Minya University

Faculty of Tourism & Hotels

Tourism Guidance Department

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 Ras Mohammed Protected Area in South Sinai
Ras Mohammed Protectorate
Many people, present company included, believe that Ras Mohamed does
not belong to this world with its extraordinary environment and incredible
beauty. The air here is cleaner and even smells different than any other
place in Egypt, not to mention the world. It's a special place that you'll
never forget.

The Unique Location Of Ras Mohamed national park

Maybe its unique location in the meeting point of two different gulfs, the
Suez Gulf and the Aqaba Gulf is part of what makes Ras Mohamed so
special. Ras Mohamed is the only place in Sinai that overlooks the two
gulfs and is located in the south of Sinai, 12 kilometers away from Sharm
El Sheikh, 70 kilometers away from Tor Sinai, and 446 kilometers away
from Cairo.
Ras Mohamed is 480 kilometers in size with 135 kilometers of land and
345 kilometers of water. It also includes two islands: Tiran and Sanafir
which is 370 kilometers with 100 kilometers that consist of land and 270
kilometers that consist of water.

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Ras Mohamed Protectorate
The protected area in Ras Mohamed was established in 1983. Its name
means the head of Mohamed because of its shape that looks like the top of
a triangle with the mountains of south Sinai forming the other side of the
triangle. The protected area of Ras Mohamed was included in the
international list of heritage sites in the same year it was established.
Trips to Ras Mohamed can be organized from Sharm El Sheikh and many
other cities in Sinai like Dahab, Nuweiba, and Ras Suder. You can hire a
motorboat and go from Sharm El Sheikh via an exciting diving sea voyage,
or you can drive to Ras Mohamed and enjoy the uniqueness of its land and
waters.
The trip from Sharm El Sheikh to Ras Mohamed takes 20 minutes by car
until you reach the gate of the protected area which is called the Gate of
Allah. It was designed by an Egyptian engineers after the 1973 War with
Israel. He created the gate out of cement rocks in a remarkable way that
looks like the name of God "Allah" in the Egyptian language.
As soon as you enter Ras Mohamed, you will find attractive sand dunes
all around you, making you want to go deeper into this paradise. Soon
enough, you will come to the first stop of your trip on the Suez shore at
a beach that overlooks the Suez Gulf. The British author, E.M. Forster

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described this area as a great passageway that is surrounded by red
mountains and its clear water that you can't find anywhere else in the world.
The Suez beach is full of beautiful seagulls and it is the resting point of
many rare species like sea turtles and a lot of other creatures that encourage
you to go for a dive to explore this area by yourself. You can meet dolphins,
water turtles, or even sharks (be careful). There are also a lot of crustaceans
and sponge animals. There are also over 200 kinds of coral reefs.
Your next stop in Ras Mohamed will be the mangrove canal and mangrove
is a rare plant that can be found in only four places around the world. The
nature of this plant makes it absorb salt out of the water and produce it
again with its leaves. Afterward, you can visit the location of the great
earthquake that hit Egypt millions of years ago and caused a breakdown in
the land of Ras Mohamed - which was the original cause of the canal.

The unique fortress of mangrove plants that connects Ras Mohamedto the
Island of Al Ba'eera is located in the eastern part of Ras Mohamed. The
area of this tree formation has very clear water and sometimes the land
becomes totally dry because of the nature of the area and the islands around
it.

The Lake That Changes Color Seven Times A Day

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The magical lake is your next stop now and this lake is totally out of this
world as it contains all the shades and levels of blue. Some Ras Mohamed
fans believe that this lake changes its colors seven times every day. This
lake has an old story that says that Bedouins used to come and swim in its
water and throw gems and makes wishes, accounting for its coloe. This is
more or less what still happens today as tourists come and swim in the lake,
throw coins, and make wishes.
Then you go to the romantic Eastern border of the protected area of Ras
Mohamed consists of a natural stone wall that stands against the water of
the Aqaba Gulf. You step out of the car and can go to enjoy the beautiful
white sand. You can also dive or snorkel in one of the most remarkable
diving spots in the whole world.
Sea Caves
There are a lot of sea caves in this spot and many sea creatures of different
colors, shapes, and sizes. However, most of these creatures are friendly and
you can swim beside them safely. There are many butterfly fish in this area
and a number of fire reefs that hurt anyone that touches them. This is beside
a number of swimming corals that will make you feel you are swimming
in a colored portrait made by God.

