More from Egypt
Matc
Loc: Brisbane Australia
hawksbill turtle - comments/criticism welcomed...
hawksbill turtle feeding
Nice, he looks hungry. 8-)
Lenf
Loc: Strasburg,PA
Another nice shot, thanks Marc, you can really see how clear the viz is in the Red Sea.
What time of year did you make the dive ? Live aboard or land based ?
Matc
Loc: Brisbane Australia
Thanks guys.
Critter hunter, tbh, I can't remember what time of the year it was, you can see these year round. I lived in Egypt and ran a dive centre there for 4 years. This was land based...
Thxs Matc, just curious, heard winter dive temps can be chilly. Red Sea about the only place in the world,left for me to dive, but safety concerns keeping me away for now.
Matc
Loc: Brisbane Australia
Hi Critter Hunter. Winter water temp drops to around 19-20C. Not too chilly, unless you are really used to it being warm. Our guests would still be diving in shorties, but being acclimatized I was in drysuit! I used to get strange looks and comments from those on the dive boat! Day boats always have a lounge area to 'warm up' after dives and have a hot lunch. Re: political situation; if you stick to the tourist resorts along the Red Sea - which of course is where the diving is - its very safe. I have lots of European friends still living out there, who tell me that other than the slow in tourist trade, it's exactly the same as when I left. I lived there during the first Revolution, and never felt unsafe at all. I took a lot of photos on the night Mubarak 'stepped down', and again never felt unsafe. Go for it, the diving is worth it!
Thxs, will check it out since it's the last frontier for me.
RobertW
Loc: Breezy Point, New York
I lived in Qatar for 8-1/2 years and the diving in the Persian gulf was spectacular. Diving in Red Sea while on assignment in Jeddah also magnificent, but had to run as was in Riyadh the night nephew killed King Faisal, drove to Al Khobar thru night and got a ride on a Gulf&Western flight to Dubai---Saudi Arabia was closed down the next day for three months!---DIVING in the Middle East, then the Persian Gulf, the Red Sea beyond compare!
I stopped in Qatar last November on our way home from diving The Maldives. Didn't even think to look for diving in that area. Just returned from Israel last week, but were with a group so could not break away for diving.
RobertW
Loc: Breezy Point, New York
You really missed a great opportunity. Whilst living there, we took our boat every Thursday afternoon to Safliyah Island , camped and dove Fridays (An hour after sunrise because the sharks are hunting at Sunrise and sunset;)- rest of the day we could dive among them at the reefs without fear, picking and choosing which hamour to shoot for dinners during the ensuing week (A hamour is almost exactly like our grouper), and further up the coast we would ride turtles and manta rays, occasionally took Hobie cat and sailed across Gulf to Iraq where there were great clam and mussel beds along the rocky coast...
Sounds like you were living the Dream. Doubt I'll get back that way, spend most dive trips in Indonesia and Philippines now.
RobertW
Loc: Breezy Point, New York
One glitch Critter-Hunter,- we hobie'd across Gulf to Rocky coast of IRAN, not IRAQ---On my one trip to Indonesia I had only one dive opportunity, and it was messed up because I think the tank I rented was contaminated and only got about twenty minutes---but even that was enough to tell me aI was missing something great...Enjoy the diving---post pix!!RobertTheWanderer
Like the handle "Robert the Wanderer" sounds like you are full of the Wonderlust too. I did most of my adventurous travels like yourself scrambling to leave the Iran while I operated in Southeast Asia 1968
RobertW
Loc: Breezy Point, New York
Welcome to the Club!! Wanderlust is middle name- Architect and Structural Engineer and have lived in Qatar, Saudia, Venezuela, Sao Paulo, Ireland, Wales, but pretty much home these days in Breezy Point, NY, bemoaning all the camera gear, dive gear, pics, negatives, slides ,etc from 45 years of wandering everywhere that I lost in the flood "SANDY" 17 months ago
If you want to reply, then
register here. Registration is free and your account is created instantly, so you can post right away.