%s4S:t Catherines Monastery%s* and other Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt Things to Do Tips

The beautiful Byzantine church inside the Monastery has never been damaged since itīs construction in 542 A.D. When Moses fled from Egypt, he came upon the seven daughters of Jethro tending their flocks at a well. This "Moses Well", as it is called today, can still be seen near the Monastery church. Moses married one of the daughters, then spent 40 years in the desert until the miracle of the burning bush occured, when God was revealed to him, and he was ordered to bring the children of Israel to Horeb (Mount Moses) where he recieved the Tablets of the Law.
In 330 A.D a small church and a tower at thesite of the Burning Bush were erected by st. Helena (Constantine the Greats mother)
Link to S:t Catherines Monastery travelouge

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We went here with help from "Sun n Fun".
It costīs about 300 Le for 2 persons for a Jeep Safari and it includes snorkeling.
The mangrooves was something too see!
We took a bath in a very salty lake at Ras Mohammed - wonderful!
We also checked out the cracks in the ground from an earthquake (1960+ something)

Ras Mohamed (which translates from the Arabic as Cape Mohamed) has always had immense strategic importance for the Ancient Egyptians who controlled trade on the Red Sea. With the beginning of commercial capitalism, the Arabs,the Mamlukes, and later the Ottomans who ruled Egypt found it necessary to maintain a strong military presence in this area to secure the land and naval routes of the profitable transit trade between Europe and the East, as well as the passage ways to Mecca. The Ras Mohamed point was anciently known as the point of meeting between Heroopoliticus sinus (Gulf of Suez) on the west, and Ælaniticus sinus (Gulf of Aqaba).

This strategic importance of the area was elevated further with the opening of the Suez Canal at the end of the Nineteenth Century. It basically implied that whoever held the area of Ras Mohamed, Sharm-el-Sheikh, and the Islands of Tiran and Sanafeer controlled the straits of Tiran which meant that they controlled any trade between Europe Africa, and Asia. It was therefore only logical that Britain, the naval super power of the time, would aim and succeed in seizing Sinai and the rest of Egypt from the Ottomans in 1882. Aiming to secure the passageway to India, Sinai was added to the list of British strongholds en route which included Gibraltar, Malta, Cyprus, Alexandria, Suez, and Aden in Yemen.
It should also be mentioned that Laurence of Arabia used the area as a backdrop for his men at the time of the assault on Aqaba during the Arab Revolt of the First World War.
Ras Mohammed

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This is a great dive/snorkeling spot, here You can find very nice corals on the left side of the beach and ofcourse at the right side - a hit, easy to find with a cab (20-30 Le), You have to rent a chair (10 Le).
Check my travelogue

Link to Ras um Sid:
Ras um Sid

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A very nice snorkeling spot (without sharks!)- check this:
link to Shark bay travelouge

Try to go to Near Garden,Middle Garden and Far Garden, these divingspots are VERY spectacular and itīs just close to the beach, Itīs almost as good as Ras Mohammed

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This is an old caravan passage, its more than 2000 years old, and some of the buildings are about 1000 yers old, it is well worth a visit, it is a bit cheaper here, but take care! the locals are a bit more rough here.
On the pic You can se the shop for animals - to eat - it is evening and the pic is not what it should be, but....
They kill the animals on the street and the blood floats in the gutter -Uurrkk!

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Meet the majestic black mangrove tree, the Avicennia Marina. The mangrove ( originally a West Indian word for salt tolerant coastal plants ) is, as under statements go, a peculiarity in this part of the world. Mangroves are considered to be "rain forests by the sea" and cover over 2.2 billion acres of the earth's surface. This is however almost the most northerly place you will see this plant, the most northerly being in the Nabq protected area which is just a bit further up the coast of Sinai. This is truly the pushing the edge of its range to its extreme.
Taking a closer look at the mangrove at Ras Mohamed , we see that they are an evergreen shrub where trees are from 1 to 5 meters in length with a 40cm average diameter for the trunk. This makes them considerably shorter than Mangroves found further south along the Red Sea where heights reach from 5 to 7 meters. These trees have dense foliage with shiny green, thick ovate leaves as well as some small white to yellowish four petalled flowers. They also have hairy, ball-like petioles at the end of twigs. However the most .................
You can se more in my travelouge:
Link to Ras Mohammed

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Address: Ras Mohammed