For follow-up discussion and general commentary on the topic. Comments are sorted chronologically.
Actually, there is a great deal of evidence that the Israelites crossed the Gulf of Aquaba at Nuweiba, where there is an underwater sand bridge which contains the remains of ancient Egyptian chariot wheels, horses hooves and human femur bones in the sand. This site make much more sense when reading the biblical account of the Red Sea crossing than the usual rather lame maps you see in bibles today. If you go to Ark discovery website, you can see the video evidence of the place and the underwater remains for yourselves and is very consistent with the site of Mt Sinai being at Jabal al Lawz in Suadi Arabia (modern day Midian). Well worth checking out for yourself.
Whatever explanation you give to it, you must also justify with how a shallow or deep sea will consume a mighty Egyptian army. Whichever way, God's hand was involved.
I do find it interesting that the Hebrew literally reads ‘Sea of Reeds’, yet we can interpret that away into something different.
The text is either inspired or not, and as we know it to be, why would it be anything different than what the Hebrew says?
Perhaps we should not make arguments about what that area looks like today, realizing this happened approx 3,500 years ago, and let the text speak for itself.
As Frances writes, I have seen the photos of the sites in Saudi Arabia, and they would be so challenging to the unbelieving world if it could be publicized. Of course, if the rock that gushed water in the desert was shown to the world... it would have to make that choice once and for all. ‘Will they worship He who made the heavens and the earth and all that is in it?’
There is an interesting discussion Moses had with God in Exodus 32:7-14. God was about to wipe out the nation of Israel and start a new nation though Moses.
Moses told God He needed to repent of the evil and remember His promise to Abraham Isaac and Jacob.
So God changed his mind. He repented of the evil that he was about to do on His people.