South Sinai
Is the least populated governorate of Egypt. It is located in the east of the country, encompassing the southern half of the Sinai Peninsula.
Cities
• Dahab
is a small town situated on the southeast coast of the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt. Formerly a Bedouin fishing village, located approximately 80 km (50 mi) northeast of Sharm el-Sheikh, Dahab is considered to be one of the Sinai’s most treasured diving destinations. Following the Six Day War, the town was occupied by Israel and was known in Hebrew as Di-Zahav; named after a place mentioned in the Bible as one of the stations for the Israelites during the Exodus from Egypt. The Sinai Peninsula was restored to Egyptian rule in the Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty in 1982. The arrival of international hotel chains and the establishment of other ancillary facilities has since made the town a popular destination with tourists. Dahab is served by Sharm el-Sheikh International Airport. Masbat (within Dahab) is a popular diving destination, and there are many (50+) dive centers located within Dahab.
Dahab can be divided into three major parts. Masbat, which includes the bedouin village Asalah, is in the north. South of Masbat is Mashraba, which is more touristic and has considerably more hotels. In the southwest is Medina which includes the Laguna area, famous for its excellent shallow-water windsurfing.
The region of Asalah is quite developed and has many camps and hostels. Most people who have visited Dahab in the past were backpackers interested in diving and snorkeling in the Red Sea. Dahab attracts large numbers of tourists. It is world-renowned for its windsurfing. Reliable winds provide superb flat-water conditions inside Dahab’s sand spit. Further away from shore, wavy conditions couple with strong winds to provide formidable conditions for keen windsurfers. SCUBA diving, free-diving and snorkelling are also popular activities with many reefs immediately adjacent to waterfront hotels. The nearby Blue Hole-which is nicknamed as “The World’s Most Dangerous Diving Site”- and Canyon are internationally famous dive spots. The increasing destruction of coral from reckless divers/dive centres diving is a pressing issue that is causing some worry, sparking the need to regulate dive centres more thoroughly. Land based activities include camel, horse, cycling, mountain bikes trips, jeep and quad bike trips. Mount Sinai is a two hours drive, with Saint Catherine’s Monastery being a popular tourist destination.
Historically, most visitors to Dahab have been backpackers travelling independently and staying in hostels,motels or guesthouses in the Masbet area. In recent years, development of hotels in the Medina area has facilitated the arrival of a wider range of tourists, many of whom visit Dahab specifically to partake in the surfing, windsurfing, diving, kite surfing, sailing, and other activities.
The word Dahab is Egyptian Arabic for gold and is possibly a reference to the geographic locality; gold washed down from the desert mountains may have accumulated on the alluvial flood plain where the town was built. The name may also be a reference to the colour of the sands to the south of the town itself. Some locals attribute the name to the colour of the sky, just after sunset.
One local story concerning the town’s name is that it stems from the floods that wash through the town every five or six years. Larger than average seasonal storms in the mountains cause a great rush of water to surge down to the sea, dragging with it great amounts of sand. During this time, the town is cut in two by the flood, and the bay is stirred up and the sands turn it a golden yellow. It typically lasts a few days, and has caused damage and loss of life in the past as people were unaware of the sudden onset and the force the water moves at. Today, locals are ready when they see the clouds over the mountains, and anyone lucky enough to witness it will remember it for a long time.
According to the Bedouin of the area, however the name “Dahab” has a different originWhen the Bedouin people came there they called it “waqaat thahaab” (وقت ذهب) which translates literally to “Time Goes”. This name derived from the fact that when you were there, you could easily lose track of time as the days would begin to run together. The name was then shortened to “Thahaab” (ذهب) but misunderstood by travelers who thought they were saying Dahab.
Unfortunately, much of the coral in the reefs just offshore are slowly disappearing, due to inexperienced divers being taken out in big numbers. Another big problem is that in Masbat, local restaurants are dumping sand and rock in the sea to extend out into the shore, again, causing disruption to local coral reefs.
Local Bedouin children, sometimes encouraged by their families, come to beach cafes and restaurants to sell items such as woven bracelets to tourists.
The influx of female tourists on the beach, who typically dress in a more revealing fashion, introduces a culture unfamiliar to the region

• El-Tor
is the capital of South Sinai Governorate of Egypt, located at the Sinai Peninsula. The name of the city comes from the Arabic name of the mountain where the prophet Moses received the tablets from God; this mountain is called Jabal Al Tor.
