Egypt 2002 & 2004

Then the Naama bay area was developed and now, a twenty minute bus ride North a new all 5-star resort is being built on which the Radisson is located.

Although the Middle East has seen a good deal of unrest over the years, we were told that Sharm El Sheikh is untroubled by these matters.  However, policing on the ground is much more evident than West Europeans are accustomed to and with check points at most major road junctions, passports need to be kept close to hand.

Although not quite visible in this picture, part of the coast of Saudi Arabia (it's less than 40km way) can be seen from here - more or less straight ahead.

The gardeners and landscapers have been very busy here.  Grassy areas, flowers, shrubs and palm trees abound along with stunning water features.  Little will thrive here without constant watering and the whole complex is criss-crossed with micro-irrigation.

The semi-circular amphitheatre in our picture provides a venue for evening entertainment.

The hotel is in the form of a number of 'blocks' of rooms.  Each block has an open centre off which the rooms lead and there is much variety in the decor and themes of the rooms.

The palms seen here are still in their protective wrapping whilst they root.

A large children's play area completes the picture.

There are several restaurants here but the main dining room provides self-service meals.   The food was excellent  and the greatest attention had been given to menus and presentation.  Our pictures here don't really do justice to the amazing range of tastes catered for.

As an alternative to the Canaries, Sharm El Sheikh has proved to be ideal for those who want a late winter break with kind temperatures, good sun, excellent food and an opportunity to do either nothing or visit some of Egypt's other attractions.  None of us acquired upset stomachs, which can be a problem in other parts of Egypt.

We had all gone for a chill-out break, but we did feel we should take in some of the culture and so visited St Catherine's monastery, said to be the oldest Christian monastery in the world.  Here Christian, Muslim and Greek Orthodox all live in harmony.

In former times, the only way in and out was by basket hauled up on a rope to an upper level.  A doorway has now been formed in the outer wall and this has marginally improves access.

Legend has it that this is the original 'burning bush', and Jethro's well provided all the water here until a few years ago when the water table dropped.

Louise, Liz and Chris are seen here against a desert background.  Before satellite navigation and modern communications, this would not be a good place to become lost!

We think that Sinai is the only place we've been to that proclaims it has zero-star accommodation.  This camp may be one such, and provides for the basic needs of back-packers.

Street scenes such as this are so common in the Middle East that without spotting the names over the tourist shops it's hard to know where you are.  But this is Dahab located between Sharm El Sheikh and Taba and is a premier tourist shopping attraction.

Internet Cafes have been around for several years but don't have much prominence in places where a substantial proportion of the population already has internet access.  Here, the story is different and they are everywhere.  The going rate seems to be about 1GBP per hour.

One sad memory is the effect, we are told, of September 11 2001 and the collapse of air travel.  This is just one of many many hotels abandoned during construction - some of them at very advanced stages of completion.

The Egyptian workforce required to build, maintain and staff these places must have suffered a severe blow indeed.

This hotel had been open for about a year and, judging by a model, further building work is anticipated to complete the resort.  The Radisson SAS in Sharm El Sheik was a bit isolated but there was a regular shuttle bus to and from the densely populated Naama Bay area.  Here it is much more isolated and there is little to visit within easy travelling distance.  This is an ideal place to get away from it all and enjoy the superb marine life or simply do nothing in very pleasant sunshine.

This was our first experience of an 'All Inclusive' holiday and we thoroughly enjoyed the club-like atmosphere.  As in Sharm El Sheikh, there were several restaurants, open at various hours, to choose from, but the Olivos restaurant was the main eating place for those on AI.  The range of foods available was amazing, attractively presented and to suit most tastes.  With breakfast, mid-morning snack, full lunch, afternoon tea, dinner and late night snacks, we sometimes felt challenged to do full justice to all that was on offer.  There's even a Bedouin style tent atop the main block for relaxation and refreshment in a totally different environment.

With their catch phrase of 'Wakey Wakey' an animation team worked tirelessly to entertain us from mid-morning until long after we had retired to bed.  Volley-ball, water-polo and tennis were all on offer and our photo on the left shows a team member leading a belly dancing session.  The team also bathed the pool area in heavy-beat music for much of the day.

At night, the hotel lobby reverberated to whatever entertainment was on offer in the Some Place Else bar.