Next on the Eastern Coast of Sinai is the port/town of Nuweiba. It is located 90 Km north of Dahab, 170 Km north of Sharm El-Sheikh and 440 Km from Cairo. Nuweiba is the main port for ships coming and going from Saudi Arabia and Jordan, and although it has mainly functioned as a port in the past, today you can find many touristic villages there. One major attraction of Nuweiba is the Dolphin “Oleen”, some of you

might have seen her on Newsweek. Oleen is a dolphin that has been around for six years now, and hasn’t lef.t the area. It is friends with a Bedouin fisherman named Abdallah. You pay 15 LE to rent a mask and snorkel and jump into the beautifully colored water to swim with the dolphin. We would appreciate it if you wouldn’t touch the dolphin for Oleen’s baby was recently poisoned to death by sun tan lotion! At the port just ask for the dolphin, or the darpheel in Arabic, and anyone will show you.

Two Kilometers north of the port is the village of Tarabin, which is similar to Dahab but a lot cleaner. Again you will find Camels, Camps and Cafes, the three C’s of Sinai. Accommodation and food are fairly cheap and the water is known to be fairly warm. Tarabin is favored by Israelis all year round, and it remains to be one of the few places in Egypt where you can ride a horse

on the beach front. The road leaving Nuweiba going to St. Catherine is an extremely beautiful road, camels, palm trees, oasis and of course the Colored Canyon. So called because of the multi colored stones which cover the canyon’s narrow walls. Ten years ago, the whole valley was painted blue by a Swiss artist, which causes the Colored Canyon to also hold the name of “the Blue Valley”. It is a nice place, and unlike the rest of Egypt, it is extremely calm. The canyon is sheltered from the wind and can become frighteningly silent. On the way, you can’t just see the colored canyon for it is 5 km off the main road, you might need a 4x4 to get all the way there. Like Dahab, to get to Nuweiba you need to take the bus from Cairo. The Bus going to Taba may also stop at Nuweiba so ask about that too. If you’re staying in Tarabeen or some other touristic village you need to take the bus from Nuweiba city. A taf taf bus goes from Nuweiba to Tarabeen on the hour.

The coastline from Nuweiba to Taba is definitely a sight to see. Mountains on the left and the blue of the Red-Sea on the right. The beaches are superb and coral reefs below are even more striking. Many five star touristic villages are under construction at the moment and should be operative within the next few years. Other more desolate villages exist.

Basata, the famous one, is only 24 km north of Nuweiba and it is the first Eco-village in the country. It has been operative for more than ten years now and is well established. Basata, which means “simplicity” in Arabic, is extremely clean and well taken care of. It includes a common kitchen hut, and bathroom huts. All you need to bring is your tent, drinking water and dinners are available there. It costs 20 LE per person if you’re to sleep in a hut. To camp there costs 10 LE per person, and the dinner costs 25 LE or 18 LE depending on whether its “fish night” or “vegetarian night”. The beach there is unbelievably calm and beautiful, we really suggest paying this place a visit. Try, however to book in advance as it is usually fully booked. To get to Basata you need to take the bus going to Nuweiba via Taba or to Taba via Nuweiba, and ask to be dropped off at Basata which lies in the middle