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 Many people today still think of Egypt as a desert country, which it is to a
large extent. But between its mainland Mediterranean
coast, its long mainland
Red Sea coast and the Sinai, it has an impressive amount of beach area. In fact,
despite Egypt's aggressive construction of new beach resorts, the Sinai's
western coast remains almost completely undeveloped. However, a notable
exception is Ras
Sidr, which is a very nice beach better known
to Egyptians than foreign travelers. It lies about sixty
kilometers south of the Ahmed Hamdi Tunnel at the gulf of
Suez's northern end.
The eastern coastline and the southern tip of the Sinai
have a number of
beach resort regions, though by far the most developed region is the region in
and around Sharm el-Sheikh. At the other end of the Gulf of Aqaba to the north,
Taba has also seen significant development, including an attempt to reproduce
the success of El-Gouna on Egypt's
mainland
Red Sea coast in a project called
Taba Heights. Between Taba and Sharm el-Sheikh, the major resorts are found at
Nuweiba and Dahab, but all along the eastern coastline of the Sinai are a number
of more primitive, though frequently popular, camp areas intermingled with some
better resort compounds.
Sharm el-Sheikh is a very different resort community for Egypt, more like one
might find in Europe, or even the US. Many of the main resorts are connected by
a "boardwalk", which allows one to walk along a path bordered by
shops, restaurants, clubs and hotels. There is excitement in the air here,
particularly in the evenings when various entertainment cascades down  the
walk, and it seems like the crowds walking along speak in dozens of different
languages.
The main beach areas at Sharm
el-Sheikh itself comprise two adjacent bays,
known as Na'ama Bay and Sharm al-Maya. Of these, Na'ama Bay is the oldest
development and the location of the boardwalk. Here, hotels are just separated
from the beach by the boardwalk, with some facilities such as beach front
restaurants and bars built on the beach itself. Sharm al-Maya is less developed
with slightly more isolated beach resorts.
 The
resort community of Sharm
el-Sheikh, usually simply referred
to as Sharm, is one of the two main beach havens in Egypt, the
other being the vicinity in and around Hurghada on the
mainland coast. While Sharm has a completely different flavor
than Hurghada, it too receives most of its visitors by
European charters. Even though there have been some very fine
hotels built at Hurghada, and particularly at El-Gouna
just
north of Hurghada (and in other areas around Hughada), Sharm
el-Sheikh has always been considered the most upscale of the
two resort areas. In fact, one will find very few hotels other
than four or five stars in Sharm el-Sheikh, while those of
Hurghada are more varied.
 However,
if one wants it all, from the Hard Rock Cafe to the Four
Seasons Hotel, from beautiful reefs and crystal waters to
almost a Las Vegas style atmosphere, then Sharm
el-Sheikh has
to be the Egyptian beach resort of choice. It is a world class
spot to launch scuba diving expeditions, with crystal clear
waters and many nearby dive sites.
While Hurghada
may still receive more beach tourists than
any other region in Egypt, Sharm is famous throughout the
world as the "City of Peace", a very secure area
where, not infrequently, world leaders, attending
summits, mix with the beach vacationers, and one need
not simply be limited to beach activities and world class
scuba diving. Sharm
el-Sheikh hosted the first ever official
European professional golf tournament at the Movenpick Jolie
Ville Course, and one may also visit what is, perhaps, the
most famous of Egypt's ancient, and still active, monasteries
known as St. Catherine's at the foot of
Mount Sinai. For
nature lovers, there is also Ras
Mohammed, Egypt's best known
and first National Park just south of Sharm.
 There
is also, thirty-five miles north of Sharm, the Nabq
Protectorate, the largest coastal park on the Gulf of Aqaba,
which includes the world's most northerly mangrove
forest.
Further up the eastern coast of the Sinai, about 85
kilometers north of Sharm, is Dahab. At one time, Dahab had a
bit of a reputation as sort of a hippie haven, which time has
not completely erased, though it now has grown up and matured
into more of a traditional beach resort. There are still beach
camps here, but there are now also some good hotels, Italian
restaurants and other trappings of tourism. There is a mixed
variety of accommodations along a paved beachfront path
 Considerably
further up the coast, after passing through the Ras Abu Gallum
Protectorate, is
Nuweiba, really one of our favorite small
beach communities. The atmosphere at Nuweiba is really laid
back and completely relaxing. It is, perhaps, not unlike some
individual camps along the beaches at certain spots, but at
the same time, does provide a little more in the way of
accommodations and amenities, though only enough to be utterly
comfortable. Here, Bedouin boys lead their camels out in the
surf to use as diving platforms, while beach goers eat fish
just caught by the same people who cook it up and serve their
patrons.
Nuweiba is divided into three parts. To the south is the
port with its bus station, banks and the one really upscale
hotel, the Hilton Coral Resort. About eight kilometers south
of the port is the  city
center, which is spread out but contains a small selection of
tourists shops, a few restaurants and a small bazaar. Still a
bit further north is Tarabin, with a number of small hotels
and camp-like operations.
