The Taba Border Crossing also known as the Menachem Begin Crossing (Arabic: ???? ?????, Hebrew: ???? ???? ????? formerly Hebrew: ???? ?????) is an international border crossing between Taba, Egypt, and Eilat, Israel.
Video Taba Border Crossing
History
Opened on April 26, 1982 it is currently the only entry/exit point between the two countries that handles tourists. The site is at the bottom of Mount Tallul and was close to Raffi Nelson's Nelson Village and the Sonesta Hotel which both closed due to the handing over of the Sinai to Egyptian control in exchange for normalization of relations. Under terms of the deal, Israelis would be able to visit the Red Sea coast from Taba to Sharm el-Sheikh (and Saint Catherine's Monastery) visa free for visits up to fourteen days. In 1999, the terminal handled a record amount of 1,038,828 tourists and 89,422 vehicles.
The terminal is open 24 hours a day, every day of the year except for the holidays of Eid ul-Adha and Yom Kippur.
In February 2014, a coach taking tourists to Saint Catherine's Monastery in Sinai exploded in Taba shortly before crossing the border to Israel. Three South Korean nationals and one Egyptian national were killed, while 14 South Koreans were injured; the blast was blamed on terrorists.
In September 2016, the Israeli side of the crossing was renamed to "Menachem Begin Crossing" after the late prime minister, who signed the peace agreement between Israel and Egypt.
The crossing was closed for a week in April 2017 after bombing attacks at Coptic Orthodox churches in Egypt.
Maps Taba Border Crossing
Israeli terminal
The Israeli border terminal was opened in September 1995 at a cost of US $3 million.
Services within the terminal
- Drive in stations for those traveling by car
- Change Place stand offering a money exchange
- James Richardson duty-free shop
- Cafeteria
Transportation to and from the terminal
The Israeli border terminal can be reached from within Israel via Egged bus number 15 from Eilat's central bus station. Privately owned Israeli cars and rental cars may cross through the terminal. But rental cars from Israel may only stay in the confines of the Egyptian border terminal (this includes the parking lots of the Hilton Taba and Mövenpick Taba Resort) while privately owned Israeli cars may travel within the Sinai after a change of license plates, registration and the payment of a tax.
Passage fee
All travelers to Egypt must pay a border-crossing fee before leaving Israel. The border-crossing fee is NIS 106 (January 2016) per traveler. The fee is quoted in NIS and is updated once a year (on January 1) linked to the Consumer Price Index. It is also payable by credit card for an additional Service charge of 5 NIS.
No border fee is payable if travelling within 1 km of the border. This mean travelers to Mövenpick Resort, Hilton Taba Resort Hotel and Radisson Blue Resort Taba are exempt from any fees, but a printed reservation to the hotel must be shown at the border, otherwise the full fee is due.
See also
- Eilat
- Eilat Airport
- Eilat Ashkelon Pipeline Company
- Eilot (kibbutz)
- Ezion-Geber
- Operation Uvda
- Ovda Airport
- Port of Eilat
- Yotvata Airfield
Photographs
References
- US Consular Information Sheet - Israel, the West Bank and Gaza
External links
- Official
- Taba Border Terminal info
Coordinates: 29°29?28?N 34°54?12?E
Source of article : Wikipedia
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