 |
|||||||||
 |
|||||||||
|
|
|
| // The Red Sea // General Knowledge | ENGLISH /
DEUTSCH |
||||||
|
|
||||||
| SOME
GEOGRAPHY
The Red Sea is an inlet of the Indian Ocean between Africa and Asia. The connection to the ocean is in the south through the Bab el Mandeb strait and the Gulf of Aden. In the north the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba and the Gulf of Suez are located. The sea is roughly 2.000 km long with a width of approximately 300 km, it reaches a depth of about 2.500 m with an average depth of 500 m, but it also has extensive shallow shelves, noted for their extraordinary --> marine biology and corals.
Egypt from a satellite: the Red Sea around the Sinai Peninsula looks like a hand that makes the victory sign, the right finger represents the Gulf of Aqaba, the left finger the Gulf of Suez & Dahab in the 70's The average water temperatures remains relatively constant at 23–25 °C (up to 30 °C in summertime) and the visibility is good all year around to around 80 m, but the sea is known for its strong winds and tricky local currents. The Red Sea has a salinity that is greater than the world average (38%, 41% in the Gulfs of Suez and Aqaba), because of a high rate of evaporation and very little precipitation, a lack of significant rivers or streams draining into the sea, and limited connection with the Indian Ocean which contains a lower water salinity.
The remains of Jaques Cousteau's underwater project Conshelf II & a sunken tank from the war around Sinai The countries that border the Red Sea are Egypt (North-West), a very small piece of Israel (Elat) and Jordan in the North, Saudi Arabia on the Eastside, in the South-West Sudan, Eritrea & Ethiopia and Yemen in the Southeast. Apart from Egypt, it is possible to dive the coasts of Sudan where you find the remains of --> Jacques-Yves Cousteau's underwater habitat project 'Conshelf II' among untouched coral reefs and Saudi Arabia slowly opens it's borders for scuba divers as well. | SOME
HISTORY It is not clear where exactly the name 'Red Sea' comes from, there is some rumors around, that the name came from a mistranslation in the Biblical story of the Exodus: 'The Sea of Reeds' (in Hebrew Yâm-Sûph) is often mistranslated as the 'Red Sea', another one says that the reflection of the surrounding mountains on the water in sunrise or dawn, which tints the mountains in red ink, gave the Red Sea its name, or, a very scientific explanation, the periodic ss-reproduction of an algae whose chlorophyll is covered in reddish-orange pigments which makes the water appears red.
A trip to the pyramids on camels or horses is an unforgetfull experience Whichever way the sea with the colorful name 'Red Sea' experienced a lot of historical valuable, clerical and tragically moments in the history of mankind, the Dynasty of the Pharaohs, most of the prophets passed by the Sinai including the Prophet Moses who received the 10 Commandments on the Mount Sinai and led the tribe of the Israelites into freedom, civil & world wars and last but not least to be discovered as one of the Top 5 diving destinations of the world from godfathers --> Hans Hass in the 1950s and --> Jacques-Yves Cousteau later in the 60s.
The 'Coloured Canyon' & St. Katherine's Monestary on Mount Sinai The early 1970s brought a new kind of pilgrimage to the Red Sea: Scuba divers from all parts of Europe came to discover the beautiful and fascinating underwater world especially on the Sinai Peninsula (Dahab, Sharm el Sheikh, Taba) and from the 80s diving tourism and liveaboard safaris started to boom explosively. Nowadays most of the famous diving and holiday destinations (Hurghada & Sharm el Sheikh) offers a wide range of all-inclusive tourism and of course because of that dive sites there appears to be jam-packed and overcrowded. That is the reason why Divecovery prefers diving in less occupied destinations, like Dahab, Marsa Alam or the shores of Sudan. |
 |
PACKAGES & SCHEDULES
Here
you can find our packages & planned trips, desert
diving safaris & liveaboards with itinerary, availability and
prices.
Click on 'details' in the box below to find out more.
Check our site frequently or subscribe to our newsletter for updates & new planned trips. PLAN YOUR OWN SAFARIIf you are individuals who want to do a liveaboard safari in South (Marsa Alam, Brothers etc.) or Sinai (Sharm el Sheikh, Dahab) on a certain date, post your wishes (route & date) on our --> Postings site or write us an email on info@divecovery.com and we help you to fill up a safariboat. We announce your chosen date on our website and send out a newsletter to all our diving guests & friends for available spaces & prices. You can read more about our liveaboards in --> Liveaboard South and --> Liveaboard Sinai. As well read more in --> Special Trips if you and your group want to plan your individual holiday with us. | ||||
|
||||
| |
| |
|||
© Copyright 2007 Divecovery (Austria). All rights reserved. powered by OtherLogic
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)