Ras El Hekma area is located on the northwestern coast of Egypt on the Mediterranean Sea (social networking sites)

“Ras El Hekma” is an area administratively affiliated with Matrouh Governorate (northwest), and is considered one of the historical evidences of Egypt’s western gate on the northwestern coast of the Mediterranean Sea.

It was a docking port for ships and a resting place for kings and presidents, and the Egyptian government sought to exploit its distinguished location to revive the faltering economy through a “rescue deal” that is considered the largest in the country’s history.

On February 23, 2024, Egypt and the UAE signed a contract to develop the new “Ras El Hekma” city with investments estimated at approximately $150 billion, including $35 billion in direct foreign investment to the Egyptian government within two months, including $11 billion debt forgiveness. The contract stipulates that Egypt will receive... 35% of the project’s total profits.

Ras Al-Hekma project overlooks the sea on one side and the desert on the other (social networking sites)

the site

The Ras El Hikma area is located on the northwestern coast of Egypt, about 350 kilometers northwest of Cairo, and is administratively affiliated with the Matrouh Governorate. It covers an area of ​​approximately 180 square kilometers. It is a sea cape located within the Mediterranean Sea, 50 square kilometers from the city of Dabaa (where a station is located). Dabaa Nuclear City) to the east, and the city of Marsa Matrouh to the west.

It is geographically distinguished by an attractive strategic and tourist location, as it is located west of the city and air port of El Alamein, and the Al Hamra oil port, and near the Marsa Matrouh and Burj Al Arab international airports, and on a land road linking Cairo to the cities of the northern coast, in addition to other natural elements represented in clear sea water and soft sandy beaches. And medium meandering.

The climate of the region is classified - like the rest of the cities of the northern coast - among the calm climate regions, as the number of hours of actual sunshine during the summer is about 12 hours, while in the winter it reaches 7 hours, and the brightness rates recorded during the spring and fall seasons are similar, despite Due to the different climatic conditions prevailing in each of them.

Temperatures in the region reach their highest levels in the summer, where the seasonal average is 24.6 degrees, while it is 18.8 degrees in the winter. The optimal temperature for human comfort and activity ranges between 18 and 25 degrees Celsius.

The city usually witnesses small, scattered clouds in the summer, while they increase during the winter, and are concentrated in the narrow strip parallel to the Mediterranean Sea, and decrease as you go south until they disappear completely.

The northwestern range of Ras El Hekma Bay is the most likely region to face obstacles to development plans, given the nature of the geological formations represented by limestone, which is easily carved by waves, in addition to the higher waves there than the northeastern range.

The signing ceremony of the Ras El Hekma deal between Egypt and the UAE (Source: Egyptian Prime Minister’s page)

Population

The population of the city of Ras al-Hikma reached about 10 thousand people, according to estimates by the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (governmental) for the year 2020, noting that the 2023 census estimated the population of Matrouh Governorate at about 539 thousand people, without clarifying the distribution of the population among the cities and villages of the governorate.

Press reports indicate that the population of the region for the year 2023 - according to unofficial estimates - is about 25 thousand indigenous people, in addition to a few thousand from neighboring governorates who practice permanent or seasonal work in agriculture and tourism.

Some of the "Awlad Ali" tribes live in this region, which are among the Arab tribes that came to Egypt at the time of the Islamic conquest. They are spread throughout the country and neighboring countries, and among the most prominent of their sub-tribes in "Ras al-Hikma" are the Jumaiyat and Sanafra.

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The history of Ras al-Hikma goes back to the Greek and Roman eras in Egypt, and there are major differences between the historical origin of naming the area as Ras al-Hikma. According to official reports from the Matrouh Antiquities Area, the area was known as “Kannais Wells,” a term given to the mountain peaks and hills on which it falls. Heavy rain “sweeps it away” before the storage wells contain it.

While the Bedouin researcher and poet Qaddoura Al-Ajni, in his book “Matrouh... The Land, Man and History”, quotes from the writings of historians in the Mamluk era that the name Ras Al-Hikma goes back to the “Bani Hakim” tribe, one of the tribes of the Arabian Peninsula that inhabited the region, press reports indicate that She was known as the head of the churches;

Because of the presence of a mountain with traces of many churches on it, it retained this name until the 1940s.

Part of the land allocated for the Ras El Hekma project (social networking sites)

The Encyclopedia of “Conciliation Plans” explains that “Ras al-Kanais” was during the time of the rulers of the Muhammad Ali family a port for docking large boats, and it was one of the new villages, and it belonged to the Matrouh section of the Western Desert Governorate until 1945.

In 1941, King Farouk (1920-1965) issued a decree to change the name of the area to “Ras El-Hikma.” He also had several visits to the Royal Rest House, which is a royal palace whose foundation stone was laid by his father, King Fouad I, on his first visit to Matrouh in 1928, and it was transformed into Presidential break after the July 1952 revolution, which overthrew the monarchy and declared the republic.

One year after assuming power in 1970, former President Anwar Sadat visited Ras al-Hikma, and met with the sheikhs of the Matruh tribes. At that time, there was a dispute between them over parliamentary representation, so he held a customary session with them that settled the dispute on the condition that parliamentary representation be carried out in turn, and the echo of this session continued to reverberate among the tribes. With every electoral entitlement until the 2020 parliamentary elections.

Former President Mohamed Hosni Mubarak also had a regular annual visit every summer to the Republican Palace in Ras El-Hikma, and he did not stop this habit until he was overthrown in the revolution of January 25, 2011.

Milestones

The most prominent landmark of Ras Al-Hikma is the Royal Rest House, which was originally built to be a headquarters for customs officers who combat smuggling coming from Libya before it was transformed into a rest house for kings and presidents. It is located on top of a white rock that advances northward until it ends with a protrusion into the sea water. From this building, clear sea water can be seen. Behind the barren desert extends.

Rescue deal

In early February 2024, media leaks appeared talking about a possible deal to sell the entire city of Ras El Hekma in a deal with the UAE for about $20 billion, without government confirmation or denial, which sparked widespread criticism.

On February 23, 2024, Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly announced the details of the “largest direct investment project ever” with Abu Dhabi’s sovereign fund, the Holding Company “ADQ”, which is a tourist real estate project under the name “New Ras Al-Hikma” with an area of ​​170.8 million square meters. Square.

The project was designed to generate $35 billion within two months, including $24 billion in direct liquidity and $11 billion in Emirati deposits.

The project is part of Egypt's urban development plan for the year 2052, and aims to bring about 8 million additional tourists to Egypt.

Source: Al Jazeera + Egyptian press