St. Katherine Protectorate. Through time until now, humanity has walked through this area, sometimes staying for generations, while others preferred to trek further to the Nile River. Even the Pharoahs had a presence in a place now known as Serabit el Khadim, their mining area for turquoise. The Sinai then has been a land bridge for millenia from which much diversity ensued. Biodiversity in the area increased through time not only through human migrations, but wildlife also drew from a range of habitats in Africa, Arabia and the Near East. Birdlife, so mobile and itinerant, covered and still covers many continents. The Striped Hyena of the Sinai is a very private animal, and very close to extinction. They have now been photographed on the capture camera, first employed to prove or disprove the existence of the Sinai Leopard, sadly this so far has been a fruitless search. And grand stage to this has been the rock formations of the Sinai. Sitting for over 1100 million years, pushed up, twisted,altered, weathered and pushed again. The big contributor to this trauma was the tectonic plate shift over 25 million years ago, which formed much of the mountain ranges that border the great rift valley. The rocks have 'seen' it all. Their story is partly exposed and obvious to those adventurous enough to trek with the Bedouin into the heartland of the Sinai. One event out of all this change that became an incredible phenomenum was the growth and development of a rich, diverse and colourful coral reef habitat, hugging the coastline of this seemingly barren landscape. Though to say the Sinai is barren is misappropriate, for life does exist, specialised, tenuous but hardy - fauna and flora reproduce and flourish among the rocks and water holes. One notable involvement with the flora of the region has been the on-going practice of herbal medicine. Much is known and still practised.