a little about sharm el sheikh

GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT SHARM EL SHEIKH

Located at the Southern tip of the Sinai Peninsula, Sharm El Sheikh is considered one of the most premiere resorts in the Middle East.

Nestled between the enchantingly rich and pristine Red Sea, the sweeping grandeur of the Sinai Mountains, and the spacious mystique of the desert, it is a pulsating hub of alluring beauty. Sharm El Sheikh has a lot to offer; from dramatic terrain and florid coral reefs, to dazzling white beaches, and spectacular sunsets. It has some of the best diving and snorkeling spots, desert safaris, along with an action-packed animated nightlife.

Sharm el-Sheikh is the most accessible and developed tourist resort community on the Sinai peninsula, owing to its dramatic landscape, year-round dry and temperate climate and long stretches of natural beach. It is sandwiched between clear blue sea and stunning mountain views. Its waters are clear and calm for most of the year and have become popular for various watersports, particularly recreational scuba diving and snorkelling (which many consider to be among the best in the world). Coral reefs, under water and marine life, unmatched anywhere in the world, offer a spectacular and dazzling time for divers (250 different coral reefs and 1000 species of fish). These natural resources together with its proximity to European tourism markets have stimulated the rapid growth of tourism boom that the region is currently experiencing. It is a mere five hour flight from the UK and only a two hour time difference. Flights to Cairo from Sharm el-Sheikh take one hour and are inexpensive.

Sharm offers all the amenities one would expect, being most well known as a first class diving and snorkeling destination. Na'ama Bay offers fine dining, bars and nighclubs and there are some lavish casono's, golf courses and health facilities. You can take a desert safari and experience the Bedouin culture including a camal ride. Ras Mohammed, at the southern-most tip of the peninsula, has been designated a national park, serving to protect the area's wildlife as well as its natural landscape, shoreline and coral reef. Children can also enjoy Go-Carting, the Aqua Park, rock climbing and fair ground rides. There is something to offer each and every visitor.

A BREIF HISTORYOF SHARM EL SHEIKH

Sharm el-Sheikh is on a promontory overlooking the Straits of Tiran at the mouth of the Gulf of Aqaba. Its strategic importance led to its transformation from a fishing village into a major port and naval base for the Egyptian Navy. It was captured by Israel during the Sinai conflict of 1956 and restored to Egypt in 1957. A United Nations peacekeeping force was subsequently stationed there until the 1967 Six-Day War when it was recaptured by Israel and officially renamed Mifratz Shlomo, Hebrew for "Gulf of Solomon"; but the name "Sharm el Sheikh" or "Sharm" stayed in general use.

Sharm el-Sheikh remained under Israeli control until the Sinai peninsula was returned to Egypt in 1982 after the Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty of 1979. An Israeli Settlement had been created there in the 1970's under the name "Ophira" (�?ופיר�?), derived from Biblical Ophir. Israeli settlers there had the name of being easy-going, bohemian types and - unlike settlers elsewhere - offered no resistance when evacuated in 1982. Also, unlike the Israeli settlements in North Sinai which were razed to the ground upon evacuation by order of then Defence Minister Ariel Sharon, the Israeli settlement at Sharm el-Sheikh was handed intact to the Egyptians, and some of the buildings erected at the time are still in evidence.

A hierarchical planning approach was adopted for the Gulf of Aqaba, whereby their components were evaluated and subdivided into zones, cities and centers. In accordance with this approach, the Gulf of Aqaba zone was subdivided into four cities: Taba, Nuweiba, Dahab and Sharm El-Sheikh. Sharm El-Sheikh city has been subdivided into five homogeneous centers namely: Nabq, Ras Nusrani, Naama Bay, Umm Sid and Sharm El Maya.

Before 1967, Sharm el-Sheikh was little more than an occasional base of operations for local fishermen; the nearest permanent settlement was in Nabq, north of Ras el-Nasrani ("The Tiran Straits"). Commercial development of the area began during the Israeli presence in the area. 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. These included a marina hotel on the southern side of the bay, a nature field school on the northern side, diving clubs, a now well-known promenade, and the Naama Bay Hotel.

Sharm el-Sheikh is located on the Egyptian Red Sea coast, at the southern tip of the Sinai Peninsula. After the Sinai was restored to Egypt in 1982, the Egyptian government embarked on an initiative to encourage continued development of the city. The Aqua Marine hotel was Being build along with the hotel the Cliff Top (still exist today) in Hadaba. Gradually more Egyptians and foreigners began to settle, starting camps and hotels, burger bars basically anything the residents needed. 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.The big boom was in '90's when almost every known hotel chain started development.

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. A second summit was held at Sharm on October 17, 2000 following the outbreak of the second Palestinian intifada, but it failed to end the violence. A summit was held on August 3, 2005 in this city on developments in the Arab world such as the situation in Iraq and the Arab-Israeli conflict. . The Maritim Sharm el Sheikh International Congress Centre can host events and congresses for up to 4,700 participants. Peace conferences, ministerial meetings, world bank meetings, Arab league conferences for mentioning a few. The recent international conference on 11 May,2007 on Iraq held in Sharm el-Sheikh was the biggest and most inclusive diplomatic push to end that nation’s security crisis since the 2003 invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein.

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