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Ras Mohamed is famous for its marvelous coral reefs beaches that are
located on both of the Gulfs with colored fish, sea turtles, and other sea
creatures that you can't find anywhere else. The coral reef beaches spread
from the northeastern side of Ras Mohamed around the islands of Tiran
and Sanafir where the rare bird of Osprey builds its nests and live. Ras
Mohamed has 150 different kinds of coral reefs!
Ras Mohamed Is A Diving Paradise
Ras Mohamed is famous worldwide as one of the most amazing diving
spots in the globe. Tourists from all over the world visit Ras Mohamed
every year to enjoy diving and snorkeling.
Ras Mohamed has a quite unique biological variety. It hosts a lot of species
of birds like falcons, herons, storks, and a lot of mammals like foxes,
hyenas, wild rabbits, dears and mountain goats. This is besides a lot of sea
creatures like dolphins, sharks, and sea turtles. Ras Mohamed also has a
collection of the most ancient fossils in the whole world that age from 75
thousand years to 20 million years! Yes, this figure is correct.
One trip to Ras Mohamed and you will definitely become addicted to the
beauty of the area. A lot of tourists from Russia, Germany, England, France
and many other countries from all over the world come to visit Ras
Mohamed every year and leave with memories to last a lifetime. Ras
Mohamed is one of the magic spots on Earth. If you love nature, coral reefs,
fish, and sand beaches, Ras Mohamed is a "must-visit" spot for you!

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Zaraniq protected area and Al bardaweel marsh
in the north sinia
Zaranik Protected Area
Site description
Zaranik Protected Area is located at the eastern end of Lake Bardawil and
encompasses an eastern extension of that lake: the Zaranik Lagoon. The
lagoon is shallow, with numerous small islets scattered throughout it, most
of which are covered with dense saltmarsh vegetation. Extensive mudflats
and saltmarshes are found along the lagoon’s shores, merging into sabkha
and sand-dunes further inland. A saltworks was established at Zaranik in
the early 1980s, prior to its declaration as a protected area, consisting of a
pumping station, extensive evaporation pools and saltpans. The facility
only became active in 1997.
Key biodiversity
See Box for key species. Zaranik’s importance is primarily as a bottleneck
area for migrant Palearctic waterbirds. Every autumn, hundreds of
thousands of waterbirds flying along the eastern Mediterranean coastline
concentrate at Zaranik or pass through the area, many landing to rest and
feed before resuming their journey southwards across Sinai or westwards
to the Nile valley.

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Location: Zaranik Protected Area is located at the eastern end of Lake
Bardawil on the Mediterranean coast of Sinai. The Protected Area is
bordered from the north by the Mediterranean, from the south by the main
Qantara - El Arish road, from the east by tourist development areas, and
from the west by Lake Bardawil.
Area: Covers about 250 Km2 (68% water surface and 32% sand dunes)
Altitude: 0-30 meters above sea level.
Type: Wetland Site of International Importance
Year of establishment: 1985
Objective: Protecting the migratory birds
Management: Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency

Flora:
17 species have been recorded on foreshore and islands mainly:
Halocnemon, Strobilaceum, Arthrocnemon glaucum, Juncus subulatus,
Zygophyllom album, Nitraria retusa, Stipagrostis scoparia: and Ruppia:
maritime.

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Fauna:
244 species of birds have been recorded at Bardaweel lagoon. Hundreds of
thousand migratory birds pass through during Autumn, including Greater
flamingos Phoenicopterus ruber: (13100), white pelican Pelecanus
onocrotalus: (5620), little bittern Lxobrychus minuts: (2564), night herns
Nycticorax nyticorox: (5487), gargany Anas querquedula: (221616),
avocet Recurvirostra avosetta: (6828), little slint Calidris minuta: (15503),
little tern Sterna albifrons: (12433), white winged black tern Chlidonias
leucopterus: (18436), 24 species of predatory birds have been recorded in
spring time (more than 130000) mainly black kite Milvus migrans, griffon
vultore Gyps fulvus, short toed eagle Citraetus gallicus, buzzard Buteo
buteo, long legged buzzard Buteo rufinus, steppe eagle Aquila mipalensis,
bouted eagle Hieaaetus pennatus, golden eagle Aquila chrysaetos, kestrel
Falco tinnumclus. There are also 18 species of reptiles, including two that
are endangered, green turtle Celonia mydas and loggerhead turtle Caretta .

