10 days: North-SS Turkia-Ras Mohamed-Dahab

10 days: North-SS Turkia-Ras Mohamed-Dahab

Itinerary Highlights

  • The SS Turkia was built by Earles Shipbuilding and Engeneering Co. in Hall (England) in 1909. The steam cargo ship named Livorno before with a length of 91 m and width of 13 m and 1671 tons was used for a variety of trade routes in England and North Europe. Between 1920 and 1935 the ship was sold to Greece and they named it SS Turkia. In May 1941 the SS Turkia was on its way from New York to Piräus. The government cargo included explosives, gyres, coils of wire, ingots, vehicles and firearms. Close to the Channel of Suez it sunk cause of two different stories: fire on board and/or hit by a bomb. In a depth between 10m and 24m, full of soft and hard corals, it is a great experience for divers to discover the Wreck from outside and inside.
  • The marine park Ras Mohamed offers dreamlike diving spots. For example Shark and Yolanda Reef. Both reefs are standing on a plateau, which is between 10 m to 20 m deep. The edges of the plateau fall down to more than 200 m. At the reef you will find nice hard and soft corals, plenty of fish in all kind of sizes. With luck you can see sharks during your early morning dive. At Yolanda Reef you can see the cargo of a Cypriot freighter Yolanda which ran aground in 1980. Loaded with sanitary equipment, toilet bowls and bathtubs, the Yolanda was on its way to Aqaba. Storms caused the wreck to slide into the depths of the sea, but large parts of the cargo are still scattered around the reef and beautifully overgrown, making it a popular photo spot.
  • Midway between Sharm El Sheikh and Aqaba is Dahab, on a narrow stretch of coast but at the same time at the deepest and widest point in the Gulf. The reefs are mostly shallow down to about 20- 30 m, e.g. B. at Southern Oasis or at the northern canyon. The canyon is not for everyone though as it features a deep fissure that starts at around 15 m and has the deepest exit at around 50 m. In between there are only a few exit possibilities, so the dive goes in the direction of cave diving and must be planned. Exceptional fish can already be found in shallow water, sand and scree up to a depth of around 10 m, e.g. B. the well camouflaged Red Sea Walkman. The devil fish is one of the poisonous stone fish, so beware, dangerous! The harmless pygmy winged fishes, which are up to 8 cm in size, live in the 5 meter range, and they too are extremely difficult to spot. You can even reach excellent coral gardens in Dahab: in the north the national park is called Abu Galum, in the south Gabr al Bint is known for its hard corals and its groupers. But one place has made Dahab world famous: the Blue Hole. It is about 10 km north of the city and is a dark blue hole about 50 - 70 m in diameter and 120 m deep. Outside of the Blue Hole, however, the steep face is beautifully overgrown and occasionally even large fish can be found. This drop-off can be reached through a reef crevice at a depth of about 7 m, the next breakthrough is only at 56 m again with the 26m long and a few meters wide arch, i.e. beyond our spot diver limit and only reserved for the Tekkies with their special gas mixtures.

Dive sites in this itinerary

  • SS Thistlegorm

    The Thistlegorm, on the west coast of the Sinai Peninsula and 40 km from Sharm El Sheikh, is the best known and most popular Wreck dive in the Red Sea. The 125 m long British army freighter sank after just 18 months of her launch in April 1940. Her last voyage commenced on the 2nd of June 1941 as she sailed to Alexandria and was loaded with wartime supplies during World War II. A long list of inventory includes armored tracked vehicles, aircraft, armored vehicles, Jeeps and Bedford trucks. In spite of being privately owned and operated, the SS Thistlegorm was nevertheless fitted with a 4 anti-aircraft gun and a heavy caliber machine gun when she was drafted for war duty. But it was never to be. In the early hours of 6th October 1941 the Thistlegorm was split in 2 and sank almost instantly after being hit by 2 bombs from a German long range bomber. The hit only blew a hole in the port side of hold number 5 but then cargo tank ammunition ignited, causing the bulk of the damage.

  • Ras Mohammed

    The marine park Ras Mohamed offers dreamlike diving spots. For example Shark and Yolanda Reef. Both reefs are standing on a plateau, which is between 10 m to 20 m deep. The edges of the plateau fall down to more than 200 m. At the reef you will find nice hard and soft corals, plenty of fish in all kind of sizes. With luck you can see sharks during your early morning dive. At Yolanda Reef you can see the cargo of a Cypriot freighter Yolanda which ran aground in 1980. Loaded with sanitary equipment, toilet bowls and bathtubs, the Yolanda was on its way to Aqaba. Storms caused the wreck to slide into the depths of the sea, but large parts of the cargo are still scattered around the reef and beautifully overgrown, making it a popular photo spot.

  • Gubal Islands

    Entry takes you straight to a sand eel garden, which you must approach with care in order to prevent the eels hiding under the sand. There is a lot of life here including thousands of tiny fish in the water near the reef, octopus, clown fish, parrot fish and butterfly fish.

  • Dahab

    Midway between Sharm El Sheikh and Aqaba is Dahab, on a narrow stretch of coast but at the same time at the deepest and widest point in the Gulf. The reefs are mostly shallow down to about 20 - 30 m, e.g. B. at Southern Oasis or at the northern canyon. The canyon is not for everyone though as it features a deep fissure that starts at around 15 m and has the deepest exit at around 50 m. In between there are only a few exit possibilities, so the dive goes in the direction of cave diving and must be planned. Exceptional fish can already be found in shallow water, sand and scree up to a depth of around 10 m, e.g. B. the well camouflaged Red Sea Walkman. The devil fish is one of the poisonous stone fish, so beware, dangerous! The harmless pygmy winged fishes, which are up to 8 cm in size, live in the 5 meter range, and they too are extremely difficult to spot. You can even reach excellent coral gardens in Dahab: in the north the national park is called Abu Galum, in the south Gabr al Bint is known for its hard corals and its groupers. But one place has made Dahab world famous: the Blue Hole. It is about 10 km north of the city and is a dark blue hole about 50 - 70 m in diameter and 120 m deep. Outside of the Blue Hole, however, the steep face is beautifully overgrown and occasionally even large fish can be found. This drop-off can be reached through a reef crevice at a depth of about 7m, the next breakthrough is only at 56 m again with the 26 m long and a few meters wide arch, i.e. beyond our spot diver limit and only reserved for the Tekkies with their special gas mixtures.

  • SS Turkia

    The SS Turkia was built in 1909 by Earles Shipbuilding and Engineering Co. in Hall (England). The cargo ship, then called Livorno, was 91 m long, 13 m wide and had a tonnage of 1671 tons and was used for various trade routes within Northern Europe. Between 1920 and 1935 the ship was sold to Greece and renamed. In May 1941 the SS Turkia was on its way from New York to Piraeus. The cargo consisted of explosives, vehicles, electrical cables and weapons. It sank near the Suez Canal and there are two stories about it: a fire broke out on board and/or it was hit by a bomb and sank. At a depth of between 10 m and 24 m, beautifully covered with soft and hard corals, it is an experience for the diver.

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