Blue desert

The Blue Desert (also known as the Sinai Peace Junction) is an area of the Sinai Desert near the Saint Catherine, where a number of rocks are painted blue. This piece of art was created in 1980 when, following the signing of the 1979 Egypt–Israel peace treaty, Belgian artist Jean Verame visited Sinai to paint a line of peace. Verame gained the permission of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and received a grant of ten tons of paint from the United Nations. History After the official signing of the Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty in Washington DC on 26 March 1979, Belgian artist Jean Verame wanted to celebrate this historical peace in his own way. Verame first came to Sinai in 1978. Inspired by the hit song "Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue", he spent two years attempting to the Egyptian authorities to allow him to pursue his artistic dream. With the official approval of Egypt's president at the time, Anwar El-Sadat himself, and 10 tonnes of paint provided by the UN, Jean started painting the desert blue. One year later, the "Line of Peace", or the "Sinai Peace Junction" as it is also sometimes called, extends almost 6.5km with boulders rising up to nine meters in height, all painted blue.