What-not: The Town of Dahab

A beautiful view of the hotel we stayed in with the beautiful mountains of Sinai behind.
That beautiful "golden" sunset.
Levi on a camel ride.

Me, with a couple of little bedouin girls.

"Dahab" is the name of a beautiful little town in the Sinai that we visited several years ago. It is situated among the mountains of the Sinai. It used to be a small bedouin fishing village. Now it is mainly a touristic site, known for its great diving spots. Following the Six Day War, the town was occupied by Israel and is known in Hebrew as Di-Zahav, a place mentioned in the Bible as one of the stations for the Israelites during the Exodus from Egypt. The Sinai Peninsula was restored to Egyptian rule in the Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty in 1982.

Dahab enjoys large numbers of tourists. It is world-renowned for its windsurfing. SCUBA diving and snorkelling are also popular activities with many reefs immediately adjacent to waterfront hotels. The nearby Blue Hole-Which is nicknamed as "The World's Most Dangerous Diving Site"- and Canyon are internationally famous dive spots. Land based activities include camel, horse, jeep and quad bike trips. Mount Sinai is a two hours drive, with Saint Catherine's Monastery being a popular tourist destination.

The word Dahab is Arabic for gold and is possibly a reference to the geographic location; gold washed down from the desert mountains may have accumulated on the flood plain where the town was built. The name may also be a reference to the colour of the sands to the south of the town itself. Some locals attribute the name to the colour of the sky, just after sunset.