A great example of modern engineering, the Suez Canal links the Red Sea with the Mediterranean. Completed in 1869, it has repeatedly been the cause of dispute, most recently when blocked during the 1967 war with Israel. Port Said is the main city. Anyone travelling to Sinai by road would cross the Suez on a small shuttle boat, or under the tunnel.

The Red Sea Coast sits strategically between Africa and Asia, rich in mineral wealth and revered as the place of miracles and prophets in Judaism, Islam and Christianity. God is said to have appeared to Moses here, and thought to have delivered the Israelites from the Egyptian army into the Red Sea.

These days, the region is revered for its spectacular diving resorts, beaches, stunning coastline and vast deserts. This area has some of the best diving and snorkelling in the world, and has a more liberal atmosphere than the rest of Egypt. more...