Exploring new horizons in Sharm el Sheikh (From Bournemouth Echo)

Exploring new horizons in Sharm el Sheikh

3:00pm Saturday 20th February 2010 in

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MAY sees the launch of a new route from Bournemouth International Airport, to Sharm el Sheikh, on Egypt’s Sinai peninsula.

Summer season packages have been on sale for a few months now, and Thomson/First Choice recently announced they will be operating year-round, with winter flights and holiday packages now also up for grabs.

Flying out of Hurn every Wednesday, aboard a new 189-seat Boeing 737-800, sun-seekers will be heading for a sprawling low-rise resort, where rain is a rarity and the Red Sea’s the main attraction.

We stayed at the Holiday Village, big enough to cater for up to 1,500 guests, and close to some of Egypt’s best dive sites.

It offers a wide range of restaurants, family facilities (including zip-wires, soccer school and supervised kids’ clubs), several swimming pools and spa treatments – and has been singled out by independent online reviewers, winning a coveted 2009 TripAdvisor Travellers’ Choice Award.

Like some of the bigger hotels here, it has a private beach and jetty, which snorkellers can use to access the spectacular underwater scenery.

Not far from the jetty we were surrounded by all sorts of exotic piscine species (there are around 1,000 in all) including Picasso, clown, anemone, angel, puffer and butterfly fish – and, my particular favourite, the impressive lionfish.

It’s easy to see why Sharm has been a favoured destination for divers, especially since the ’80s. Ras Mohammed National Park, at the southern tip of the peninsula, boasts spectacular coral gardens and 2,600ft-deep reef walls.

Looking back towards land, it was noticeable how local planners had avoided falling into the Benidorm-style high-rise trap, with splendid views towards the mountain range that delineates the edge of the arid Sinai landscape.

You also see how Sharm hugs a long stretch of coast, with new hotels going up all the time, but even so it was only a 20-minute coach ride to the older part of town and the popular market where you can haggle (without too much hassle) for everything from carpets and cotton clothes to spices and jewellery.

The airport is right on the edge of town, which means a short transfer to your hotel, and the opportunity to gaze skyward and wonder which exotic destination the next jet is heading for… Birmingham, perhaps, Doncaster, or, very soon, Bournemouth.

We took a coach trip through the desert (sadly strewn with rubbish) past several Bedouin encampments with camels tethered, waiting patiently to lollop off to work.

Our day-trip destination, St Catherine’s Monastery, is a Unesco World Heritage Site, on the slopes of Mount Sinai, and may be the oldest working Christian monastery in the world (or it may not, as St Anthony’s Monastery, in the desert south of Cairo, also lays claim to that title).

The mountain, standing at almost 7,500ft, is where, according to the Bible, Moses received the Ten Commandments – and pilgrims reach up to touch what’s claimed to be the original burning bush within the monastery grounds.

Most of the monks at the Greek Orthodox monastery hail from Greece and Russia, but there’s one from Bristol. Visitors are only allowed in during the morning, which means an early start from Sharm, and they must remain silent inside this holy place.

Interestingly, although 85 per cent of Egyptians are Muslim, most of the remaining 15 per cent are Christians. Another point worth noting is that, with the Euro zone still relatively expensive, British currency is worth 13 per cent more against the Egyptian pound than it was a year ago.

We were there at the beginning of February, when the temperature was a pleasant mid-20s, with a warm breeze. In summer, though, it can be scorching hot – sometimes exceeding 50C.

Fact file

• Sharm el Sheikh is known as “The City of Peace” because it has hosted a series of high-profile peace conferences in recent years.

• It was a small fishing village before becoming a port and naval base because of its strategic location.

• Taken over by Israel in 1956, it was returned to Egypt a year later. The Israelis recaptured Sharm in 1967, and held it until 1982. It was during this period that the city began to develop as a tourist destination, particularly for divers.

Getting there

First Choice offers a seven-night holiday in Egypt, staying on an all-inclusive basis at the 4 SUN Holiday Village Red Sea from £715 per adult, £369 for first child and £439 for second child. Price based on two adults and two children sharing, departing from Bournemouth on May 5, 2010. To find out more, or to make a reservation, call First Choice on 0871 200 4455 or book online at firstchoice.co.uk/egypt or firstchoice.co.uk/holidayvillage