Scuba Diving and Water Sports
Sharm el-Sheikh has also become a favourite spot for scuba divers from around the world. Being situated near the Red Sea, it provides some of the most stunning underwater scenery and warm water making this an ideal place to dive. Visitors to Sharm el-Sheikh can experience a variety of water and activities. Beach seekers find many activities such as diving, snorkelling, windsurfing, kitesurfing, para-sailing, boating, and canoeing.
Ras Mohammed is the national park of South Sinai, located on the tip of the Sinai Peninsula. Along with Nabq, it has famous dive sites in the Red Sea, with 800-metre (2,600 ft) deep reef walls, pounding current and coral gardens.
The Sharm el-Sheikh Hyperbaric Medical Center was founded in 1993 with a grant from USAID by the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism, represented by Dr. Adel Taher to assist with diving related illnesses and complete the area's reputation as a full-service dive destination.
On 1 December 2010 four tourists - three Russians, and a Ukrainian - were attacked and injured by an oceanic whitetip shark or sharks in three separate incidents off Sharm-el-Sheikh. One victim lost a leg, and another an arm. The Egyptian authorities subsequently claimed that the shark responsible for the attacks had been captured alive, but the identification was disputed by the diving industry based on eyewitness and photographic evidence. Four days later, on 5 December an elderly German woman was attacked and killed by a shark whilst snorkelling at the resort.
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Famous quotes containing the words diving, water and/or sports:
“all the fine
Points of diving feet together toes pointed hands shaped right
To insert her into water like a needle”
—James Dickey (b. 1923)
“The land may vary more;
But wherever the truth may be—
The water comes ashore,
And the people look at the sea.”
—Robert Frost (1874–1963)
“Reading about ethics is about as likely to improve one’s behavior as reading about sports is to make one into an athlete.”
—Mason Cooley (b. 1927)