{{Infobox settlement <!--See the Table at Infobox Settlement for all fields and descriptions of usage--> <!-- Basic info ---------------->| name = Sheikh Zuweid | native_name = {{Nobold|{{lang|ar|الشيخ زويد}}<br/>{{lang|cop|ⲃⲁⲓⲧⲩⲗⲟⲩⲁ}}}} | other_name = | settlement_type = City | image_skyline = | imagesize = | image_caption = | image_map = | mapsize = | map_caption = | pushpin_map = Egypt Sinai#Egypt<!-- the name of a location map as per http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Location_map --> | pushpin_label_position = bottom | pushpin_mapsize = 300 | pushpin_map_caption = Location in Egypt <!-- Location ------------------>| coordinates = {{coord|31|12|43|N|34|6|38|E|region:EG|display=inline}} | subdivision_type = Country | subdivision_name = {{flag|Egypt}} | subdivision_type1 = Governorate | subdivision_name1 = North Sinai | established_title = <!-- Settled --> | established_date = <!-- Area ---------------------> | government_footnotes = | government_type = | leader_title = | leader_name = | unit_pref = <!--Enter: Imperial, if Imperial (metric) is desired--> | area_footnotes = <ref name="citypopulation">{{cite web |title=Ash-Shaykh Zuwayd (Kism (urban and rural parts), Egypt) - Population Statistics, Charts, Map and Location |url=https://www.citypopulation.de/en/egypt/admin/s%C4%ABn%C4%81_ash_sham%C4%81liyah/3410__ash_shaykh_zuwayd/ |website=www.citypopulation.de |access-date=17 March 2023 |archive-date=17 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230317235650/https://www.citypopulation.de/en/egypt/admin/s%C4%ABn%C4%81_ash_sham%C4%81liyah/3410__ash_shaykh_zuwayd/ |url-status=live }}</ref> | area_magnitude = | area_total_km2 = 640.9 | elevation_m = 88 | elevation_ft = <!-- Area/postal codes & others --------> | population_total = 64,305 | population_as_of = 2021 | population_blank1_title = Ethnicities | postal_code = | area_code = | timezone = EET | utc_offset = +2 | timezone_DST = EEST | utc_offset_DST = +3 }}
'''Sheikh Zuweid''' (also spelled '''Sheikh Zoweid''', '''Shaykh Zuwayd''', or '''Sheikh Zouède'''; {{langx|ar|الشيخ زويد}} {{IPA|ar|aʃˈʃeːx zeˈweːd, -zoˈwæjjed}}, {{Langx|cop|ⲃⲁⲓⲧⲩⲗⲟⲩⲁ}}, Greek: ''Bitulion'') is a Bedouin town in the North Sinai Governorate of Egypt near the border with the Gaza Strip. It is situated between the cities of Arish and Rafah and is 334 kilometers (214 miles) northeast of Cairo. It had a population of around 60,000 as of 2015.<ref>{{Cite news|first=H. A.|last=Hellyer|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-33369705|title=Egypt looks for answers after brutal Sinai attack|work=BBC News|date=2015-07-02|access-date=2015-07-02|archive-date=2015-07-04|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150704235616/http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-33369705|url-status=live}}</ref>
==History== A remarkable mosaic from Late Antiquity (between the mid-fourth and mid-fifth centuries) was found in Sheikh Zuweid in 1913, known from the archaeological literature as the Sheikh Zouède mosaic (leaning on the French spelling: Cheikh Zouède). It is currently preserved in a museum in Ismailia.<ref name=Ovadiah>{{cite journal |last= Ovadiah |first= Asher |title= Allegorical Images in Greek Laudatory Inscriptions in Eretz-Israel |pages= 383–394 (384) |journal= Gerión |publisher= Complutense University of Madrid Publications Service |number= 16 |year= 1998 |url= https://revistas.ucm.es/index.php/GERI/article/download/GERI9898110383A/14417 |access-date= 23 November 2021 |archive-date= 23 November 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20211123004211/https://revistas.ucm.es/index.php/GERI/article/download/GERI9898110383A/14417 |url-status= live }}</ref><ref>Ashkeloni, p.219.</ref>{{dubious|Almost no source details, author name inaccurate, nonsensical rewording in initial edit. See talk-page.|date=November 2021}} The 6th century Madaba Map shows a settlement called Betulion (Greek Β[ητ]υλιον) in this location, possibly the Bethulia where Judith beheaded Holofernes in biblical legend.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://servus.christusrex.org/www1/ofm/mad/legends/legends128.html |title=Madaba Map Project, Franciscan Order in Jerusalem |access-date=2013-04-24 |archive-date=2014-05-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140506103554/http://servus.christusrex.org/www1/ofm/mad/legends/legends128.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>
