Blue Skies, White Sand and the RED SEA

View from our hotel balcony
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After a week of history and monuments, we were ready for some rest and relaxation and Sharm el-Sheikh was the perfect answer.   It is one of the most accessible and developed tourist resort communities on the Sinai and is often referred to as the playground of the middle east.

It is also known as the City of Peace because of the various peace conferences it has hosted.  Before 1967, Sharm el-Sheikh was little more than an occasional base of operations for local fishermen; the nearest permanent settlement was in Nabk, north of Ras el-Nasrani ("The Tiran Straits"). Commercial development of the area began during the Israeli presence in the area.

Sharm is especially well known for its marine life and has become become a favourite spot for scuba divers from around the world.

Our yellow submarine
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The Israelis built the town of Ofira overlooking Sharm el-Maya Bay, and the Nesima area, and opened the first tourist-oriented establishments in the area six kilometers north at Naama Bay.

After the Sinai was restored to Egypt in 1982, the Egyptian government embarked on an initiative to encourage continued development of the city. Foreign investors - some of whom had discovered the potential of the locality during the Israeli occupation - contributed to a spate of building projects. Environmental zoning laws currently limit the height of buildings in Sharm el-Sheikh so as to avoid obscuring the natural beauty of the surroundings.

Aboard (on the top deck of) the Challenger Submarine
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The city has played host to a number of important Middle Eastern peace conferences, including the September 4, 1999 agreement to restore Palestinian self-rule over the Gaza Strip. Sadly, on July 23, 2005, the city was struck by terrorist attacks (by a militant wahabbi group) which killed 88 people including foreign tourists.

To think, we were so close to the borders of Israel, Gaza strip and the West Bank.  Part of me wished I could travel there than just veg out on a beach  But this part of the trip was all about relaxation and so I decided to put my wanderlust on hold!

Para Sailing over the Red Sea
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Sharm has the perfect combination of all the right stuff - beaches, water sports, casinos, pools, snorkelling.  There are small, intimate hotels with modern designs, as well as larger hotel complexes belonging to International chains.  We stayed at the Savoy hotel where we had a beautiful room overlooking the red sea.  The first day was spent doing pretty much nothing. Missy went to the pool, as expected, and I explored the beach.

Missy and I went tubing on the Red Sea. This is essentially being strapped on a large inflated then hauled all around the water dragged by a speeding motorboat.  It was fun - once!  We also did some para sailing - this was a bit intimidating for me as I have a fear of being suspended fom heights but once we were up there and floating, I was able to enjoy the calm waters and the spectacular views.

Between a rock and a hard place ain't always so bad
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I'm not a big fan of snorkelling (having tried that in Mexico) but I urged Missy to try it again.  Sharm is especially well known for its marine life and has become become a favourite spot for scuba divers from around the world. But she wasn't too keen to do this on her own and there was no way I would be persuaded.

In the end, we took a submarine trip which allowed us to see the most stunning underwater scenery without getting wet!

I brought three books with me from Toronto.  I had already finished one (a paperback called "Echo Park" by Michael Connolly) even before we reached Cairo. The second book, Whiteout by Ken Follet, was ideal for reading on the beach and by the pool. And, when I wasn't reading, Missy and I were sitting on our verandah, overlooking the sea, and catching up on Season 3 of LOST!! A friend had burned me the entire season on two dvd's and we've been watching an hour or two here and there throughout the trip thus far.

Tubing
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And so it was by the relaxing waters of the Red Sea, while listening to local musicians and enjoying the sun, sea and sand that I completed my second book, Missy completed reading her own book (Twilight by  Stephenie Meyer) and where we finished LOST.

Of course, somewhere along the way, we still managed to fit in an expedition to Mount Sinai but more about that in the next post :)