As a long time foreign correspondent, I've worked in lots of places, but nowhere is important

to the world as China.

I'm Jane Perlaz, former Beijing Bureau Chief for the New York Times.

Join me on my new podcast, Face Off, US versus China,

where I'll take you behind the scenes in the tumultuous US-China relationship.

Find face-off wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome back to the Egyptian history podcast, episode 48, end of an era.

In this episode the reign of a Menom heart for third passes and the 12th dynasty approaches

its end. Power, wealth, political influence and absolute authority belong to a menom heart. But the cracks in royal power have begun to form,

and the monarchy's decline starts once more. The Sinai Peninsula is one of the most uncomfortable regions the Egyptians ever inhabited on a regular basis.

On winter nights, the temperature can drop as low as

negative 16 degrees Celsius or 3 degrees Fahrenheit. It is dominated by

inhospitable mountain ranges and outcroppings which are caused by the meeting of two continental plates

Because of this meeting the Sinai is afflicted by frequent earthquakes that can reach as high as 7.3 on the Richter scale.

For perspective, the earthquake which devastated Nepal in May 2015, causing thousands of deaths and leveling large parts of the urban environment, was just 7.8.

So the Sinai is not a nice environment.

The tale of Moses and the exodus reports that Mount Sinai

was visited by God and quote, Mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke because the Lord descended on it in fire and the smoke thereof

ascended as the smoke of a furnace and the whole mountain quaked greatly.

It is hardly surprising then that the largest group of people living in the Sinai are nomads.

Even today Bedouin make up most of the population and their ever-moving lifestyle protects them from quakes and

disruptions which would devastate a more settled population. For the Egyptians of

late Dynasty 12 the Sinai was a harsh unforgiving environment.

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