The El Tor strain of cholera was discovered there in 1905. It was a quarantine camp for Pilgrims returning from Hajj.
The Raithu desert is situated around El-Tor, between Saint Katherine city and the Red Sea. It is part of the Archdiocese of Mount Sinai and Raithu of the Orthodox Church of Jerusalem. The “Martyrs of Raithu” were 43 anchorites slain by nomadic tribes during the reign of Emperor Diocletian. Christian monks fleeing persecutions had been present since the 3rd century, and the Raithu monastery (or Rutho) was commissioned in the 6th century by Byzantine emperor Justinian. The latter was proposed as a UNESCO World Heritage site on November 1, 1994 in the Cultural category.

• Nuweiba
is a coastal town in the eastern part of Sinai Peninsula, Egypt. Located on the coast of the Gulf of Aqaba.
• Saint Catherine
is the capital city of Saint Catherine Markaz in the South Sinai Governorate in the Sinai Peninsula, Egypt. It is located at the outskirts of El-Tur Mountains at an elevation of 1,586 m (5,203 ft), 120 km (75 mi) away from Nuweiba, at the foot of Mount Sinai and the Saint Catherine’s Monastery
Mount Sinai also known as Mount Horeb, is a mountain in the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt that is a possible location of the biblical Mount Sinai. The latter is mentioned many times in the Book of Exodus and other books of the Bible, and the Quran. According to Jewish, Christian, and Islamic tradition, the biblical Mount Sinai was the place where Moses received the Ten Commandments.
Mount Sinai is a 2,285-metre (7,497 ft) moderately high mountain near the city of Saint Catherine in the Sinai region. It is next to Mount Catherine (at 2,629 m or 8,625 ft, the highest peak in Egypt). It is surrounded on all sides by higher peaks of the mountain range
• Sharm el-Sheikh
is a city situated on the southern tip of the Sinai Peninsula, in South Sinai Governorate, Egypt, on the coastal strip along the Red Sea. Its population is approximately 35,000 as of 2008. Sharm el-Sheikh is the administrative hub of Egypt’s South Sinai Governorate, which includes the smaller coastal towns of Dahab and Nuweiba as well as the mountainous interior, Saint Catherine’s Monastery and Mount Sinai. Nowadays it is a major touristic hotspot and resort city in Egypt
Natural features:
Naama Bay is a natural bay in Sharm el-Sheikh resort and is considered the main hub for tourists in the city, as it is famous for its cafes, restaurants, hotels, and bazaars.
Shark’s Bay (Sharm el-Sheikh)
Ras Mohammad is a national park in Egypt at the southern extreme of the Sinai Peninsula, overlooking the Gulf of Suez on the west and the Gulf of Aqaba to the east. The park is situated in the tourist region of the Red Sea Riviera, located 12 km from the city of Sharm-el-Sheikh. The park spans an area of 480 km², including 135 km² of surface land area and 345 km² area over water. Marsa Bareika is a small bay inlet in Ras Mohammed, and Marsa Ghozlani is a very small inlet located across from the park visitors center. Winch parts visible on the wreck of the SS Thistlegorm, which sunk off the coast of Ras Muhammad.
Ras Mohammad encompasses two islands, Tiran and Sanafir. Tiran Island is located approximately 6 km offshore from the Sinai Peninsula. Underwater caves formed as the result of earthquakes are located in Ras Mohammad. About 0.9 hectare of mangrove forest cover a 1.15 km shallow channel at the southernmost end of Ras Mohammad peninsula. Near the mangrove and approximately 150 m inland, there are open cracks in the land, caused by earthquakes. One of the cracks is approximately 40 m length and 0.20−1.5 m in width. Within the cracks, there are pools of water, some with a depth of over 14 m.

The inland area includes a diversity of desert habitats such as mountains and wadis, gravel and coastal mud plains and sand dunes. The area also plays a role in bird migration, serving as a place of rest and nourishment
NABQ Protected Area (NPA) is a 600 km2 (230 sq mi) protected area located in the Egypt,[2] South Sinai Governorate. It was established by the Prime Ministerial Decree no.1511/1992 and was extended by Decree 33/1996 where Dahab marine section was added to the protected area as a Dahab Environmentally Managed Area DEMA and finally having NABQ Managed Resource Protected Area which is known shortly as (NMRPA).
