Egypt 2006

     Some of the highlights from our two week research trip in Egypt are shown below. These included an opportunity to visit Cairo; the marine biological station at Hurghada along the Egyptian coast and diving the Red Sea. The coral reefs of the Red Sea are known for a variety of endemic marine fishes, healthy corals, and warm water temperatures.   

      Among the best known sites around Cairo are the Giza plateau, which is home to the Sphinx and the great pyramids. Also the Egyptian Museum in Cairo has a vast collection of early Egyptian artifacts. It will take 1-2 days to comfortably see all the exhibits in the museum. It is also interesting to note that only 10% of the museums collection in on display to the public, the vast majority of antiquities are kept in storage.  

     The marine biological station at Ghardaqa is located in the small, modern seaside town of Hurghada. It was a very active area for research in the 1930's and 1940's. Most notably was the pioneering soft coral research conducted by Professor H. A. F. Gohar. You can learn more about Professor Gohar's work HERE. Today some research is still being done at the biological station but funding for it has greatly diminished. The station houses an impressive library with many rare titles on marine biology. The library is in surprisingly good shape considering no special care is given to it. This is likely due to the very dry climate, in fact it had not rained in Hurghada for over five years!

     The biological station also has a small public aquarium that was built in the 1930's. There is also a natural history museum, which exhibits many of the marine species found in the Red Sea. However these specimens are dried and mounted in glass cases. 

Red Sea Diving

    The coral reefs located around Hurghada are easily accessible by boat and even some shore diving is possible. Most of the diving is done in seagrass beds, along reef crests, or around pinnacles.  Fish populations are very abundant and the corals are quite healthy. The local diving organization has worked hard to install mooring buoys and eliminate populations of the Crown-of-Thorns starfish. Occasionally pods of dolphins or sea turtles are seen in this part of the Red Sea.

     Some experiments are carried out on the coral reefs in this area by the University of Cairo. This photo depicts one such experiment monitoring the settlement and growth of scleractinian corals. 

     Many species of fish popular in the aquarium trade are abundant on Egyptian coral reefs. There is no collection of fish allowed for export in Egypt and very little commercial food fishing is done around Hurghada. This makes for incredibly active fish communities.

          If You Go:

     Egypt and Cairo are very western oriented and a relatively safe area in the middle east for western travelers. Expect warm, dry weather year round so pack accordingly. The Cairo international airport is located about 25 minutes by car outside of the city. Most hotels can arrange transportation. English is widely spoken throughout the tourist areas. Hurghada is just one hour by plane south of Cairo. There are plenty of hotels and dive operators to choose from. We recommend Emperor Divers, a European company with modern boats and good guides.

     We are grateful to Mr. Mohamed Habib, author of the book Corals of Egypt for his generous hospitality during our stay in Hurghada.