Sharm El-Sheikh

Sharm el-Sheikh is an Egyptian resort town between the desert of the Sinai Peninsula and the Red Sea,
It’s known for its sheltered sandy beaches, clear waters and Coral Reefs

Exploring the Area

Its geographical location made it a strategic naval choke point that was the cause of much military conflict. Its closure prevented Israeli shipping from entering and leaving the Red Sea. In 1979, after thirty years of bloody conflict and five all-out wars, Egypt signed a peace treaty with Israel. Since the mid-1980’s, Sharm el-Sheikh has made the transition from stark military outpost to tourist hot spot.

The Ras Mohammed was declared a National Park in 1983. It is the very thin strip of land at the southern tip of the Sinai peninsula. In itself a peninsula, it is bordered to the west by the relatively shallow waters of the Gulf of Suez, and to the east by the deep waters of the Gulf of Aqaba. Here the water reaches depths of up to 2000 meters as this is the beginning of an enormous cleavage in the earth’s crust that separates the, African and Eurasian continental plates.

Sharm el-Sheikh which gave the Red Sea an international reputation as one of the world’s most extraordinary diving destinations. And the coral reefs of Ras Mohammed, Tiran, and the Aqaba coast, on which Sharm built its legendary reputation, are as dazzling as ever. Today, however, diving is only part of the attraction here, as many visitors arrive simply to enjoy the sun, to parasail and windsurf and bicycle, or to explore the magical desert landscape of the southern Sinai.