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NUMEIBA |
 Nuweiba |
The town of Nuweiba is known as "the pearl of the Aqaba Gulf" for the beauty of its golden sand beaches, lined by large palm-trees .
Its also the location of large commercial port, with a regular service of liners to Aqaba in
Jordan and also, more recently , speed-boats which have made Nuweiba the ideas starting point for trips to petra, a large desert caravan center and legendary capital of the Nabatei kingdom .
In reality Nuweiba is made up of a southern part, known as Nuweiba Muzeina as it is inhabited by
Bedouin of the Muzeina tribe, and a northern part, known as Nuweiba el-Tarabin, where
Beduin of the Tarabin tribe live .
There is mighty fortress situated here, built by the Sultan el-Quri in the 16th century.
Its to be found at the end of the main track which connects the connects the Aqaba Gulf with St.Katherine's monastery and the Gulf of Suez.
The fortress was built to protect caravaners on their way to Mecca and Jerusalem , in the last few years there has been another attraction for the ever increasing number of tourists to Nuweiba, A huge , friendly dolphin has established its home in a bay situated in the southern part of Nuweiba, near the end of the track which connects Nuweiba to Ras Abu Galum .
It has virtually been adopted by the local
Bedouins . You can therefore go swimming at Nuweiba in the company of dolphin and watch him at close quarters in his natural environment .
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The Coloured Canyon
Nearby the small oasis of Ain Furtaga, about twelve km north of Nuweiba, going back up the Wadi Watir ( one of the most beautiful wadis of the peninsula connecting Nuweiba with Nakhl ) is the start of the track leading to one of the geological wonders of Sinai,(15) the coloured Canyon .
Its very narrow walls, 40 metres high and little more than a meters wide in parts, are made out of a sandstone possessing an incredible rang of hues from dark brown to red to straw yellow .
This is due to the presence of magnesium and iron oxides .
Pharah Island
Going from Nuweiba towards tabs, at the extreme northern point of the Aqaba Gulf where the Israel – Egypt border is situated, and following the coastal road, you soon come across a fascinating cove, known as "Salah ed-Din's
Fjord".
Its water has an incredible turquoise colour
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 After a further few kilometers, you reach the beautiful pharaoh island ( Geziret el-Faraun in Arabic
) a site of great interest from the historical and nature points of view .
A fortress was built on the island in the Byzantine period .
It was occupied by the crusades in 1116 and enlarged at the time of the Sultan Salah ed-Din, better known as saladin,who seized it in 1182 .
The fortress was restored by the Egyptian Antiquity Organization and opened to the public in 1986 .
The north-east coast of the island has some especially well-developed coral reefs, the island it self having once been known as Coral Island there is a particularly suitable site for underwater
sports down to a level of 10-15 metres , while on the south coast you can admire the coral formations simply by snorkeling .
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