Dahab

Dahab

Dahab shoreline
Dahab

Location in the Sinai Peninsular

Coordinates: 28°29′35″N 34°30′17″E / 28.49306°N 34.50472°E / 28.49306; 34.50472
Country  Egypt
Governorate South Sinai
Time zone EST (UTC+2)

Not to be confused with Oued Ed-Dahab Province in Moroccan Western Sahara.

Dahab (Egyptian Arabic: دهب, IPA: [ˈdæhæb], "gold") is a small town situated on the southeast coast of the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt. Formerly a Bedouin fishing village, located approximately 80 km (50 mi) northeast of Sharm el-Sheikh, Dahab is considered to be one of the Sinai's most treasured diving destinations. Following the Six Day War, the town was occupied by Israel and was known in Hebrew as Di-Zahav (Hebrew: די זהב‎); named after a place mentioned in the Bible as one of the stations for the Israelites during the Exodus from Egypt. The Sinai Peninsula was restored to Egyptian rule in the Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty in 1982. The arrival of international hotel chains and the establishment of other ancillary facilities has since made the town a popular destination with tourists. Dahab is served by Sharm el-Sheikh International Airport. Masbat (within Dahab) is a popular diving destination, and there are many (50+) dive centers located within Dahab. Most of Dahab's diving spots are shore dives.

Dahab can be divided into three major parts. Masbat, which includes the bedouin village Asalah, is in the north. South of Masbat is Mashraba, which is more touristic and has considerably more hotels. In the southwest is Medina which includes the Laguna area, famous for its excellent shallow-water windsurfing.

The region of Asalah is quite developed and has many camps and hostels. Most people who have visited Dahab in the past were backpackers interested in diving and snorkeling in the Red Sea.

Tourism

Beach promenade on a winter day

Dahab attracts large numbers of tourists. It is world-renowned for its windsurfing. Reliable winds provide superb flat-water conditions inside Dahab's sand spit. Further away from shore, wavy conditions couple with strong winds to provide formidable conditions for keen windsurfers. However, in the recent years, the lagoon inside the sand spit has been overtaken by kitesurfers, with 2 Russian-owned schools opening right on the beach. SCUBA diving, free-diving and snorkelling are also popular activities with many reefs immediately adjacent to waterfront hotels. The nearby Blue Hole-which is nicknamed as "The World's Most Dangerous Diving Site"- and Canyon are internationally famous dive spots. The increasing destruction of coral from reckless divers/dive centres diving is a pressing issue that is causing some worry, sparking the need to regulate dive centres more thoroughly. Land based activities include camel, horse, cycling, mountain bikes trips, jeep and quad bike trips. Mount Sinai is a two hours drive, with Saint Catherine's Monastery being a popular tourist destination.

windsurfing, lagoon

Historically, most visitors to Dahab have been backpackers travelling independently and staying in hostels,motels or guesthouses in the Masbet area. In recent years, development of hotels in the Medina area has facilitated the arrival of a wider range of tourists, many of whom visit Dahab specifically to partake in the surfing, windsurfing, diving, kite surfing, sailing, and other activities.

The word Dahab is Egyptian Arabic for gold 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. The name may also be a reference to the colour of the sands to the south of the town itself. Some locals attribute the name to the colour of the sky, just after sunset.

One local story concerning the town's name is that it stems from the floods that wash through the town every five or six years. Larger than average seasonal storms in the mountains cause a great rush of water to surge down to the sea, dragging with it great amounts of sand. During this time, the town is cut in two by the flood, and the bay is stirred up and the sands turn it a golden yellow. It typically lasts a few days, and has caused damage and loss of life in the past as people were unaware of the sudden onset and the force the water moves at. Today, locals are ready when they see the clouds over the mountains, and anyone lucky enough to witness it will remember it for a long time.

