Egypt guide
The Sun and the Nile
Egypt has always held an irresistible fascination and it's easy to understand why. The man-made wonders of the pyramids, the Sphinx, the temples and obelisks, and the natural splendours of the desert and the Nile-all are enough to make any traveller dream of taking at least one trip to Egypt in their lifetime.
There is indeed something miraculous about this land of limitless sands that gave birth 5,000 years ago to one of the world's most awe-inspiring civilizations. It's all due to the Nile. Gathering waters from deep in Africa, the mighty river courses through the desert, from Abu Simbel to the delta on the Mediterranean sea. Narrow fields of irrigated crops line the banks. The cloudless sky adds its blessing, the hot sun nurturing three harvests a year. And along the Nile lie the country's great monuments and its ancient cities.
Alexander the Great first spotted the potential of Alexandria's site for a port. At various moments in its history, the city has been in the limelight for its culture and science. Today, it has all the charm of a bright and breezy Mediterranean seaside resort, with few reminders of its past.
Cairo, founded around AD 969, is a relatively new city by comparison. In the shadow of Giza's pyramids, Cairenes have made their home the cultural capital of the Arabic civilization. Throughout the world, Muslims still look to Cairo as a treasure-house of Islamic art architecture and learning. It is, though, at the pyramids on the city's outskirts that visitors receive the real jolt to their senses, when the contemplation of these ancient tombs puts the past into monumental perspective.
Opened in 1869, the Suez Canal is the kingpin in Egypt's international trade. It constitutes a startling transition between the timeless temples and pyramids of the ancient world and the modern resorts mushrooming along the Red Sea coast.
Diving in Egypt
Sharm El Sheikh diving:
Set against a backdrop of rugged mountain peaks and expanses of open desert ‘Sharm’ is at the southern tip of Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula. Stark landscape contrasts beautifully with the crystal waters of the Red Sea.
The diving out of Sharm stretches from the current swept reefs of the Straits of Tiran to the awesome walls of the Ras Mohammed National Marine Park. Colourful soft and hard coral reefs fringe the coastline and offshore islands and absolutely teem with, reef fish, pelagics and marine mammals. The water is warm and for most of the year the visibility exceptional. Renowned for some of the world’s finest wall diving, names like Shark Reef, Jackson Reef and Ras Um Sid have passed into legend. West of the Sinai, the Straits of Gubal have become a graveyard for an assortment of accessible wrecks including the Thistlegorm.
Our Opinion: A stylish Mecca of world-class diving and diver training, Sharm is suited to all levels of diver, non-diving partners and families. Excellent value for money.
Hurghada & Dahab diving:
Egypt’s seemingly endless Red Sea coastline stretches from the Suez Canal south to the Sudan border. Dotted along it are just a handful of resorts. Hurghada, now a thriving, cosmopolitan centre, has long attracted divers. Translated to ‘gold’ Dahab offers uncharted reefs and the famous ‘Blue Hole’ is just a few miles away.
Diving from Hurghada is on off shore islands and pinnacles. Sites include Careless Reef, with its moray eels, the walls of the Giftun Islands and full day trips to the wrecks of Abu Nuhas. Dahab is synonymous with shore diving. Dive destinations are reached by jeep or even camel! The sheer drop-off at the Blue Hole is a fantastic drift dive. See turtles and octopus at the canyon or enjoy the soft corals at Gabr el Bint.
Our Opinion
Whether you want to get away from the bustle of the big resorts, have plenty of après dive or combine them both, the choice is yours.
