"Among
all the stupendous works of Nature, not a place can be selected more fitting
for the exhibition of Almighty power"
The
Sinai Peninsula a triangular area - covers about 61,100 square kilometres.
Similar to the Eastern Desert, the peninsula contains
mountains
in its southern sector that are a geological extension of the Red Sea Hills.
The Red Sea is named after these mountains,
which
are red. Sinai’s diving resorts include Ras Mohammed, Sharm el-Sheikh,
Dahab, Neweiba and Arish, most with diving
centres
offering lessons at all levels. The views across the Gulf of Aqaba to the
Saudi Mountains are breathtaking and temperatures
are
warm until very late in the year. Other watersports are on offer and the
whole Sinai east coast has beach resorts with hotels
and
beach huts where the desert merges into beach fringed by palm trees. Ras
Mohammed, the southernmost point of the peninsula,
is
the site of the world’s most northerly mangrove forest. In the interior
there are the rugged and scenic Sinai Mountains, amongst which
is
the Mount Sinai of the Bible. Nearby is the famous St Catherine’s Monastery.
This was first settled by hermits in the 4th century
and
attracted an increasing number of pilgrims, particularly after the construction
of a sanctuary in 337. Almost every subsequent
century
saw additions to the architecture of the settlement, as well as intermittent
periods of decline and abandonment. Many of
the
bequests made to the monastery over the years are also on display in the
museum. Other attractions in Sinai include Saladin’s
massive
Qalaat al-Gundi fortress, one of the region’s many reminders of the Crusaders’
presence in the Middle East during
the
12th and 13th centuries; and Al-Tur, on the Red Sea, capital of South Sinai
Sharm
el-Sheikh
The
simplicity of sun, sea and sand. This is one of the most accessible
and developed tourist resort communities on the
Sinai
peninsula. All around are Bedouins, colorful tents, mountains and sea.
It has casinos, discos and nightclubs, golf courses
and
health facilities. In fact, with diving and snorkeling, windsurfing and
other water sports, horses and camel riding, desert safaris,
and
great nearby antiquities attractions, it is almost impossible for a visitor
to ever suffer from boredom. For those who live to shop,
the
Sharm El-Sheikh mall provides shops with both foreign and local products,
including jewelry, leather goods, clothing, pottery
and
books.Sharm el-Sheikh is perhaps the best known city and beach resort on
the Sinai Peninsula.
"..
that exquisite corridor of tinted mountains and radiant water... her and
nowhere else, is the vestibule between the Levant and
the
Tropics." E.M.Forster describing the Gulf of Suez, 1923. Egypt's Red Sea
coast runs from the Gulf of Suez to the Sudanese border.
Its
mineral-rich red mountain ranges inspired the mariners of antiquity to
name the sea Mare Rostrum, or the Red Sea. Hermits seeking
seclusion
founded early Christian monasteries here, sharing the wilderness with camel-trading
Bedouin tribes. Today, the crags and
limestone
wadis of the Eastern Desert remain relatively unexplored, home to herds
of ibex and gazelle with coral reefs, fringed by ancient
ports,
teeming
with underwater life, has a rich maritime history which stretches back
to Pharaonic times. Ships have sailed, and sunk, in
the
Red Sea since it was the main route to the Indies for Phoenician and Ancient
Egyptian traders. In those times, ship loaded with
copper,
cooking pots and clothing departed from Al-Quseir and Berenice and returned
bearing elephants, ebony, gems and spices.
For
centuries, the Red Sea remained a scene of shipwreck and adventure for
smugglers, merchants, pirates and pilgrims.
After
the opening of the Suez Canal, in 1869, it continued its role as an international
trade route and "Passage to India" for
European
travelers. The magical dance of the reef continues ... each night, with
unchanging rhythms, in the silence of a thousand
noises
in the ocean deep." David Doubilet, The Red Sea. The thermal winds that
once sped clippers to the East still bring thousands
of
migrating birds to the shores of the Red Sea, making it a paradise for
bird-watchers. Today, the ancient ports are better known
as
some of the best diving and fishing resorts in the world. Sunbathers relax
on white sand beaches, or find shade in the mangrove
lagoons
that line the coast while snorkellers explore the reefs. And the underwater
wonder of the Red Sea remains: a living tapestry
of
vibrant corals and exotic fish, waiting for you to discover its secrets.
The Red Sea is only around 40 million years old, a relatively
young
sea. It is approximately 1800 km long, 300 km wide on the widest spot and
up to 3 km in depth. The Gulf of Suez with
the
numerous small islands is flat-bottomed and a mere 30-40 meters in depth.
The Gulf of Aqaba is approximately 200 km
long,
25 km wide and reaches a depth of up to 2 km. The ocean ends up in the
Tiran Strait
The
Sinai Penninsula
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