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Lake Bardawil
Lake Bardawil is a large, very saline lagoon nearby the protected area of
Zaranik (also known for diversities of insects[2] and waterbirds[3][4]) in
Egypt on the north coast of the Sinai Peninsula. Lake Bardawil is about 30
kilometers (19 mi) long, and 14 kilometers (8.7 mi) wide (at its widest). It's
considered to be one of the three major lakes of the Sinai Peninsula, along
with the Great Bitter Lake and the Little Bitter Lake.[5] It continues to
decrease in size as sands move and is becoming more of a Playa or Sabkha
than a lake.[6] Between Port Said and Rafah are three main sabkhat which
extend from west to east: Sabkhat El Malaha (Lake Fouad), Sabkhat
Bardawil (Lake Bardawil) and Sabkhat El Sheikh Zawayed.[7]
It is shallow, reaching a depth of about 3 meters, and is separated from the
Mediterranean Sea by a narrow sandbar and often the waters of the sea find
their way there, making it saline.[6][8] It has International Ramsar
Convention protected wetlands with a large population of little tern.[9]
30% of the recorded species in the Mediterranean Coast of Sinai are in
Lake Bardawil. Six threatened species of flora exist at Lake Bardawil,
including Iris mariae.[6]
It has six habitats including "open water, wet salt marshes, saline sand flats
and hummuck (nebkas), stabilized sand dunes, interdune depressions, and
mobile sand dunes."[6]
Other than bird diversity, the area is known for sea turtles and bottlenose
dolphins[10] although high mortality rate of sea turtles has been
concerning.[11] Within IUCN Red Data Book of 2006 are 6 threatened
plant species which are found near the Lake, these include Astragalus
camelorum, Bellevalia salah-eidii, Biorum oliveri, Iris mariae, Lobularia
arabica and Salsola tetragona. The first four are endemic species.[12]

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It may be what Herodotus described as the Serbonian Bog, between
Damietta and Mount Casius.[13][14]
Some students of the Hebrew Exodus out of Egypt think that this location
is near the fourth station of the Exodus, called Pi-hahiroth, saying "it may
have been just west of the Western tip of Lake Bardawil."[15]
During the Sinai and Palestine campaign of World War I, Allied soldiers
of the Canterbury Mounted Rifles tried to cut a canal from the sea to the
western end of Lake Bardawil in order to flood it and prevent forces of the
Central Powers attacking Romani from the north, but they were
unsuccessful. [16]
The Bardawil lagoons are named after the Crusader king Baldwin I.[17]
Based in Jerusalem, Baldwin raided Egypt in order to secure his kingdom.
He fell ill while fishing in the Nile. While being carried back to Jerusalem
in 1118, Baldwin died in El-Arish.[17]

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References
Zahran MA, Willis AJ (1992) The vegetation of Egypt. Chapman and Hall,
LondonGoogle Scholar
Kassas M, Zahran MA (1967) On the ecology of the Red Sea littoral salt
marsh. Egypt Ecol Monogr 37: 792–316Google Scholar
El-Shaer HM (1999) Conservation and improvement of natural rangelands
as animal feed resources in the north western coast of Egypt. The third
Conference on Desertification and Environmental Studies Beyond the Year
2000, 30 Nov-4 Dec 1999. Center for Desert Studies, King Saud
University, Kingdom of Saudi ArabiaGoogle Scholar
El-Shaer HM (2006) Halophytes as cash crops for animal feeds in arid and
semi-arid regions. In: M Öztürk, Y Waisel, MA Khan, G Görk
(eds): Biosaline agriculture and salinity tolerance in plants. Birkhäuser,
Basel 117–128CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gab Allah MSA ( 2006) Ecological and chemical studies on some common
Rangeland Plants in Egypt and Libya. MSc. Thesis. Institute of African
Research and Studies, Cairo university, EgyptGoogle Scholar
Shaheen SE (1998) Geoenvironmental studies on Bardawil lagoon and its
surroundings, North Sinai, Egypt. Ph.D Thesis, Faculty of Science,
Mansoura University, Mansonra, EgyptGoogle Scholar
Montasir AH (1937) Ecology of Lake Manzala. Egyptian Univ Bull Fac
Sci 2: 1–50Google Scholar

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