The town is named after Sheikh Zuweid, a commander of the Rashidun Islamic army who fought during the Muslim conquest of Egypt alongside Amr ibn al-'As. He died at the site of the present town in 640.<ref name=AO>[http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/64/12173/Egypt/Politics-/Unkown-assailants-attack-Sheikh-Zuweid-Shrine.aspx {{sic|nolink=y|Unkown}} assailants attack Sheikh Zuweid Shrine] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171203013733/http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/64/12173/Egypt/Politics-/Unkown-assailants-attack-Sheikh-Zuweid-Shrine.aspx |date=2017-12-03 }}. ''Ahram Online.'' 2011-05-15.</ref>
During the 2011 Egyptian revolution, protests against the government of Hosni Mubarak were held in Sheikh Zuweid. On 27 January, one protester was killed by security forces attempting to disperse the demonstrations.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20110201013413/http://af.reuters.com/article/egyptNews/idAFLDE70Q1Y520110127 Egypt police shoot Bedouin protester dead]. ''Reuters''. 2011-01-27.</ref> On 14 May 2011, an unknown group bombed the Sufi shrine in Sheikh Zuweid.<ref name=AO/> As many as 300 ISIS affiliated militants using mortars and car bombs attacked fifteen Army checkpoints just north of the city on July 1, 2015. The attacks killed 30 Egyptian soldiers and were part of a larger group of coordinated attacks across the Sinai.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.stratfor.com/situation-report/egypt-militants-attack-checkpoints-sinai |title="Stratfor" |access-date=2015-07-01 |archive-date=2024-02-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240221070548/https://worldview.stratfor.com/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
==Climate== Köppen-Geiger climate classification system classifies its climate as hot desert (BWh),<ref name=Climate>{{Cite web |url=http://en.climate-data.org/location/51066/ |title=Climate: Sheikh Zuwayid - Climate graph, Temperature graph, Climate table |publisher=Climate-Data.org |access-date=2014-02-08 |archive-date=2014-02-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140221204011/http://en.climate-data.org/location/51066/ |url-status=live }}</ref> as the rest of Egypt, but because it is close to the sea, its climate is highly moderated by prevailing Mediterranean Sea winds, typical to the north coast of Egypt and the east Mediterranean coast.
{{Weather box |width=auto |metric first=yes |single line=yes |location=Sheikh Zuweid |Jan high C=17.2 |Feb high C=18.0 |Mar high C=20.5 |Apr high C=23.1 |May high C=26.1 |Jun high C=28.4 |Jul high C=29.8 |Aug high C=30.7 |Sep high C=29.2 |Oct high C=27.6 |Nov high C=23.7 |Dec high C=19.2
|Jan mean C=12.7 |Feb mean C=13.4 |Mar mean C=15.6 |Apr mean C=18.2 |May mean C=21.1 |Jun mean C=23.7 |Jul mean C=25.3 |Aug mean C=26.1 |Sep mean C=24.7 |Oct mean C=22.6 |Nov mean C=18.7 |Dec mean C=14.5
|Jan low C=8.2 |Feb low C=8.9 |Mar low C=10.7 |Apr low C=13.3 |May low C=16.1 |Jun low C=19.0 |Jul low C=20.9 |Aug low C=21.6 |Sep low C=20.3 |Oct low C=17.7 |Nov low C=13.7 |Dec low C=9.9
|precipitation colour=green |Jan precipitation mm=37 |Feb precipitation mm=29 |Mar precipitation mm=22 |Apr precipitation mm=6 |May precipitation mm=3 |Jun precipitation mm=0 |Jul precipitation mm=0 |Aug precipitation mm=0 |Sep precipitation mm=0 |Oct precipitation mm=7 |Nov precipitation mm=31 |Dec precipitation mm=40
|source 1= ''Climate-Data.org'' (altitude: 30m)<ref name=Climate/>
}} ==Notable people== *Ibrahim al-Arjani ==See also== {{portal|Egypt}} * Sinai * Northern coast of Egypt
==References== {{reflist}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:Populated places in North Sinai Governorate Category:Cities in Egypt