealthy, due to the flow of the Nile River with its fertile banks and delta, as well as the accomplishments of Egypt's native inhabitants and outside influence. Much of Egypt's ancient history was a myste ...

. The mosque is on the road between

El Arish ʻArish or el-ʻArīsh ( ar, العريش ' , ''Hrinokorura'') is the capital and largest city (with 164,830 inhabitants ) of the North Sinai Governorate of Egypt, as well as the largest city on the entire Sinai Peninsula, lying on the Medite ...

and Bir al-Abed. On 12 October 2019, a blast killed nine members from the same family when they were returning from an olive farm and wounded the other six during the battle against the

insurgency An insurgency is a violent, armed rebellion against authority waged by small, lightly armed bands who practice guerrilla warfare from primarily rural base areas. The key descriptive feature of insurgency is its asymmetric nature: small irr ...

in the area.

References

Populated places in North Sinai Governorate Cities in Egypt {{Egypt-geo-stub

History

See also

References