Egypt's very own private aquarium

The Red Sea is famously populated with abundant and exotic marine life from hammerhead sharks to the tiny polyps of more than 500 species of coral, attracting divers from all over the world.

Its latest hotel complex, Port Ghalib, has just opened for business and I'm here for a sneak preview before it gets busy. Once officially opened in April, the hotel's 948 rooms will begin to fill up with European and Russian guests here for the sun, sea and scuba.

The rapid development of Egypt's Red Sea coastline was driven by divers who, ironically, often now lament how much resorts such as Hurghada and Sharm el-Sheikh have changed for the worse. Sharm has lost its charm, they say, becoming an overcrowded Margate of the Middle East where environmentally unenlightened overseas divers ride terrified sea turtles for fun. Meanwhile, sprawling concrete and dwindling marine life have put the “urgh” into Hurghada.

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Land of Pharaohs

The Red Sea has long been the playground for wealthy Europeans seeking a bit of fun in the sun away from their more gloomy weather. Germans, Austrians and in particular Russians are only too happy to discard their heavy coats and harsh winters and head for a week or two in the warmer climes of Africa.

And it is this market that local hotel chain Sun International will be looking to tap into with the launch of three hotels in Port Ghalib, Egypt.

The hotels – The Palace, Sahara Sun Sands and Sahara Sun Oasis – all boast an impressive list of activities for those who prefer to keep busy during their holidays. Some of the more unusual activities include desert safaris, rock climbing, deep-sea fishing, camel riding, dolphin safaris and so on.

Speaking at the launch in Johannesburg on Wednesday evening, group operations manager Graham Wood promised South Africans they would not miss out on the fun.

“A lot of effort has gone into this project and it has not always been plain sailing. We firmly believe the hotels we have opened at Port Ghalib are world class and will be among the best in Egypt"

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HEPCA would like to thank Emperor Fleet ...

EPCA would like to thank Emperor Fleet for its swift, serious and professional actions on receiving notice of their nomination as Violator of the Month. HEPCA is pleased to be working closely with Emperor to ensure that the alleged violations are not repeated and that all staff are reminded of the importance of awareness of environmental issues and regulations. Furthermore HEPCA and Emperor have discussed ways of improving communications.

The management of Emperor Fleet initiated a meeting with Amr Ali, Managing Director of HEPCA, on 19th February 2008. They stressed the commitment of Emperor to environmental protection and the need to deal severely with any staff who contravene local regulations. A consultative meeting took place the following day between HEPCA and the captains of the Emperor Fleet. HEPCA would like to thank the staff, captains and crew of the Emperor Fleet for their many beneficial suggestions offered during this meeting.

Finally, HEPCA is delighted to announce that all Emperor Fleet captains will join the HEPCA Volunteer Red Sea Ranger Initiative. Under this new scheme, dive centres or organisations nominate a person or persons responsible for noting and reporting any environmental violations, and liaising with HEPCA.

HEPCA look forward to continued working with Emperor and all diving operators to safeguard the Red Sea and ensure its sustainability for the future.

Sports Talk: After Africa, the world

We're still flying high with our African winning football team. Last Saturday the nation's parliament was the latest site for some more feting. But people have started to look ahead, specifically to the 2010 World Cup.

It is truly amazing how Egypt, which has won the Africa Cup of Nations a record six times, including the last two, has gone to the World Cup only twice - the last time being 18 years ago and the first participation before most of us were born, in 1934.

While we have found the door to the World Cup difficult to open, other Arab and African countries find it wide open. Cameroon has been there the most times — five. In its first appearance, in 1982, it tied the three games it played, the same as group mate Italy, but Italy went to the next stage on goal difference and eventually won the cup. Cameroon's best showing was in 1990 when it shocked defending champions Argentina in the opener before coming ever so close to beating England which would have put it in the semi-finals. In 2002 Senegal too almost made it to the last four.

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Defenders of the Red Sea 2007 – Red Sea Diving College

The management and staff at the Red Sea Diving College were thrilled to receive the honour Defenders of the Sea 2007 as awarded by HEPCA (the Hurghada Environmental Protection and Conservation Association).

Amr Ali, Managing Director of HEPCA recently explained, at a press conference in Sharm, that the award had been given in recognition of the important environmental work carried out throughout 2007 by staff at the College.

