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Red Sea Coast

Why Go? Monasteries ...366 ’s Red Sea coast has never loomed large on any inde- El-Gouna ...... 369 pendent traveller’s itinerary, yet some of the most important ...... 370 sites in Christianity’s early evolution lay tucked away amid ...... 378 the barren mountains of the north. Venture south of brashly loud and proud Hurghada and you’ll not only fi nd some of Al-Quseir ...... 379 Egypt’s best diving but also the epically wild expanse of the & Around .. 381 Eastern Desert. Criss-crossed by trade routes dating back Eastern Desert ...... 383 to the far reaches of prehistory, and scattered with ancient Berenice ...... 385 rock art and lonely ruins, this little visited area is a desert Shalatein ...... 386 adventurer’s dream. Back on the ‘’, famous (or infamous, de- pending on your view) for being a bargain bonanza of cheap package holidays, overdevelopment has pockmarked the Best Places to Eat coastline deeply, leaving a trail of mega-resorts and half- » Kastan (p 375 ) fi nished hotels in its wake. Dig a little deeper into this region » Shade Bar & Grill (p375 ) though, and the Red Sea may just surprise you. » Restaurant Marianne (p 381 ) » Dolce & Salato (p383 ) When to Go Hurghada Best Places to °C/°F Te m p Rainfall inches/mm Stay 50/122 2.4/60 2.0/50 40/104 » Wadi Lahami Village 1.6/40 (p 382 ) 30/86 1.2/30 » Al-Quseir Hotel (p 381 ) 20/68 0.8/20

» Oberoi 10/50 0.4/10

(p 375 ) 0/32 0 » 4 Seasons Hotel (p373 ) J FDNOSAJJMAM

Feb A good time Mar–Apr While Sep Migratory to bargain hunt temperatures birds arrive en as generally stay mild dust off masse in the produces the your explorer hat deep south. cheapest resort and head to the deals. Eastern Desert. 365 To Ain Sukhna (60km); Suez Red Sea (100km) Highlights Zafarana 0 20 km 0 10 miles 1 Make a diving 54 date with the Abu Zenima Monastery of world class reefs St Anthony off Hurghada and Monastery discover why the Red of St Paul Sea was catapulted Abu Rudeis 44 onto the tourism Gebel al-Galala al-Qibliya stage in the fi rst place. 2 Refl ect on S I N A I monasticism’s centuries-old roots at St Anthony’s and St Paul’s. Eastern Desert 3 Plunge into 66 the lesser-known Ras Gharib kaleidoscope-hued reefs of the deep south from one of the Gulf of 88 To Main Inset beach camps around Suez Al-Tor Marsa Alam. Al-Quseir Map (50km) 4 Wander the old town of Al-Quseir, where the streets are imbued with an RED SEA COASTRED SEA 44 evocative yesteryear COASTRED SEA haze. Elphinstone Marsa Reef 5 Trek through Shagra wadis, mountains and 99 R E D S E A Marsa endless expanses of Alam sand in the Eastern Desert. Tawilah

R E D Island 6 Explore remnants S E A of Rome’s mighty Shedwan emerald mines from Wadi Island Gimal Wadi Wadi Gimal. Gimal El-Gouna Island Ferries to 7 Head to Tomb of Sharm el-Sheikh Shalatein’s camel Sayyed Mons & Saudi Arabia al-Shazli market and village Porphyrites souq, with its Wadi Hurghada Lahami Gebel ramshackle frontier Kattar vibe and meld of Berenice (1963m) Giftun Ras Islands cultures coming to Banas Gebel Reef Diving sell, haggle and buy. R ash-Shayib 0 40 km E Sharm 0 20 miles D (2187m) el-Naga S E A Shalatein Mons e Boundary M Claudianus nistrativ O Ras Admi (Sudan) U N Abu T Safaga Soma A I N S Ferries to 77 Saudi Arabia 44 To Qena To Al-Quseir (50km) (see Inset; 50km)