SINAI DESERT AND THE RED SEA

The red sea, with its blue, black and turquoise waters, most likely earned its name from the color of the mountains behind it, which glow in red beneath a lowered sun.

Hurgada

Can easily be reached from Luxor by car. The town offers good diving facilities, a wide range of accommodations and endless sunshine most of the year.

Sharm El Sheikh

Has become one of Egypt’s most popular resorts offering a wide range of accommodations with very active nightlife. The excellent scuba diving is best summed up by Jacques Cousteau " The Red Sea is a corridor of marvels…the happiest hours of my diving experience have there."

Mount Sinai and St. Catherine Monastery

Mt. Sinai is where Moses is said to have received the Ten Commandments. Many early Christians went to Sinai to escape Roman persecution and the famous St. Catherine Monastery was founded on the traditional site of the burning bush on the slopes of Mt. Sinai. The Monastery is Greek Orthodox and it is built like a mediaeval fortress in the mountain. St. Catherine's art treasury is superb with its vast collection of illuminated manuscripts; second only that of the Vatican.

Nuweiba

Eighty-five kilometers north of Dahab, and just above Abu Galum, lies the port and beach resort of Nuweiba. Like Sharm el-Sheikh, Nuweiba actually consists of several different locations, each with its own distinctive character. To the south, tucked at the foot of the steep mountains of the interior and lying on the shore of an expansive bay, are the port and luxurious oasis of Nuweiba Muzeina. This coastal resting spot has drawn travellers for centuries, having long been an important port for Muslim pilgrims en route to Mecca. Today, Nuweiba Muzeina's magnificent beaches and coral reefs are the most common draw, and the bay is home to a number of resorts and tourist villages. The port continues to offer ferry service to Aqaba on the Jordan coast on a daily basis.