Exploring the world in the Beechcraft Bonanza

Leg 116, Alexandria, Egypt via the Gaza Strip to Ben Gurion, Israel

DAY12_16.PLN (9.4 KB)

12-16 Alexandria Intl HEAX 4:05 AM
12-16 Port Said HEPS 4:51 AM
12-16 Al Ismailiyah HE44 5:10 AM
12-16 Ismailia HEIS 5:18 AM
12-16 Kibrit HE34 5:26 AM
12-16 Ras Sudr HE45 5:43 AM
CTD while flying over Suez Gulf 5:54 AM restart
12-16 Ras Sudr HE45 6:01 AM
12-16 Abu Rudeis HE29 6:12 AM
12-16 El Tor HETR 6:42 AM
12-16 Sharm El Sheikh Intl HESH 7:06 AM
12-16 Sharm el-Sheikh HESR 7:14 AM
12-16 Dhahab HEDH 7:27 AM
12-16 Neom Bay OENN 7:38 AM
12-16 Eilat LLET 8:24 AM
12-16 Taba Intl HETB 8:30 AM
12-16 Ovda AB LLOV 8:40 AM
12-16 Mitzpe Ramon LLMI 8:55 AM
12-16 Mitzpe-Ramon LLMR 9:05 AM
12-16 Ramon LLRM 9:11 AM
12-16 Nizzana West LL60 9:18 AM
12-16 El Gora HEGR 9:28 AM
12-16 Hatzor LLHS Gaza strip otw 9:51 AM
12-16 Palmahim AB LL59 9:57 AM
12-16 Rishon LeZiyyon LLRS 10:01 AM
12-16 Sde Dov LLSD 10:07 AM
12-16 Herzlia LLHZ 10:12 AM
12-16 Ben Gurion LLBG 10:19 AM

Flight time 6:07 25 stops

Crossing the Nile one more time on the way East

Port Said at the Northern end of the Suez Canal

Constructed between 1859 and 1869, part of the maritime silk road

Considered to be the border between Africa and Asia, however Egypt extends to the gulf of Aqaba

Defrsoir Airplane or Ismailia Airport at Great Bitter Lake

Kibrit at the other end of the lake

Great Bitter Lake seen from Kibrit

Suez and Port Tawfiq at the Southern end of the Suez Canal

Ras Sudr on the East coast of the Gulf of Suez

Looking out over the gulf of Suez

First time I see a moving cargo ship

It’s going backwards… as fast as the drone can move

Abu Rudeis further South

Petrobel petroleum and Sinai brake factory, producing bricks, typo.

El Tor mountains and Mount Catherine in the distance

Odd speed bump in the terrain

More of the El Tor mountains on the way to Sharm El Sheikh

Little short cut near the Red Sea

Sharm El Sheikh, resort town on the South-East end of the Sinai Peninsula

Lots of great sights, Mustafa Mosque on the left

Heavenly cathedral in the middle and King Tut museum on the right

Dahab on the Gulf of Aqaba

Flying over a bit of Saudi Arabia on the East coast of the gulf of Aqaba

Aqaba container terminal, Saudi Arabia

Eilat, port and resort town at the Southern edge of Israel

Dolphin Reef Beach and Underwater Observatory Park in Eilat

Ovda Air Base

Doodle time in the Negev desert

Hmm, weather approaching

Makhtesh Ramon

Mitzpe Ramon overlooking Makhtesh Ramon, the world’s largest erosion cirque

North of Mitzpe Ramon still over the Negev Desert

Dodging the rain so far

El Gora, Egypt near the Israeli and Gaza strip border

Definitely a military base looking at the pictures for it

Rafah crossing, the only border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza strip

The border was open for a while in 2019, no closed again due to the pandemic

It’s now only open for a couple days a month

Al Bayuk, Gaza strip, with Israel on the other side of the wall

Sunset over Khan Yunis. The city started as a village known as Salqah before the 14th century

Border crossing near Kisufim and Al Ma’ani

How well the wall ‘works’ is put into question by the vast amount of tunnels going underneath it

In 2013–2014, Egypt’s military destroyed most of the then 1,200 smuggling tunnels (just to Egypt) yet they keep popping up.

Flying to Gaza City along the wall

Gaza city, largest city in the state of Palestine

Still an active war zone, lopsided though it may be

Netiv HaAsara, Northern border of the Gaza Strip with Israel

Somewhere there, no street view available

There is Nir press observatory there as well overlooking the Gaza strip

Palmahim Air Base on the Mediterranean coast

Rishon Leziyyon, the crescent moon is up

Tel Aviv

Big city with lots to see

Marked by stark 1930s Bauhaus buildings

Old and new, Museum of art and the clock tower

I left the plane at Ben Gurion Airport for the night, on to Jerusalem tomorrow.