According to the Bedouin of the area, however the name "Dahab" has a different origin. When the Bedouin people came there they called it "waqaat thahaab" (وقت ذهب) which translates literally to "Time Goes". This name derived from the fact that when you were there, you could easily lose track of time as the days would begin to run together. The name was then shortened to "Thahaab" (ذهب) but misunderstood by travelers who thought they were saying Dahab.

Unfortunately, much of the coral in the reefs just offshore are slowly disappearing, due to inexperienced divers being taken out in big numbers. Another big problem is that in Masbat, local restaurants are dumping sand and rock in the sea to extend out into the shore, again, causing disruption to local coral reefs.

Local Bedouin children, sometimes encouraged by their families, come to beach cafes and restaurants to sell items such as woven bracelets to tourists.[1]

The influx of female tourists on the beach, who typically dress in a more revealing fashion, introduces a culture unfamiliar to the region.[2]

Climate

Dahab has a hot desert climate (Köppen: BWh)[3] as the rest of Egypt. Weather on summer days is very hot and also quite hot at night. Winter days are warm and nights are mild. Dahab has a very dry climate and rain is rare, even during the winter months.

Most precipitation falls in March.[3]

Climate data for Dahab
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Average high °C (°F) 21
(70)		 22.4
(72.3)		 25.3
(77.5)		 28.7
(83.7)		 32.2
(90)		 34.7
(94.5)		 35.5
(95.9)		 35.8
(96.4)		 33.5
(92.3)		 30.5
(86.9)		 26.5
(79.7)		 22.2
(72)		 29.03
(84.27)
Daily mean °C (°F) 15.6
(60.1)		 16.7
(62.1)		 19.6
(67.3)		 22.9
(73.2)		 26.1
(79)		 29
(84)		 30.2
(86.4)		 30.4
(86.7)		 28.4
(83.1)		 25.1
(77.2)		 21.1
(70)		 16.8
(62.2)		 23.49
(74.28)
Average low °C (°F) 10.2
(50.4)		 11
(52)		 14
(57)		 17.1
(62.8)		 20.1
(68.2)		 23.4
(74.1)		 24.9
(76.8)		 25
(77)		 23.4
(74.1)		 19.8
(67.6)		 15.7
(60.3)		 11.5
(52.7)		 18.01
(64.42)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 1
(0.04)		 2
(0.08)		 2
(0.08)		 0
(0)		 0
(0)		 0
(0)		 0
(0)		 0
(0)		 0
(0)		 1
(0.04)		 1
(0.04)		 2
(0.08)		 9
(0.36)
Average rainy days 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 8
Mean daily sunshine hours 8 9 9 10 11 13 13 12 11 10 9 8 10.3
Source #1: Climate-Data.org[3]
Source #2: Weather to Travel for rainy days and sunshine[4]
Dahab mean sea temperature[4]
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
22 °C (72 °F) 21 °C (70 °F) 21 °C (70 °F) 23 °C (73 °F) 25 °C (77 °F) 26 °C (79 °F) 28 °C (82 °F) 28 °C (82 °F) 28 °C (82 °F) 27 °C (81 °F) 25 °C (77 °F) 23 °C (73 °F)

See also

References

  1. ↑ Contested landscapes : movement, exile and place ; [World Archaeological Congress ... Cape Town, South Africa]. Oxford [u.a.]: Berg. 2001. p. 372. ISBN 1-85973-467-7. |first1= missing |last1= in Authors list (help)
  2. ↑ Contested landscapes : movement, exile and place ; [World Archaeological Congress ... Cape Town, South Africa]. Oxford [u.a.]: Berg. 2001. ISBN 1-85973-467-7. |first1= missing |last1= in Authors list (help)
  3. 1 2 3 "Climate: Dahab - Climate graph, Temperature graph, Climate table". climate-data.org. Retrieved 13 August 2013.
  4. 1 2 "Dahab Climate and Weather Averages, Egypt". Weather to Travel. Retrieved 5 November 2013.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Dahab.

Coordinates: 28°29′35″N 34°30′17″E / 28.49306°N 34.50472°E / 28.49306; 34.50472

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Sunday, January 03, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.