Egyptian Red Sea Diving          by Arrie Nicole Travis (Red Sea Diver)

A vacation in Egypt, combined with exploring its underwater phenomena, may well be considered the world's most exotic, historical, cultural, and exhilarating of all dive adventures.  Thirteen individuals departed Norfolk to begin their journey into history.

First stop was Sharm El Sheikh  ---  That is where our diving began.  Bordering the desert, the historical Red Sea is a submerged oasis of incredibly rich and beautiful marine life.  The Red Sea is crystal clear water with steep drop-offs that literally start at the surface and fall into a deep blue abyss (800 ft). 

The sea is full of schools of large pelagic fish, an unbelievably large variety of tropical fish on every reef, an incredible display of exquisite hard corals, sea fans up to 15 feet in diameter, and with the vivid colors of soft corals to be found nowhere else in the world.

There are over 1000 species of fish and 200 coral species in the magnificent Red Sea.  Species such as  blue-spotted stingrays, giant moray, groupers, trigger fish, unicorn fish, puffer fish, wrasse, stonefish, lionfish, butterfly fish, giant clam, nudibranchi, shrimp, starfish, bubble sea anemone, organ-pipe coral, grape coral, and grass coral, to name a few, are abundant in the Red Sea.

Dive sites such as Ras Muhammad, Thomas Reef, Jackson Reef, Ras Umm Sid, Ras Za'atir, and the famous wreck MS Thistlegorm have earned their reputation as one of the world's finest diving destinations.  After six full days of diving from our own 80 foot liveaboard, we departed.  It will be well missed!

After we transferred to Luxor, some individuals decided to tour early with a trip to the Luxor Museum, while others coaxed themselves out of dive mode by relaxing at the pool side and taking in the splendor of the Nile.  By afternoon, we piled into our private bus and began our journey back into time. 

The Temple of Karnak and the Temple of Luxor were the first stops on our journey.  Yes, it was hot (no humidity - just heat).  The tour guide educated us on the 5000 year old civilization and the power of its ancient gods.  That evening we attended a sound and light show at the Karnak Temple.  Very early next morning, we journeyed to the Valley of the Kings where King Tutankhamum tomb is located.  We entered other tombs (the tomb of Merenptah 19^th dyn) and awed at the drawings and original colors of the paints. 

Continuing to the Valley Temple of Queen Hatshepsut, this temple was carved at the base of the mountain.  A few of us were fortunate to view the Tomb of Nefertari - only150 persons per day are allowed.  We briefly visited the site of the Colossi of Memnon (two gigantic statues standing at the entrance of the great temple that no longer exists). 

After arriving back at the hotel, while most were preparing for the trip to Cairo, a few venturous ones rented a "fluka" and were able to sail the historical myth-inspiring Nile.  This was a perfect way to wrap up the City of Luxor.

Cairo - this is what we were waiting for.  Morning comes early and we began with the Egyptian Museum of Antiquities and the famous treasures of King Tut.  The displays were amazing.  We saw items that dated back to the seventh millennia BC.  There were chariots, jewelry, sarcophagus and mummies.  After trying to digest everything in the museum, we took a short ride to the famous Great Pyramids of Giza.                             

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