The Charm of Sharm

Sharm el-Sheikh has become one of Egypt's best known and most visited beach resorts. In fact, in recent years, the Egyptian government has worked hard to spread around the Beach vacationers by developing or encouraging the development of many other beach resorts, but Sharm remains the leading tourist spot in the Sinai.

Sharm el-Sheikh, one of the most accessible and developed tourist resort communities on the Sinai peninsula. All around are Bedouins, colorful tents, mountains and sea. There are small, intimate hotels with modern designs, as well as larger hotel complexes belonging to International chains, plus about all amenities one could expect of a tourist center. In fact, with diving and snorkeling, windsurfing and other water sports, horses and camel riding, desert safaris, and great nearby antiquities attractions, it is almost impossible for a visitor to ever suffer from boredom.

Sharm el-Sheikh also offers the beauty of the Sinai, with its majestic mountains and valleys, a number of national parks, as well as some well known nearby tourist attractions such as St. Catherine's Monastery.

There is more to Sharm, however, than the beaches, sea and landscape. It is a well developed area that almost seems more like a European resort than Egyptian, with refined facilities and amenities, including these days, some more budget oriented accommodations as well as five star hotels equal to most any in the world. And, while one is capable of spending most any budget at their disposal here, for most Europeans, it remains a relatively inexpensive alternative to more costly beach resort alternatives elsewhere.

Na'ama Beach is one of the centers of the tourist activities. Located just north of Sharm, this area is developing into a resort town of its own.  Most hotels at Na'ama Bay have their own, private beaches with comfortable amenities such as chairs, shades and even bars.

Sharm el-Sheikh is often called the "City of Peace", because of the various peace conferences held in the city and attended by world leaders, but it is also a "world resort", popular among and visited by people from all over Europe, because of its affordability, but also by those from much more distant lands, because it is fun.

By Nouran Radwan