Sharm el-Sheikh on the Red Sea

24 January 2014 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Union for the Mediterranean Reading Time:  7 minutes

© Daniel Csörföly

© Daniel Csörföly

Sharm el-Sheikh is a city situated on the southern tip of the Sinai Peninsula, in South Sinai Governorate, on the coastal strip along the Red Sea. Its population is approximately 35,000. Sharm el-Sheikh is the administrative hub of Egypt’s South Sinai Governorate which includes the smaller coastal towns of Dahab and Nuweiba as well as the mountainous interior, Saint Catherine’s Monastery (built between 548 and 565, the monastery is one of the oldest working Christian monasteries in the world) and Mount Sinai. Sharm el-Sheikh (“Bay of the Sheikh” in Arabic) is sometimes called the “City of Peace”, referring to the large number of international peace conferences that have been held there. Sharm el-Sheikh’s major industry is foreign and domestic tourism, owing to its dramatic landscape, year-round dry and temperate climate and long stretches of natural beaches. Its waters are clear and calm for most of the year and have become popular for various watersports, particularly recreational scuba diving and snorkeling. There is great scope for scientific tourism with diversity in marine life species; 250 different coral reefs and 1000 species of fish.   read more…

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