THE RED SEA AND RICHES

THE RED SEA AND RICHES

It is an awesome feeling to sink into the waters of the Red Sea, and be surrounded by hundreds of colorful fish. There are two theories about the name of this sea; one says that at certain times there is seaweed purple coloring the waters, and the other holds that the name comes from the striking colors that acquires the sky for its sunsets.

The truth is that the waters of the Red Sea offer different color shades, from dark blue to blue, but the land surrounding it are rocky texture, golden brown. Because the movements of the earth's crust, the sea continues to grow: Africa continues to move away from Arabia, and the scientists will one day, in millions of years, in the Red Sea will reach the size of the Atlantic.

Today it is a tourist reef, a place to pursue water and underwater sports, not to mention visits to Egyptian archeology. The climate is very mild and the water is usually always very warm, about 20 degrees, so that tourism can be practiced almost all year. At a time now, increased tourism has come to small villages.

Egypt has 1,000 kilometers of Red Sea coast. It is a rocky coastline full of mountains where water purity retain a surprising because no river tributaries that accrue only to them, as the rains are also very rare. Hence they become a kind of spectacular giant fishbowl, where you can see coral reefs, seaweed, dolphins, turtles and sharks. Madrepores provide shelter and habitat for thousands of species of fish, and because of the particular geological biography of the Red Sea, almost a quarter of marine life exists nowhere else in the world.

There is of course the danger that embody merchant routes, the speculation and the tourist exploitation, but in 1989 the area was declared a national park and today enjoys a particular legislative carefully. Anwar el-Sadat promoted tourism development in the seventies, and so grew smaller cities like Hurghada or Sharm el-Sheik, real viewpoints on the Red Sea, providing a thorough range of services, from holiday clubs to schools divers. Hurghada can be found in a group of major hotels, a shopping center and Sekalla, the old city center.

Another major tourist draw is el-Gouna, endowed with lakes and hotels, in imitation of the Italian Venice. A reasonable distance from Hurghada are the city of Cairo, Luxor, Karnak, Aswan and the monasteries of San Pablo and San Antonio.

Diving is a rewarding activity here. It tries to protect clusters of coral in recent years, and there are many islands to visit, as Giftun, in the Strait of Gobal, where lie many boats that were once under, as the Thistlegorm, a British freighter sunk during World War II. Other places of interest for the diver are the Brothers islands, full of coral reefs or Zabargad Island, located in military territory.

A less touristy and more peaceful place is Quseir, which retains a more authentic and less touristy atmosphere, in contrast to the growing Sharm el-Sheikh. From here excursions to the Sinai desert, camel rides are done, the mountain where Moses went up and the monastery of Santa Catalina. In addition to its stunning scenery, the Sinai desert was the cradle of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Also divers for divers organized excursions, and in the piles of Tiran sponges and sea enjoy special protection. Sheikh Bay abound large hotels, but interest has Ras Muhammad, with his extraordinary wall of coral and crystal clear waters. Cape official protection of the Prophet is very strict, being National Park: its landscapes and seabeds just do not know.

As for the marine life of the Red Sea, is remarkable the presence of thirty species of sharks. There are the most dangerous of all whites, blacks, grays, hammers, makos, and: the tiger shark. This sea has some very special features: the water is clear and warm, no rivers or sediment, scarce rainfall and evaporation is very intense. There are over four hundred species of coral, and the culprit reddish alga that gives this sea is Trichodesmium erythraeum, but only occurs in very specific circumstances and times. Hurghada and Sharm el-Sheikh aquatic excursions are prepared every day. The rules for access to the Ras Muhammad National Park are very strict: you can not littering, or departing from established roads or hunting, or staying after sunset.

The best underwater reefs are the Tiran (Gulf of Aqaba, with wreck), the Ras Muhammad (with a pit Navy mile deep and a really amazing fish population), Rocky Island (with coral , tuna, mantas and sharks) and the Sha'ab Rumi (on the Red Sea that belongs to Sudan with great hammerheads). The seabed is a cemetery for boats, as many shipwrecks have occurred in it, and some of these bodies have become famous and are visited. The most interesting are the Dunraven (sunk in 1876), the Thistlegon (sunk by the Germans in 1941), the Carnatic (1869) and Ghiannis D (merchant of 3,500 tons). In Sharm el-Sheikh you can get a diploma courses Padi diving after three days theoretical and practical. Sharm, Faraana, Reef Oasis, New Halomy, Reef 1 and 2, Sofitel, Nubian Village, Pyramisa, Sea Club Fort Arabesque and Robinson Club Soma Bay: between Sharm el-Sheikh and Hurghada most of the best hotels in the area are divided . Since hotels are planned excursions to Ras Muhammad, Tiran Island, Mount Moses, St. Catherine Monastery, Coloured Canyon, the island of Giftun and Luxor, rides a camel through the desert in four-wheel motorbikes ATVs.