Following Jacques Yves Cousteau
This was our 27th visit to Egypt, by which time we had visited almost all the "iconic" sights of this beautiful country.
Of course, every person who visits Sharm El Sheikh should at least once visit the world-famous Ras Mohammed reserve. We were three times, took diving and snorkeling from the yacht. However, we didn’t take a land tour by bus, we had to buy a visa separately. This year, due to the pandemic, Egypt temporarily canceled paid visas. It's time to discover Ras Mohammed once again, but now for the first time by land. For the purchase of the tour, they turned to their agent, checked 13 years ago.
On March 8, after breakfast at 8 am, we were picked up from the hotel in a comfortable minibus and driven south, picking up tourists from other hotels along the way.
A small group has gathered. We went to rent scuba gear. Of course, we have all our own for many years, we do not use rentals. We got on the bus and rushed to the reserve without stopping.
Historical and geographical reference:
The Ras Mohammed (Head of Mohammed) Nature Reserve is located 25 km south of the Sinai Peninsula. In ancient times it was called Cape Poseidon. Famous all over the world thanks to the great French explorer, oceanographer Jacques Yves Cousteau, who was simply captivated by the underwater world of the Red Sea and this place. The reefs of Ras Mohammed fascinated Cousteau, and the famous traveler explored them thoroughly. There are thousands of fish species here, some of them quite rare. The underwater kingdom meets the explorer with unprecedented bright colors. And, as if also specially for the convenience of observation, the water in this region of the Red Sea is the most transparent. The bottom is clearly visible even at a depth of 50 meters. The reefs of Ras Mohammed are considered to be the best in the Northern Hemisphere of the planet.
In addition to the underwater kingdom, there are also unique places on land, such as a very salty magical lake, a rift in the Earth's crust, and mangroves. In 1989, the Ras Mohammed National Park was created here, which in 2002 was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.
Let's get back to our journey.
Stop number 1 entrance to the reserve: the architectural man-made complex of the Gates of Allah.
The Gate of Allah is a very original structure made of stone blocks, which is located at the entrance to the Ras Mohammed National Reserve. They are installed in such a way that if you look at them from the side of Egypt, then huge monoliths add up to the word "Allah" in Arabic. And if you look at the gate from the opposite - Israeli - side, you can read the same thing, only in Yiddish. We take photos and move on.
Stop "mangroves". Unique plants grow on the territory of the reserve - mangroves.
An amazing feature of the mangrove tree is that it feeds on salt water, and the leaves have the ability to "filter" the salt contained in sea water. These are the only plants in the world that can desalinate water.
We saw long serpentine roots that “drink” the salty water of the Red Sea, and salt crystals appear on the leaves. Oh, for some reason I remembered tequila, it would be helpful. This place is also unique in that you can simultaneously see both the Gulf of Suez and the Gulf of Akkaba.
Stop "fault in the Earth's crust". We stop to see another unique natural place - a tectonic fault in the Earth's crust.
According to scientists, it is millions of years old. Such faults arose as a result of strong earthquakes with a power of at least 7 points. The width of the fault is from several centimeters to several meters, the depth is up to 10 meters. The fault is filled with the waters of the Red Sea, the color of the water from soft turquoise to deep dark blue.
When you look into these crevices, scenes from science fiction films about the formation of the planet Earth emerge in front of the gases. From the crevices it blows cold, it seems that you are looking into the abyss. Impressed, moving on.
Stop "lake of desires". The guide tells an ancient legend about another unique place in the reserve called "lake of desires" or "magic lake".
The uniqueness of this reservoir lies in the fact that the water in it is much saltier and colder than in the sea, because. it “feeds” on underground salt springs. The water in it is healing due to salt and minerals. The legend says that one woman could not have children for a long time, nothing helped, and after swimming in this lake she became pregnant. Or maybe it's not an ancient legend, maybe it's a modern fairy tale told by an unfaithful tourist to her husband. Don't know. According to legend, if you make a wish and swim in the lake, it will come true. The main thing is to believe. And the water is very fresh.
Stop "in the footsteps of Cousteau". And then according to the program we have snorkeling, this is our favorite activity on the Red Sea. We have great respect for Monsieur Jacques Yves, who, thanks to the invention of scuba gear and his research, opened up to mankind the unearthly beauty of the underwater worlds. Cousteau devoted several years to the study of the reefs of Ras Mohamed, in fact, opening this reserve to the world.
The bay for snorkeling is very picturesque, magnificent overflows of all shades of the water of the Red Sea. We started swimming to the left. Oh, it's a pity that they didn't buy a new camera to replace the recessed one. You'll have to take my word for it. Cousteau had excellent taste in the underwater world. The corals are just gorgeous, and the architecture and the palette form intricate underwater gardens. Above these gardens, like birds of paradise, fiery and burgundy antias, striped chromis and aboudefdufs, flocks of blue cesiums, etc. are surrounded. etc. You can’t list everything.
An impressively sized painted aluter floated by, and suddenly a huge green handsome Napoleon fish appeared from the depths of the sea. Napoleon carefully looked at us with his round, swiveling eye and decided to accompany us. We swam for several hundred meters under the supervision of this dear master of the seas, then he went into the abyss. We swam a little more, the coral was still pleasing, then swam in the other direction. Again they caught up with Napoleon, again he swam alongside. On the right side, the corals are also beautiful. You can admire the underwater beauties endlessly, but the March water invigorated. We came out of the sea, changed clothes, dried up and rushed to the hotel to the Arabic music. We arrived at the place at 14:20.
That's how for half a day and a very modest payment you can see a lot of interesting and unique things - starting from geographical faults and mangroves, ending with the incomparable world of the Red Sea. Do not be lazy, treat yourself to a holiday, touch the secrets explored by the great traveler Jacques Yves Cousteau.
