البحر الأحمر Red Sea Southern Route, Egypt
25.06305, 34.89005
The Red Sea, a narrow strip of water is around 2’250km long and 350km wide at its widest point. It extends from Suez south to the Bab el-Mandebt strait, where it connects to the Gulf of Aden. The Red Sea’s maximum depth is 3’040 meters but around 40% is less than 100 meters deep. These large shallow shelves permit an abundance of marine life and coral.
The Red Sea is located between arid land, desert and semi-desert. The lack of river systems flowing into it helps to keep underwater visibility very high. The scarcity of rainfall, high evaporation and no major source of fresh water results in high water salinity. It is also the world’s northernmost tropical sea.
The Red Sea has been an important trade route since at least 2500 BC. Today it is one of the most important shipping routes with 12% of global trade passing through, including 30% of all shipping containers.
Due to security concerns in many countries bordering the Red Sea, scuba diving is presently mainly conducted in Egypt.
The Red Sea is a rich and diverse ecosystem. This is due to the 2000km of coral reef extending along its coastline. It also offers many offshore reefs among which are Daedalus (see photo to the right) and The Brothers which lie pretty much in the middle of it.
Egypt’s diving areas can be found in the northern Red Sea including the Sinai Peninsula where you also find many ship wrecks. The southern areas are served from Hurghada and Marsa Alam extending all the way to the Sudanese border and are known for pelagic shark action and beautiful coral gardens.
Diving is done both from coastal resorts and liveaboards. A great number of liveaboards are available and reasonably priced. Dont expect to be the only boat at a dive site.