Transportaion:
– Sharm el-Sheikh International Airport: formerly known as Ophira International Airport, is an international airport located in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt. It is the third busiest airport in Egypt after Cairo International Airport and Hurghada International Airport
– port Sharm el-Sheikh.
– Roads: Sharm el-Sheikh city up to the rest of the cities of Egypt westward through (Cairo / Ras Sidr / phase / Sharm el-Sheikh), more than 500 km long, through the traffic tunnel Martyr Ahmed Hamdi down the Suez Canal, and because of the duplication of the road starting from the tunnel and up to the Sharm el-Sheikh 360 km long, and signed many traffic accidents, which the Egyptian government called for the launch of the dual way in several stages, the first of it stage in the distance between the tunnel and the city of Ras Sidr a length of about 60 km, at a cost of up to more than 100 million pounds. While connecting the city to the east by (Taba / Nuweiba / Dahab / Sharm el-Sheikh) 240 km long, is also a way of one lane, and the project was launched, duplication of the distance between Sharm el-Sheikh, Dahab, 80 km long, at a cost of 50 million pounds.
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• Taba
is a small Egyptian town near the northern tip of the Gulf of Aqaba. Taba is the location of Egypt’s busiest. Little more than a bus depot and a luxury hotel (complete with casino), Taba is a frequent vacation spot for Egyptians and tourists, especially those from Israel on their way to other destinations in Egypt or as a weekend getaway. It is the northernmost resort of Egypt’s Red Sea Riviera.
Taba was located on the Egyptian side of the armistice line agreed to in 1949. During the Suez Crisis in 1956 it was briefly occupied but returned to Egypt when Israel withdrew in 1957. Israel reoccupied the Sinai Peninsula after the Six-Day War in 1967, and subsequently a 400-room hotel was built in Taba. Following the 1973 Yom-Kippur War, when Egypt and Israel were negotiating the exact position of the border in preparation for the 1979 peace treaty, Israel claimed that Taba had been on the Ottoman side of a border agreed between the Ottomans and British Egypt in 1906 and had, therefore, been in error in its two previous agreements. Although most of Sinai was returned to Egypt in 1982, Taba was the last portion to be returned. After a long dispute, the issue was submitted to an international commission composed of one Israeli, one Egyptian, and three outsiders. In 1988, the commission ruled in Egypt’s favour, and Israel returned Taba to Egypt in 1989.[1]
As part of this subsequent agreement, travellers are permitted to cross from Israel at the Eilat – Taba border crossing, and visit the “Aqaba Coast Area of Sinai”, (stretching from Taba down to Sharm el Sheikh, and including Nuweiba, Saint Catherine’s Monastery and Dahab), visa-free for up to 14 days, making Taba a popular tourist destination. The resort community of Taba Heights is located some 20 km (12 mi) south of Taba. It features several large hotels, including The Hyatt Regency, Marriott, Sofitel and Intercontinental. It is also a significant diving area where many people come to either free dive, scuba dive or learn to dive via the many PADI courses on offer. Other recreation facilities include a new desert style golf course.
On October 7, 2004, the Hilton Taba was hit by a bomb that killed 34 people including Israelis.[2] Twenty-four days later, an inquiry by the Egyptian Interior Ministry into the bombings concluded that the perpetrators received no external help but were aided by Bedouins on the peninsula.In February 2014, a coach taking tourists to Saint Catherine’s Monastery in Sinai exploded in Taba shortly before crossing the border to Israel. At least two South Koreans were killed and 14 injured, the blast was blamed on terrorists.
Transportation
Since Taba existed only as a small Bedouin village, there was never any real transportation infrastructure. More recently, Al Nakb Airport, located on the Sinai plateau some 35 km (22 mi) from Taba, was upgraded and renamed Taba International Airport (IATA: TCP, ICAO: HETB), and now handles half a dozen charter flights a week from the UK as well as weekly charter flights from Belgium, Russia, Denmark, and The Netherlands. Many tourists enter via the Taba Border Crossing from Eilat, Israel and a marina has been built in the new Taba Heights development, some 20 km (12 mi) south of Taba, and which has frequent ferry sailings to Aqaba in Jordan, although these are restricted to tourists on organised to