Nestled on the Red Sea coast against the stunning backdrop of
the Sinai mountain range, Sharm El Sheikh is heralded as the
jewel of the Egyptian tourist industry. Boasting the simplicity
of year-round sun, sea and sand, this sprawl of luxury four and
five-star hotels is one of the most developed and accessible
resorts on the Sinai peninsula. Arriving in Sharm, you’ll
fly over the white-washed little town and will begin to
comprehend the sheer scale of a few of the resorts below, some
set in thousands of square metres of lush gardens and winding
swimming pools. Concerning cash, most places will happily accept
any combination of Egyptian pounds, US dollars, euros and pounds
sterling. A less convenient trait you will experience is that almost
everything must be paid for. Having retrieved a luggage trolley
from the stack, a sharp request was issued by the men guarding
over them: “One English pound, my friend.” Upon
leaving, at check in you will encounter a similar experience,
with men standing by every desk lifting your bag a mighty forty
centimetres onto the conveyor, and then demanding compensation
for their Herculean effort. Accommodation ranges from small, intimate hotels with modern
designs to the larger hotel complexes belonging to international
chains. If it is the latter, your first day may well be spent
exploring the vast grounds. Our accommodation, the four star
Sonesta Beach Resort, boasted a luxuriant green environment set
against two-storey whitewashed buildings, a private beach,
rooftop café, mini shopping arcade and snack bars by most
poolsides – though I never did discover all seven swimming
pools on offer. Buffet lunch and dinner offer a good range of
food to cater for all tastes, and cost as little as £6. The hotel staff are all very helpful, and security is
excellent, with guards posted around the clock at every entrance.
It is worth pointing out at this point that security generally is
very good, with the Egyptian authorities working hard to protect
their tourist bubble. The whole region surrounding Sharm is kept
under strict border controls, and the fact that Coalition leaders
met here at the height of the Iraq War should provide significant
reassurance. Crime is thus generally low. Also, regarding dress
codes, there are no strict rules in place, for Sharm is
essentially a Western resort, but it is always best to be aware
that you are in a Muslim country. During the day you will doubtless just want to laze by the
beach, but there are some excellent activities on offer. Golf
courses, a vast array of water sports, quad biking across the
desert, horse and camel riding, desert safaris and scuba diving
or snorkelling on the beautiful coral reefs are all available. A package I would highly recommend is a daytime trip the to
Raas Mohammed national park, incorporating several stops at
points of interest and snorkelling on the beautiful coral reef at
two locations. It also includes an overnight ascent of Mount
Sinai to watch the sunrise over the mountains, a breathtaking
experience well worth the three-hour walk up. If you’re not
quite up to the hike, there are camels for hire most of the way
up or down, although I would certainly recommend only up for men;
down can prove an extremely painful and potency-reducing
experience as you’re thrown forward against the hard front
of the saddle with every step. An ancient Greek monastery (still
in use) lies at the foot of the Mount and is definitely worth
visiting. With our particular tour group, this all came to just
over £50. At night, sunset quad bike excursions and ‘Bedouin
nights’ in the desert are on offer. But the latter was far
from the authentic experience, hosted in a modern purpose built
arena amongst the mountains, and along with the array of casinos,
bars and nightclubs available in the town, it demonstrates what
to me is wrong with Sharm. The vast majority of restaurants are Italian, Mexican or
burger bars and don’t serve local foods; amidst the neon
blare of McDonalds and KFC in the centre of town, lies that most
western of institutions, the gigantic guitar of a Hard Rock
Café. This sat uneasily with me throughout our time there, and was
further offset by the extravagant opulence of many of the hotels
when held against the knowledge that not many miles away lies a
third world environment. Parts of Egypt often struggle for water,
let alone power, yet here was a resort using unnecessarily
excessive quantities of both. This is where the anger comes in: it’s hard to notice the
dichotomy and remain calm. My best friend came to describe Sharm
as ‘McEgypt’, which is a pretty fair summary. If you
want to see Egypt, this is not the place to come. But if you want
a relatively cheap holiday in a sanitised Western bubble with the
occasional taste of the Middle East, then you’ll certainly
enjoy Sharm El Sheikh. A less convenient trait you will experience is that almost everything must be paid for. Having retrieved a luggage trolley from the stack, a sharp request was issued by the men guarding over them: “One English pound, my friend.” Upon leaving, at check in you will encounter a similar experience, with men standing by every desk lifting your bag a mighty forty centimetres onto the conveyor, and then demanding compensation for their Herculean effort.
Accommodation ranges from small, intimate hotels with modern designs to the larger hotel complexes belonging to international chains. If it is the latter, your first day may well be spent exploring the vast grounds. Our accommodation, the four star Sonesta Beach Resort, boasted a luxuriant green environment set against two-storey whitewashed buildings, a private beach, rooftop café, mini shopping arcade and snack bars by most poolsides – though I never did discover all seven swimming pools on offer. Buffet lunch and dinner offer a good range of food to cater for all tastes, and cost as little as £6.
The hotel staff are all very helpful, and security is excellent, with guards posted around the clock at every entrance. It is worth pointing out at this point that security generally is very good, with the Egyptian authorities working hard to protect their tourist bubble. The whole region surrounding Sharm is kept under strict border controls, and the fact that Coalition leaders met here at the height of the Iraq War should provide significant reassurance. Crime is thus generally low. Also, regarding dress codes, there are no strict rules in place, for Sharm is essentially a Western resort, but it is always best to be aware that you are in a Muslim country.
During the day you will doubtless just want to laze by the beach, but there are some excellent activities on offer. Golf courses, a vast array of water sports, quad biking across the desert, horse and camel riding, desert safaris and scuba diving or snorkelling on the beautiful coral reefs are all available.
A package I would highly recommend is a daytime trip the to Raas Mohammed national park, incorporating several stops at points of interest and snorkelling on the beautiful coral reef at two locations. It also includes an overnight ascent of Mount Sinai to watch the sunrise over the mountains, a breathtaking experience well worth the three-hour walk up. If you’re not quite up to the hike, there are camels for hire most of the way up or down, although I would certainly recommend only up for men; down can prove an extremely painful and potency-reducing experience as you’re thrown forward against the hard front of the saddle with every step. An ancient Greek monastery (still in use) lies at the foot of the Mount and is definitely worth visiting. With our particular tour group, this all came to just over £50.
At night, sunset quad bike excursions and ‘Bedouin nights’ in the desert are on offer. But the latter was far from the authentic experience, hosted in a modern purpose built arena amongst the mountains, and along with the array of casinos, bars and nightclubs available in the town, it demonstrates what to me is wrong with Sharm.
The vast majority of restaurants are Italian, Mexican or burger bars and don’t serve local foods; amidst the neon blare of McDonalds and KFC in the centre of town, lies that most western of institutions, the gigantic guitar of a Hard Rock Café.
This sat uneasily with me throughout our time there, and was further offset by the extravagant opulence of many of the hotels when held against the knowledge that not many miles away lies a third world environment. Parts of Egypt often struggle for water, let alone power, yet here was a resort using unnecessarily excessive quantities of both.
This is where the anger comes in: it’s hard to notice the dichotomy and remain calm. My best friend came to describe Sharm as ‘McEgypt’, which is a pretty fair summary. If you want to see Egypt, this is not the place to come. But if you want a relatively cheap holiday in a sanitised Western bubble with the occasional taste of the Middle East, then you’ll certainly enjoy Sharm El Sheikh.ARCHIVE: 0th week TT 2004
Getting Angry in Egypt
