Egypt is a country located in the North of the African Continent, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Western Asia. Egypt is covering an area of about 1 million square kilometers (390,000 sqare miles).
Egypt is one of the most populous countries in Africa and the Middle East. The great majority of its estimated 110 million inhabitants live near the banks of the Nile River where the only agricultural land is found. About half of Egypt’s residents live in urban areas, with the majority spread across the densely-populated centres of greater Cairo, Alexandria and other major cities in the Nile Delta.
Egypt is famous for its ancient civilisation and some of the world’s most famous monuments, including the Giza pyramid complex and its Great Sphinx. The southern city of Luxor contains numerous ancient artifacts, such as the Karnak Temple and the Valley of the Kings. Egypt is certainly a prime location to see the great heritage from the ancient world, including Pyramids and wonderful temples, but Egypt also offers nature and desert treks, great scuba diving and even golf, fishing and birding expeditions.
One may choose to relax on the wondrous Egypt Red Sea or Sinai coasts, take in the high culture of Cairo, or even leisurely float down the Egyptian Nile on a luxurious river boat.
SINAI REGION
The South Sinai Region is the least populated region of Egypt. It is located in the east of the country, encompassing the southern half of the Sinai Peninsula. Saint Catherine’s Monastery, an Eastern Orthodox Church monastery and UNESCO World Heritage Site of world renown, is located in the central part of the region.
The region is an attractive destination for tourism due to its amazing and fascinating nature scenes. The Sinai insurgency, although happening mainly in the neighbouring North Sinai Region, has occasionally spilled over to South Sinai. After 2014, the Egyptian government took firm actions to eliminate terrorism, and now the region is quite safe. The safest city in the Region is Sharm El Sheikh.
SHARM EL SHEIKH
Sharm El Sheikh, commonly abbreviated to Sharm, is an Egyptian city on the southern tip of the Sinai Peninsula, in South Sinai Region, on the coastal strip along the Red Sea. Its population is approximately 55,000 as of 2023. Sharm El Sheikh is the administrative hub of Egypt’s South Sinai Region, which includes the smaller coastal towns of Dahab and Nuweiba as well as the mountainous interior, St. Catherine and Mount Sinai. The city and holiday resort is a significant centre for tourism in Egypt, while also attracting many international conferences and diplomatic meetings. Sharm El Sheikh is one of the Asian cities of Egypt, it’s also called “the city of peace” referring to the large number of International Peace Conferences that have been held there.
Sharm El Sheikh was formerly a port, but commercial shipping has been greatly reduced as the result of strict environmental laws introduced in the 1990s and became the main yacht and service port. Sharm El Sheikh’s major industry is foreign and domestic tourism, owing to its landscape, year-round dry climate with long hot summers and warm winters and its long beaches. Its waters are clear and calm for most of the year and have become popular for various water sports, particularly recreational scuba diving and snorkeling. There is scope for scientific tourism due to the diversity of marine life: 250 different coral reefs and 1.000 species of fish.
Sharm is also home to a congress centre, located along Peace Road, where international political and economic meetings have been held, including peace conferences, ministerial meetings, world bank meetings, and Arab League meetings. The Maritim Sharm El Sheikh International Congress Centre can host events and congresses for up to 20,000 participants.
There is nightlife in Sharm El Sheikh. The colourful handicraft stands of the local Bedouin culture are a popular attraction.
Ras Mohammed, at the southernmost tip of the peninsula, has been designated a national park, protecting the area’s wildlife, natural landscape, shoreline and coral reef. There are a number of international hotels and restaurants in the centre of Sharm, in the area known as Naama Bay, with golf courses and other leisure facilities further up the coast.
Sharm El Sheikh has become a popular location for scuba diving as a result of its underwater scenery and warm waters. Other beach activities include snorkelling, windsurfing, kite-surfing, para-sailing, boating, and canoeing. Two reefs popular with divers are Shark Reef, a vertical wall descending to over 800 metres (2,600 ft), and Yolanda Reef, the site of the wreck of the Yolanda.