Dahab? |
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Sinai Peninsula and surrounding areas, showing location of Dahab
DahabDahab (دهب) is a small village situated on the south-eastern coast of the Sinai peninsula. Formerly a Bedouin fishing village, the construction of international chain-hotels and other ancillary facilities has now made this a popular destination with tourists. The nearest international airport is located Sharm el-Sheikh. Local supplies of fresh water are very limited; most hotels have desalination plants.
Tourist highlights include:
- The SCUBA Diving and Snorkelling are very good, with many reefs immediately adjacent to water front hotels. The nearby Blue Hole and Canyon are internationally famous dive spots.
- The seafood restaurants along the waterfront of the down-town tourist area are good, with red snapper, calamari and lobster being highlights. The Bedouin-style seafood, based on baking in earthen-ware is also great.
- There are camel, horse, jeep and quad-bike safaris. These are either parallel to the shoreline, up one of the several valleys or around the township, the former two are recommended.
- A two hour ride is sufficient to reach Mount Sinai and Saint Catherine's Monastery, Mount Sinai; ascents to view sunrise and sunset are popular.
Some less desirable things that tourists may wish to avoid include:
- Dust storms caused by any moderately powerful easterly winds due to the complete lack of vegetation in the inland desert.
- Huge amounts of litter, especially around the more distant tourist locations.
- Shops selling coral jewelry; the CITES convention prohibits tourists from taking such jewelery home.
The word Dahab in Arabic means gold (Dhahab) and is possibly a reference to the geographic locality; gold washed down from the desert mountains may have accumulated on the alluvial flood plain where the town was built.