Chapter One General Chapters (1) The Egyptian Boundary What transpired in the demarcation of the border between Turkey and Egypt is known and needs no mention. To be brief, I will say that the situation in the Sinai Peninsula was not without disturbance in early 1905. Mr. Genvez Bramley was appointed Commandant and Inspector with full authority over Sinai affairs. A small but fully functional police force was established, and other administrative reforms were introduced. These matters included an intentional encroachment by the Egyptian government on German territories. Little was done until news arrived of Turkish aggression on Egyptian territories and a disturbance that occurred west of the line drawn in the Grand Vizier's telegram to the Khedive on April 18, 1892. Regarding the matter of Fara'at, an Egyptian force attempted to seize the location, but the Turks informed their commander that they would repel them by force. As for the specific demand, they were initially mistaken in assessing its importance, as is apparent from the public discussions that took place on this matter. The possession of a few miles of desert should not have been such a significant political incident. However, its importance and gravity became clear in April of the previous year when the Sublime Porte intended to make the Egyptian border from Rafah to Suez. The Sublime Porte ultimately accepted the opinion that the British government and the Egyptian government had ordered them to accept. This was in accordance with the agreement concluded in April 1892. A commission was then appointed to demarcate the border according to the agreement and to settle other minor issues that remained in dispute. On the first of October, all these issues were agreed upon, and the two Turkish delegates and the two Egyptian delegates (Elwin Owen and Ibrahim Pasha Naqi) signed. The two Egyptian delegates demonstrated the utmost in good policy, sound judgment, and patience in the lengthy discussions that preceded the aforementioned agreement. The occurrence of this incident is regrettable because it reached a point where it could have caused some damage to the great relations of clarity and friendship between the British government and the Turkish government. However, the fault for this lies not at all with the men of the British government nor with the men of the Egyptian government.