Is nowhere sacred?

The endless pursuit of profit is leading to developments in remote places.

This BBC news article is about the development that is taking place on the Wadi El-Raha.

This project threatens the area's UNESCO World Heritage Site listing (as with many other sites, which are also facing degradation)

The development is called the Great Transfiguration Project. The linked piece above says:

Egypt’s Great Transfiguration Project, cloaked in the language of spiritual unity and global tourism, is in fact desecrating the sacred landscape of Sinai, endangering Saint Catherine’s Monastery, displacing the indigenous Jabaliya Bedouin, and violating international heritage protections. 

While the Egyptian state proclaims it a “gift to the world,” the project has triggered outrage from UNESCO, global religious leaders, and legal experts who warn it undermines religious freedom, cultural preservation, and Egypt’s World Heritage obligations.

The Wadi is known as the 'valley of rest'. The Project was started in 2020 and is expected to be finished in October 2026, and includes amongst other elements that important thing you need in a culturally significant and sparsely populated desert: a shopping centre.