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Ras Mohamed Attractions:

General Information

Ras Mohamed or Cape Mohamed, one of Egypt's most important, intact, natural preserved areas. Located at the southern most tip of the Sinai peninsula, overlooking Suez and Aqaba Gulfs. It is about 480km2, and about 80km from the city of Al-Tor, while to the north of Ras Mohamed lies the peace City of Sharm-El-Sheikh, which is about 30 kilometers away. Ras Mohamed can be easily reached by air, land or sea. Weather at Ras Mohamed is ideal round the year, sunny in Summer and nice cool breeze in Winter.

Ras Mohamed one of the best diving places in the whole world if not the best of all, lies beside some other incredible diving sites like; Sharm El-Sheikh, Hurghada, Dahab, Nuweiba and Taba. When being at Ras Mohamed you will get amazed at seeing the wonderful diving site, fishes, extended sandy beaches, the intact wildlife and exquisite nature

Tourist information

Cape Mohamed or Ras Mohamed, has always had a distinguished strategic importance for the Ancient Egyptians who controlled trade on the Red Sea . It was the joining point between both Suez Gulf and Aqaba gulf. Later on, during the Mamlukes period, 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 .

Ras Mohamed and the surrounding area started to be depicted on the Portuguese and Spanish maps due to its strategic and commercial importance. Some scholars claim that Moses parted the sea, taking with him the Israelites towards the Promised Land passing by that land.

We learned from history resources, that the area of Ras Mohamed, Sharm-el-Sheikh, and the Islands of Tiran, controlled the trade routes between Europe , Africa , and Asia . That was one of the reasons Britain used to enforce its powers and seize Sinai & the rest of Egypt in 1882, during the Ottoman period, so as to secure its commercial routes to India and other parts in Asia which was under the British invasion during that time. It should also be mentioned that Laurence of Arabia used the area as a setting for his men at the time of the attack on Aqaba during the Arab revolution of the First World War.

Ras Mohamed area, as well as the whole of Sinai was declared by the Egyptian army as a military zone after the Suez War in 1956. After the signing of the peace agreement between Egypt and Israel in 1979, the whole of Sinai was returned to Egypt , while Taba returned in 1989. Shortly after that, in 1983 and due to the extraordinary well preserved nature at Ras Mohamed it was announced as the first Egyptian National Park in Egypt . Finally, it should be noted that it is said that the name Ras Mohamed itself, comes from one of the wind carved cliffs in the area, which resembled the features of the Prophet Mohamed to the early Arabs who came to the area in the first part of the Seventh Century.

Since it is an utmost diving destination, among the dive sites that worth a visit are: Yolanda Reef; located south west to the Sharks Reef, maximum depth reaches about 700 meters. It name is driven from a freight that was wrecked in that area in 1981. Remains and wrecks of the ships can still be sawn among them are a BMW and some toilet seats, most of the other wrecks of the ship was driven by the wind deep to South. Eel fish can be sawn in large numbers in that area, also other types of fish like the barracuda, Napoleons at large sizes, snappers, trunk fish, etc. There are plenty of corals of different sizes and colors. Wind and current are very strong in this area so divers should be careful and should be accompanied with experienced guides. Sharks Reef, forming with Yolanda reef the best diving scenes at Ras Mohamed. Shark and Yolanda reefs are two twin mountains that extend many meters in the sea (reaches about 700 meters), below the surface, then they are both joint at the base of the sea. Currents at Shark Reef in Ras Mohamed are also strong and very dangerous. Every possible species of fish can be found in that area among which are the hammerheads, gray tipped, white tipped, and all the other open sea fish, including barracudas and gigantic tuna which can mostly be found at the east of the vertical Eastern Wall. Coral growth here is relatively good with thin growth on the wall but quite dense on the saddle. There are plenty of anemones here with the usual clownfish crowd. Here is a good place to see the giant moray eels. Visibility is good averaging 20m for the whole site.

Ras Atar, also know as Ras Zaatar, a deep dive that requires dive masters and experts like the other previous two sites. Its maximum depth is about 45 meters only. Diving in this area at Ras Mohamed is fascinating, it includes large caves filled with many types of marine life. You will be able to see the manta fish, black tipped sharks, barracuda, also hundreds of the long-nose hawk fish will be featured swimming around the dark caves. Large scales of corals are growing beautifully. Shark Observatory; about 90 meters in depth, the name of this site clarifies how sharks can be easily seen from a not to deep distance. Spotted sharks will be seen almost at the surface. This diving site has been describes as a heaven for divers, and an underwater paradise, for all the natural beautiful scenes it bares. Inhabited by a large number of barracuda fish, napoleons, and huge tuna fish, also snappers and trigger fish. Corals are magnificently formatted and growing upwards towards the surface. That was a quick glance about the most beautiful diving sites at Ras Mohamed, but still Ras Mohamed has more incredible and breathtaking sites so pay a visit to; the Eel Garden , as suggested from the name you will see large numbers of eel fish. The anemone City , Beacon Rock , Ras Ghozlani , and more.

Leaving the underwater life and heading to the Wildlife at Ras Mohamed, the desert at Ras Mohammed is crawling with animals from all types. Starting from the mammals that are formed from a large number of camels, gazelles, Nubian Ibex, Leopards, caracals, sand cats, jungle cats, Egyptian wild-cat, fennec fox, gray wolves, sand & red fox, etc. All these wild collection of animals can be found at the desert of Ras Mohammed, unfortunately many of the mammals life have become extinct due to the over-hunting habits used to be in that area. Ras Mohammed is considered to be one of the most important preserved area where you can find a variety of bird species. Ras Mohammed is one of the most important areas in the world that millions of birds immigrate to each year. For those who like to have bird-watching; Ras Mohammed is the ideal place for this activity. A brief list containing some of the bird species in the area; Arctic Skua, Arabian warbler, Black kite, bar-tailed lark, blue-throat, brown booby, common tern, common teal, dunlin, Egyptian Vulture, Egyptian goose, feral dove, hooded crow, ospreys, and much more to be found.

For a relaxation day on the beach, get ready to spend a perfect time at one of Ras Mohammed sandy beaches like; Aqaba beach; located South of the observation , Bereika beach , is an excellent place to see gulls and larks, also to enjoy your time in a perfect sandy beach. Other beaches include Khashaba beach and the main beach , which is the biggest and nicest beach at Ras Mohammed, crystal clear water, smooth sandy beach.