Easter break's here, so we decided to head to Sharm-el-Sheikh or "Sharm" as the locals call it. “Sharm” means a finger of land jutting into the sea / peninsula which is what the city derives its name from. Fondly known as the "resort capital of the world", Sharm is essentially the beach, resorts, more resorts and some more resorts!!
A one hour flight from Cairo (Egypt Air) or a 6 hour drive, the choice is yours. Since we were traveling with friends, we decided to drive. I was told that the drive was very nice, albeit a little long. Most importantly, driving gave you the flexibility of having your own car when in Sharm. So driving down was what it was going to be! Given that it’s a long drive, its best to set out early morning, cos the overhead sun can get very hot as noon approaches... So we left at 6.30 am in the morning (earlier would be even better)...
What can I say about the drive, other than a long heartfelt gasp of admiration! The topography of the Sinai region is rolling in places, flat in others, but uniformly a dusty, desolate brown of the dessert. Flat tabletop mountains, stark, melancholy, brooding yet majestic, the route is dotted with resort complexes like Moon Beach, Abu Zenima etc...
There are stretches where the water pays hide and seek with the brown of the dessert, a lovely blue, but not the azure of the sea near the Suez.
Petrified sand dunes with myriad shapes - you can let your imagination run wild and find so many imageries in the mountains that surround you. There is a stretch where it would appear that a hundred ancient pharonic figures, seated on their stately thrones, watch the cavalcade of vehicles speed by. Yet another set of rocks look like an ancient pharonic burial temple.
There are places where it seems like the mountains were like lace and ruffles that have been plucked out from the land, , some others have ridges running along them which make them seem like mini-fortress walls criss-crossing the mountains...
Yet other stretches are barren flatlands with sand mountains looming large ...some others are layered in black and brown and look like they've been painted by the weeping brush of a disconsolate artist on the blue canvas of the sky...As you drive into Sharm, the view of the bay is breathtaking....
I believe till 1968, Sharm was nothing more than a fishing community, yet today its the most popular beach resort that Egypt has to offer. Sharm is now a well developed area that seems more like a European resort than Egyptian, with great facilities and amenities, including some budget oriented accommodations as well as five star hotels. And, while one is capable of spending almost any budget at their disposal here, for most Europeans, it remains a relatively inexpensive alternative to more costly beach resort alternatives elsewhere. Which is the reason why Sharm has an international airport where flights - regular airlines as well as chartered flights - seem to land all through the day (my son counted 13 flights in a short 3 hr period that we spent in the evening on N'eama Bay)...
More on Sharm in a later post....
1 comment:
Na'ama Beach is one of the center of the tourist activities. Located just north of Sharm, this area is developing into a resort town of its own. Getting to Sharm El Sheikh is not a problem as all the major airports are connected directly or indirectly.
Sharm El Sheikh Airport
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