THE OPEN LETTER TO THE PRESIDENT OF EGYPT

To the President of Egypt  Abdel Fattah al-Sisi

Dear Mr. President!

To write this letter to you was inspired by the trip to the Sinai Peninsula and the trip to the desert. As a sign of the Ukrainian-Egyptian friendship, I would very much like to convey several proposals for the restoration and enhancement of the nature of Sinai. What struck and captured us during the trip to Sharm el-Sheikh was the lush beautiful vegetation of hotels and the city itself – magnificent palm trees, flowers, lawns. They create mood for all people, give a unique aroma to the air, saturate it with such valuable oxygen, feed birds and insects.To enjoy such bright summer, thousands of tourists come to Sinai during the winter months. Where watering and care are provided, everything is in blossom.

A picture, though, is entirely different in the desert. But if we look at the ancient paintings and murals depicting the exodus of Jews in the Sinai desert, it can be clearly seen how much grass and how many large trees were there in this area. Thanks to that, three and a half thousand years ago, 600,000 Jews, together with their herds of animals, were able to live here for forty years.

The very presence of Wadi in the desert also speaks for itself. Geographers are convinced that those used to be the relict valleys of rivers that existed in the more humid climate.

We do believe it is quite real and within the power of the people to return trees, vegetation, and water to the desert, and consequently the well-being of the local population. There are similar modern examples in China, Africa and other desert regions of our planet. You don’t even have to go far – a beautiful garden near the walls of the St. Catherine Monastery at the foot of Moses Mount is a vivid evidence of a person’s ability to grow gardens on sands.

Once the Egyptian government allocated free lands of the Sinai coast for the development of tourism infrastructure in Sharm el-Sheikh, which has become an important source of income for the state. The same approach can be implemented to improve the well-being of the local population – to provide the local residents with a free plot of 1 hectare for conducting a personal economy on. Like the monks of the St. Catherine Monastery, they will be able to grow their own gardens, vegetable gardens on it to provide their families with high-quality food. Surplus fruit may be sold and the owners will have a steady income from their gardens.

 During my trip to Egypt, I was very pleased to learn that Islam requires Muslims to keep their environment clean and tidy and pays great attention to planting trees and restoring forests in empty fields.

Our Public organization “Cedars of Ukraine” is engaged in green social projects aimed at restoring nature and the environmental education of children. We conduct eco-lessons at schools and kindergartens in Kyiv, where we tell children about the rich history of the nature of our region and plant cedars and other various plants with them. We will be very happy to share this experience of educating the young generation in the spirit of respect for the native nature and its restoration.

We can also convey the personal experience of organizing settlements of family estates, one of which we are living in. 15 years ago, together with like-minded people, we took advantage of the right of every citizen of Ukraine to take up to 2 hectares of land for free to conduct a personal economy on. We created a settlement of ancestral estates on the former waste ground (where the earth was sandy, practically sand). Each family has 1 hectare of land on which its own forest is grown, a garden, a vegetable garden, and the perimeter of each plot is surrounded by a green fence. During this short period of time, an empty field turned into picturesque gardens and growing forests. Many families have become large since women in such gardens are happy and want to have children. People here have done everything on their own, with their own hands, without additional subsidies from the state.

We will be happy to share our experience of creating such settlements for the people of Sinai, which we got to like so much for its unforgettable Red Sea, friendly hospitable people and a long history. Let the land of Sinai once again become green and blooming, with mighty trees and healing water, and all its locals live in prosperity, happiness and love!

 May your people be in joy and honor for many centuries!

With deepest respect on behalf of the public organization “Cedars of Ukraine”,

Tatiana Madison.

Dolyna Dzherel (Valley of Springs) settlement of family estates,

Kyiv region, Ukraine, 26.02.2019  ukrcedars@gmail.com

 

Old paintings and frescoes that preserved the image of green Sinai

“Moses drawing water from the rock”, Lіppі Filіppіno, 1480 r

“The Holy Prophet Moses God-seer in front of the Non-smoking Kupina”
Fresco of the Monastery of Sucevice, Rumania.

“Descent from Sinai Mount” Kozimo Rosselli, 1480-1482 pp. The Sistine Chapel, Vatican

“Calling and test of Moses” (Botticelli) 1480-1482 p. The Sistine Chapel, Vatican

“Moses drawing water from the rock ” Bassano Leandro, 1590r. Louvre, Paris

“Moses drawing water from the rock”, Nicola Poussin

“Moses drawing water from the rock”

 Edinburg. National Gallery of Scotland

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