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Dive Tiran

The straits of Tiran occur at the base of the Gulf of Aquaba, a long, deep channel of water that stretches the lenght of the Sinai penninsula from Eilat in Israel and Aquaba in Jordan, all the way down to Sharm el Sheikh. Here in the middle of the Gulf, we have the island of Tiran. This together with the bottom of the Sinai Peninsula, forms a bottle neck in the gulf, forcing a huge body of water through a relatively narrow and shallow constriction. This can result in some quite strong currents. These currents can be challenging, but it is they that bring the glorious heap of life that we have in the Tiran Straits.

Tiran island iteslf is practiacally impossible to visit. It happens to be the second most mined area in the world. So not somewhere you would wish to take a leisurely stroll! The only people who can visit the island are members of the MFO (Multinational Forces of Observation) who maintain a minimal presence at their tiny base there, flown in only via helicopter. The Island is actually owned by Saudi Arabia, however they permit Egypt to maintain a presence there due to its important strategic location. Basically whoever controls Tiran Island controls the whole Gulf of Aquaba.

The one thing you can do near Tiran island is snorkel and scuba dive. There are a couple of lagoons close to the island imaginatively named "North Laguna" and "South Laguna" respectively, and these are ideal for snorkelling and the occasional night scuba dive. You will often see Liveaboards moored up in their shelter for the night. As daytime sites, they are not so spectacular, except as a training dive, such as rescue scenarios or a navigation dive. There have also been rumours of dugongs in the sea grasses on the Eastern side of Tiran Island, however this area is illegal to dive, so I am unfortunately unable to vouch for the credibility of this story.

The best diving is to be had on the four reefs that lead like giant stepping stones out from the Sinai mainland almost linking it with Tiran Island. In fact there has been rumour that maybe this could have been a location for the famous "parting of the Red Sea" as the reefs reach right up to just below the surface of the water. Having said that, the gaps between the reefs are just a little too wide to hop across! Moses and his followers would really have needed some mighty long legs for that!

These four reefs are respectively named Gordon, Thomas, Woodhouse and Jackson. Very Egyptian names I know... not! They are actually named after the explorers that discovered them some thirty or more years ago. Long before Sharm became anything more than a sleepy Bedoin fishing village.

So what makes Tiran so special? Firstly you have deep waters, even for Sharm, which means that the sea here is usually particularly clear... proper "gin like" visibility. You also get a glorious array of coral and fish life. This is of course as a direct result of the challenging currents already mentioned. We have two prevailing currents, one from the North and one from the South, and these kind of vie for supremacy. Usually the South current wins the deal and most of our dives will be performed on the Southern side of the reefs, heading roughly East with the current. Occasionally the Northern side wins, so we get to dive the site in reverse, still on the Southern more sheltered side, however heading in a roughly Westerly direction with the reef on our right hand side. This always makes for a nice change, and the dive ends in the shallows on the Southwestern part of the reef, which inevitably is bathed in sunshine, lighting up the colours of the corals like a kaleidoscope. End of my waxing lyrical there for a min hehe. We do have to respect these currents, as sometimes (especially during a full or new moon) they can run pretty fast. They also do not always run quite the way we want them, so we need to ensure that we maintain our control throughout the dive, ensuring that we do not get dragged into an area dangerous for divers. Sometimes you can get up and down currents which again are a cause for concern. Hence we rarely take novice divers to this area.

Tiran is also prone to the Northerly winds that prevail in Sharm el Sheikh. Hence the reason we tend to dive on the Southerly, more sheltered sides of the reefs. Very handy, as this enables us to dive, even on fairly windy days. Sometimes the winds change direction, no problem we simply dive the Northern side of the reefs, which tend to be more moody, with deep walls and funky caves and over-hangs. Again, just like the days we get a reverse current, this is always a novelty, and the back sides of the reefs sometimes give us a rare shark sighting as a treat!

Gordon Reef
Thomas Reef
Woodhouse Reef
Jackson Reef
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