Ever since Jacques Cousteau first explored its waters four decades ago, the Red Sea has attracted and amazed divers from all over the world. Nowhere are the coral walls and gardens more brilliantly abundant, the waters more crystalline, or underwater life more varied and plentiful.

Along the Southern and Eastern shores of Sinai astounding sites are scattered like pearls for hundreds of miles, from the celebrated walls and holes of Dahab to the truly unmatched splendor of Ras Mohamed's lush underwater scenery.

The Red Sea, in Arabic Bahr el-Ahmar, is part of the Indian Ocean and lies between Africa and Arabia. It is linked to the Mediterranean Sea by the Suez Canal. In geological terms the sea bed is a fault dating from the Tertiary Era and is a depression with sheer sides.

The depth of the depression reaches 2000 m (6,562 ft) in parts, although the average depth is about 500 m (1,640 ft) and the coastal areas are built up with shelfs and coral reefs. The water is very saline, containing about 4% salt and is astonishingly warm. The average temperature of the water is 22 ºC (72 ºF), but the surface temperature in summer can reach 34 ºC (93 ºF)