Tiran Island

thumb|Tiran Island
Tiran () is an Egyptian island. It is located at the entrance of the Straits of Tiran, which separates the Red Sea from the Gulf of Aqaba. It has an area of about 80 km2 (30 sq mi). Tiran is part of the Ras Muhammad National Park.
thumb|USBATT and SUPBATT soldiers prepare to leave Tiran Island. Mainland Saudi Arabia is visible in the background.
It is of strategic significance in the area, as it forms the narrowest section of the Straits of Tiran, which is an important sea passage to ports in Jordan and Israel: Aqaba and Eilat, respectively. It is inhabited only by military personnel from Egypt and the Multinational Force and Observers [MFO] .
Chisholm Point is a cape of Tiran Island.
Some theologists believe that this is the location of the parting of the Red Sea described in the Book of Exodus in the Torah.
Israel briefly took over the island during the Suez Crisis and again between 1967 and 1982 following the events of the Six Day War.
Procopius writes that there was an autonomous Jewish community on the island (then called Iotabe) until the sixth century AD, when it was conquered by the Byzantine Empire.History of the Wars I.xix.4 This history figured in Israeli rhetoric during the Suez Crisis.http://books.google.com/books?id=yqk3XE196GsC&lpg=PA234&ots=tDB3sSv1jE&dq=yotvata%20justinian&pg=PA234#v=onepage&q=yotvata%20justinian&f=false
Some sources report that beaches of the island are mined.http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/facility/tiran-island.htm Observation Post 3-11, Tiran Island
== Transport ==
The proposed Saudi-Egypt Causeway would pass through this island.
== See also ==
* Sanafir Island
* Straits of Tiran
==Notes==
 
== External links ==
* Tiran dive sites
* Observation Post 3-11, Tiran Island, GlobalSecurity.org
* BirdLife Factsheet - Tiran Island
* Tiran Island, Tourist info
Category:Islands of the Red Sea
Category:Islands of Saudi Arabia
Category:Landforms of Egypt
Category:Jewish history
Category:History of Israel
ar:جزيرة تيران
de:Tiran
he:טיראן (אי)
ku:Girava Tîran
ja:チラン島
pl:Tiran (wyspa)
ru:Тиран (остров)
uk:Тиран (острів)
zh:蒂朗岛