Further up the coast between
Nuweiba and
Taba are a number
of small beach camps, some of which, while having fairly
primitive accommodations and amenities, nevertheless front
exotic and beautiful beaches with stunning blue water. These
include, beginning from the south, Maagana beach, Ras Shaitan
and Mahash. Maagana Beach is located about eight kilometers
north of Tarabeen (the northernmost part of
Nuweiba). Ras
Shaitan is another two  kilometers
north of Maagana. Of these beaches, Mahash, about twenty
kilometers north of Nuweiba is by far the most developed,
though still a beach camp for the most part. Here, Basata is
an eco-minded camp with about 18 huts and a common kitchen,
but there is also now the Tango Beach Resort, a four star
hotel with 64 rooms. Mahash is about twenty kilometers north
of Nuweiba. There are also several hotels, such as the three
star Awaki Beach hotel, and Club Aquasun, which is a 72 room
domed hotel with somewhat more amenities. Finally, a bit
further north, about 35 kilometers south of
Taba is Bir Sweir,
which is also a small hut style camp.
 Just
prior to the actual city of
Taba, some seventeen kilometers to
the south, is the massive new Taba Heights development. This
is a resort community being built by the same people who put
together El-Gouna, in much the same way. There is already a
Hyatt Regency, a Marriott and a Sofitel along with a golf
course, and there will very soon be a Three Corners El Wekala,
if it is not now open. The Taba Heights Inter-Continental is
expected to open in 2005, and there will be at least several
other major hotels opening in the near future. Like El-Gouna,
this resort center is being planned with all of the amenities
of El-Gouna, including many water sports facilities including
diving shops, as well as a casino.
 In
between Taba Heights and
Taba itself is another small harbor
named the Fjod, with no real accommodations but a small
restaurant and beach area. There is also a small hotel called
the Salah ad-Din Hotel just a bit further on adjacent to
Pharaoh's Island, just before Taba.
Taba itself is a few hundred meters of beach, and only one
real luxury hotel, the Taba Hilton which was recently heavily
damaged by a bomb attack. Taba sits on the Egyptian-Israel
border. In fact, all that separates the Israeli beach resort
of Eilat from Egypt's Taba is the border.
The hotel is actually a managed property of Hilton Hotels
and not owned by them. In a recent interview, Tour Egypt was
advised that the owner does intend to repair the facility,
though no timetable has been provided for such repairs.
However, we were advised that the damage to the hotel may not
have been as severe as originally thought, and that the
repairs will probably take  place
as soon as possible.
The Sinai is really a wonderful place to visit, with
majestic mountains and scenery like nowhere else on
earth.
An Analysis of the Recent Events in and Around Taba
(Mid-October, 2004)
As the Jerusalem Post noted in a recent article, "Israelis consider Taba, just across the Egyptian border with Israel, part of their own backyard - partly because Israel controlled the tiny enclave for 22 years, and Israelis built the hotel that was wrecked by
an explosion. Unfortunately,
Taba, caters to many Jewish
citizens, and it was almost certainly them, and not tourists
in general that were targeted in the Taba attack.
Nevertheless, the Egyptian government knows that, even though
Taba is relatively isolated from most other beach areas in the
Sinai, such an attack hurts tourism all over Egypt, and they
will do everything in their power to protect the resort, as
well as others, from any future problems. In fact, security in
the region has already been stepped up considerably.
The location of the bombings are of some significance. The
Taba Hilton sits right on the Egypt-Israel border, basically
within meters of the physical crossing. This was the largest
of the blasts. The second one occurred at Ras Shaitan, a
fairly undeveloped beach area on the northern side of a rocky
spur that juts out into the Gulf of Aqaba. The third explosion
took place, not at
Nuweiba as reported by almost all news
sources, but about ten kilometers north of the town. In fact,
one of these explosions did not cause much damage, we
understand, because the vehicle was prevented from reaching
its destination by Egyptian Tourist police.
One interesting and relevant fact about these events is
that places such as Taba Heights was not affected, probably
because larger resorts have additional security, but perhaps
also because there was less of a Jewish presence there.
The bombings at and near
Taba were the first such incident
that has occurred in Egypt in some years now and a pity
according to just about everyone's perspective. The incident
killed and injured Muslims and Jews alike. Egypt considers
itself a country of peace, and rightly so. Though an American,
I have many friends in Egypt, and while I am not naive enough
to think that there are not bad people everywhere, in every
country and of ever religious persuasion, there are no more
moderate, considerate and caring people than Egyptians. The
Taba bombing was an act that alienated those responsible from
everyone, crossing both borders and religions. Men such as
those who performed this vicious act are always misguided, but
these particular men were even more so.
And while such incidents can happen in any corner of the
world, obviously including the US, the Egyptian government is
dedicated, above all else, to protecting its tourists. There
is no doubt about that, because tourism provides essential
hard revenue to both the Egyptian government and the people of
Egypt, many of whom directly or indirectly support their
families through the tourist industry.
In the final analysis,
Taba is not a major resort area for
Egypt, really having less facilities, for example, than even
Nuweiba or Dahab. It is a nice area and, of course, we can
expect that Taba Heights some distance to the south, but not
to really be confused with Taba itself, will be a very major
and secure facility, as is El Gouna.
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