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Sharm El Sheikh
KNOWLEDGE OF Sharm El Sheikh
Sharm el-Sheikh (شرم الشيخ, also transliterated as Sharm ash Shaykh), often known simply as "Sharm," is a city situated on the southern tip of the Sinai Peninsula, in Janub Sina', Egypt, on the coastal strip between the Red Sea and Mount Sinai. The drive to Ismaïlia is about four hours; to Taba it's three.
Sharm el-Sheikh is the administrative hub of Egypt's Southern Sinai province which includes the smaller coastal towns of Dahab and Nuweiba as well as the mountainous interior, Saint Catherine's Monastery and Mount Sinai.
Sharm el-Sheikh is situated on a promontory overlooking the Strait of Tiran at the mouth of the Gulf of Aqaba. Its strategic importance led to its transformation from a fishing village into a major port and naval base for the Egyptian Navy. It was captured by Israel during the Sinai conflict of 1956 and restored to Egypt in 1957. A United Nations peacekeeping force was subsequently stationed there until the 1967 Six Day War when it was recaptured by Israel and renamed Mifratz Shlomo, Hebrew for "Gulf of Solomon". Sharm el-Sheikh remained under Israeli control until the Sinai peninsula was returned to Egypt in 1982.
Prior to 1967, Sharm el-Sheikh was little more than an occasional base of operations for local fishermen; the nearest permanent settlement was in Nabek, north of Ras el-Nasrani ("The Tiran Straits"). Commercial development of the area began during the Israeli occupation. The Israelis built the town of Ofira overlooking Sharm el-Maya Bay and opened the first tourist-oriented establishments in the area six kilometers north at Naama Bay. These included a marina hotel on the southern side of the bay, a nature field school on the northern side, diving clubs, and a now well-known promenade.
After the Sinai was restored to Egypt in 1982, the Egyptian government embarked on an initiative to encourage continued development of the city. Foreign investors - some of whom had discovered the potential of the locality during the Israeli occupation - contributed to a spate of building projects. Environmental zoning laws currently limit the height of buildings in Sharm el-Sheikh so as to avoid obscuring the natural beauty of the surroundings.
The city has played host to a number of important Middle Eastern peace conferences, including the September 4, 1999 agreement to restore Palestinian self-rule over the Gaza Strip. A second summit was held at Sharm on October 17, 2000 following the outbreak of the second Palestinian intifada, but it failed to end the violence. A summit, was held on August 3, 2005 in this city on developments in the Arab world such as the situation in Iraq and the Arab-Israeli conflict.
The city was struck by two major disasters in recent years. On January 3, 2004, Flash Airlines Flight 604 crashed into the Red Sea shortly after leaving Sharm el-Sheikh's airport. On July 23, 2005, a series of bombings killed more than 80 persons.
In 1978, a flash flood destroyed most of the shallow reefs in Naama Bay. Being that the bay was largely undeveloped at the time, there were very few casualties.
Sharm el-Sheikh is the administrative hub of Egypt's Southern Sinai province which includes the smaller coastal towns of Dahab and Nuweiba as well as the mountainous interior, Saint Catherine's Monastery and Mount Sinai.
Sharm el-Sheikh is situated on a promontory overlooking the Strait of Tiran at the mouth of the Gulf of Aqaba. Its strategic importance led to its transformation from a fishing village into a major port and naval base for the Egyptian Navy. It was captured by Israel during the Sinai conflict of 1956 and restored to Egypt in 1957. A United Nations peacekeeping force was subsequently stationed there until the 1967 Six Day War when it was recaptured by Israel and renamed Mifratz Shlomo, Hebrew for "Gulf of Solomon". Sharm el-Sheikh remained under Israeli control until the Sinai peninsula was returned to Egypt in 1982.
Prior to 1967, Sharm el-Sheikh was little more than an occasional base of operations for local fishermen; the nearest permanent settlement was in Nabek, north of Ras el-Nasrani ("The Tiran Straits"). Commercial development of the area began during the Israeli occupation. The Israelis built the town of Ofira overlooking Sharm el-Maya Bay and opened the first tourist-oriented establishments in the area six kilometers north at Naama Bay. These included a marina hotel on the southern side of the bay, a nature field school on the northern side, diving clubs, and a now well-known promenade.
After the Sinai was restored to Egypt in 1982, the Egyptian government embarked on an initiative to encourage continued development of the city. Foreign investors - some of whom had discovered the potential of the locality during the Israeli occupation - contributed to a spate of building projects. Environmental zoning laws currently limit the height of buildings in Sharm el-Sheikh so as to avoid obscuring the natural beauty of the surroundings.
The city has played host to a number of important Middle Eastern peace conferences, including the September 4, 1999 agreement to restore Palestinian self-rule over the Gaza Strip. A second summit was held at Sharm on October 17, 2000 following the outbreak of the second Palestinian intifada, but it failed to end the violence. A summit, was held on August 3, 2005 in this city on developments in the Arab world such as the situation in Iraq and the Arab-Israeli conflict.
The city was struck by two major disasters in recent years. On January 3, 2004, Flash Airlines Flight 604 crashed into the Red Sea shortly after leaving Sharm el-Sheikh's airport. On July 23, 2005, a series of bombings killed more than 80 persons.
In 1978, a flash flood destroyed most of the shallow reefs in Naama Bay. Being that the bay was largely undeveloped at the time, there were very few casualties.
Chapi