Moses and the crossing of the Red Sea

One of the Old Testament's most famous stories is that of Moses parting the waters of the Red Sea. But biblical historians continue to debate exactly how, and where, Moses led the Israelites out of their clutches of the wrathful Egyptians. Two theories have been put forward, both involving the unusual geography of the region.

These days a strip of water runs between mainland Egypt and the Sinai desert - the Suez Canal. However, before the canal was built 150 years ago the area would have been quite different: shallow lakes and marshes, then known as the Great Reed Sea. One theory is that Moses didn't cross the Red Sea at all; it was the Reed Sea - easy to for 'waters to part' because it's not so deep - and the confusion stems from a mistranslation in the Saint James' Bible.

Other scholars have taken a more scientific approach and found - through seismic studies - that the sea floor rises at a certain point between Egypt and Saudi Arabia: a land bridge. Could this have been Moses' crossing point?

On either side, large cracks extend down to almost 5,000 feet. But the bridge itself is nearly a kilometre wide - plenty of space for the thousands of Israelites. Divers have even found the remains of chariot wheels in this area, which Egyptologists have been dated to 1500 BC - about the right time for Moses' Exodus.

Doubt still remains about the validity of the claim: there's very little other evidence of Moses' existence in the Sinai desert at all. But the debate reinforces Egypt's status as a land of biblical mystery.