HEPCA is a leading NGO - Non Governmental Organisation – working in the field of marine and land conservation. Founded in 1992 by 12 members representing the diving community of the Red Sea, HEPCA is actively working towards the goal of protecting and preserving the natural resources of the Red Sea and Egypt.

Amr presented the award to Alain Sobol, CEO of the College at a ceremony at the dive centre in Naama Bay.

Red Sea Diving College projects in 2007 included:
• An attempt to rehabilitate an injured hawksbill turtle in conjunction with staff at the Ras Mohammed National Park.
• Building an artificial reef in Naama Bay and developing the “Adopt a Pot” scheme whereby all the proceeds go to the Ras Mohammed National Park fund for future projects. The artificial reef has started to take pressure of the nearby natural reef.
• An on-going Naama Bay jetty clean-up programme and regular participation in all Project Aware clean-up days.

A College spokesman explained to us that “we are very proud in receiving this award and it is testimony to the hard work, dedication and commitment of all the staff at Red Sea Diving College”.

The environmental work of the dive centre will continue throughout 2008. There are plans to launch some environmental initiatives within the Russian diving community and there are also plans being developed to begin a coral re-grafting project - under the direction of Dr Mohammed Salem, Chief Marine Biologist from the Ras Mohammed National Park.
There are also plans to link up with the Project Aware Coral Watch scheme. In Taba Heights, Red Sea Waterworld - a sister company of Red Sea Diving College - will continue its work with HEPCA in renewing the fixed moorings that prevent damage to coral.
Amr Ali from HEPCA explained that he hoped to see more dive centres active in the kind of work that the College has been carrying out.

www.hepca.com
www.projectaware.org
www.redseacollege.com
www.redseawaterworld.com

Egypt's desert oasis

The clutter of vibrant arches, domes and palm trees rises from the desert like a lush oasis that has sprouted, miraculously, out of mere dust. A ridge of sandstone mountains forms an unusual, and unexpected, backdrop to this Red Sea resort town.

The kaleidoscope of colour comes as almost as big a shock to the senses as the golfers lined up along a stretch of sparkling turquoise waters, their gazes – and golf balls – fixated on island greens plunked in a saltwater lagoon.

The strange scene makes you ponder a strange thought: Did Moses trip across a motherlode of lost balls when he parted these famed Red Sea waters?

HEPCA: Emperor Divers is our Nominee for the "Violator of the Month"

Emperor Divers have long been one of the biggest supporters of HEPCA, not to mention one of HEPCA's founding members, and recognized worldwide as setting the standards of best practice in matters of environmental awareness.

The nomination of Emperor Divers for HEPCA‚s Violator of the Month is therefore not an easy one. HEPCA has been shocked to receive at least 10 reports over the last two months of major violations committed by boats and staff of the Emperor Fleet. These violations include anchoring and littering within National Park boundaries, failure to observe the new regulations regarding visits to the wreck of the SS Thistlegorm (currently undergoing much-needed conservation work) and finally disregarding the new mooring system in place at the wreck.

Despite Emperor Divers' illustrious history and well-known commitment as a company to environmental issues, these violations show that no company, no matter how large or well regarded, is immune to those lacking respect for their environment.

Furthermore, the dismissive attitude of some Emperor Divers staff members is both unjustifiable and destructive. We expect the wise leadership of Emperor Divers to take all necessary measures to ensure that these violations will never again be repeated. Violator of the Month is an initiative taken by HEPCA on regular basis along other legal violation procedures.

Egypt moves up FIFA ranking

There was plenty of movement lower down after the African Cup of Nations, with tournament host Ghana becoming the continent's highest ranked team by rising 29 places — the most of the 207 teams in the rankings — to 14th after reaching the semifinals.

In the rankings released Wednesday, runner-up Cameroon moved up eight spots to 17th and semifinalist Ivory Coast up 14 to 24th.

Argentina stayed atop the world rankings for the fifth straight month.
With few matches played by the top teams over the past month, Greece's rise of one place to 10th was the only change in the top 10. Brazil, Italy, Spain and Germany rounded out the top five places, followed by the Czech Republic, France, Portugal, Netherlands and Greece.

Spot Local's new Access Card released

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