Sinai and the Red Sea
With pristine beaches, the finest coral reef in the world, and a variety of water sports, the Sinai and the Red Sea are becoming increasingly popular destinations. Here the stark Sahara meets the tropical paradise of lush underwater beauty. The towns of Sharm el-Sheikh, Hurghada, and Nuweiba are emerging as world-famous beach resorts. All towns have numerous 5-star deluxe hotels and exciting water sports, including scuba diving, snorkeling, wind surfing, sailing, parasailing, banana boating, jet skiing, and water skiing.

Sharm el-Sheikh
Sharm el-Sheikh offers a variety of exciting activities: scuba diving and snorkeling, water sports, organized desert safaris, and day or night trips to St. Catherine's Monastery. The coral reefs of Sharm el-Sheikh harbor undersea foliage and fish of exquisite colors. The best diving is located just west of Ras Mohammed Park or at Na'ama Bay, east of the town. Local dive shops will also take you to more distant sites such as the beautiful Tiran Island. These sites offer the most wildly beautiful, incandescent colored fish and coral. Na'ama Bay is where most of the hotels, restaurants, and dive shops are located, and the town has an exciting nightlife. Sharm el-Sheikh is 480 km from Cairo and less than one hour by air.

Monastery of St. Catherine's
The 6th century Greek Orthodox Monastery of St. Catherine's is dramatically set at the base of Mount Sinai where, tradition says, Moses received the Ten Commandments. The monastery is 265 kilometers inland from Sharm-el-Sheikh, in the stark mountain landscape of the Sinai Peninsula. St. Catherine's has been a place of pilgrimage since long before the 4th century, when the Byzantine empress, Helena, ordered the building of a chapel on the site of what was believed to be the "burning bush". The 6th century emperor Justinian added the existing fortress monastery to protect the monks and pilgrims from raiders. The monastery consists of the citadel itself and its annexes: the gardens, the cemetery and the ossuary. The citadel is a beautiful example of Byzantine architecture, and its enclosure houses the Basilica, various chapels, a mosque, and the famed burning bush itself, transplanted from its original position inside a chapel. The bush is a type of bramble and is the only one of its kind in the whole of the Sinai Peninsula. The citadel also contains several wells, including the well used by the daughters of Jethro, where Moses is said to have met his wife Zapporah. There is a library whose collection of religious manuscripts is the most important outside the Vatican, an icon gallery, the monks' cells, the refectory and the hostelry. Energetic persons will take on the challenge of a pre-dawn climb of Mount Sinai to experience a glorious sunrise. Overnight programs from Cairo and day visits from Sharm el-Sheikh are available.