The Informal Family at the Beach

Informal Politics: Street Vendors and the State in Mexico City by John Cross.

The Dive Sites of the Red Sea
by Guy Buckles

The Informal Family
At the Beaches of Egypt

SEE COPYRIGHT NOTICE BELOW

The African coast on the Mediterranean is simply astounding, at least once you get away from the effluence of the Nile. Here, close to Marsa Matruh, it seems as if you can see for miles through the water.

This area, just east of Marsa Matrouh, has some incredible sandstone cliffs and caves next to the Mediteranean, where young men hang out smoking shi-sha. Here we are standing on a ledge of sandstone that extends out into the sea.

Another beautiful beach area is on the east side of the Sinai peninsula on the Gulf of Aqaba. This gulf is less polluted and the beaches are less rocky than the Gulf of Suez, and has excellent corals.See more about Sinai on the Web

This particular spot is called Basata, and it is one of the nicest places I know in Egypt. They are very ecologically savvy. You can stay in a bambo hut (with advanced reservations), in a tent or "al fresco" on the beach. Here we ae eating in their communal dining area. They have a bakery on the premises and an honor system for buying the bread, fruit and vegetables you can use to prepare yur own food in their kitchen. Or, you can pay for their reasoanbly priced communal dinner which is usually traditional Egyptian fare. The clientele is internatonal, with interesting people from all over the world to talk to, but it certainly is NOT your normal tourist resort.

Basata is located about 50 kilometers from the Egyptian border with Israel.

Of course, you don't just sit on the beach - you get in the water! The diving is spectacular. Heck, even the snorkling is spectacular, since you can see forever. Here my wife gives our friend instruction on using our equipment (which you can also rent there).

And its off into the wild blue yonder. Alex was 5 when we took these pictures. Unfortunately, we did not have an underwater camera to show the beautiful corals and fish we saw, but I remember even now how excited we became when we got close to any fish. By the way, that is Saudi Arabia in the background.

If you do go to Basata, tell them The Informal (Cross) Family sent you. They won't know us from Adam, but it might confuse them for a bit. If you don't and by some mistake end up in Sharm El Sheik or some other resort city designed to suck the money and life out of the tourist experience, well, I will feel sorry for you.

Go back to Cyber Tour Depot

The Informal Family Series

The Informal Family in Maadi	The Informal Family visits Giza
The Informal Family at Saqqara	The Informal Family in Alexandria
The Informal Family in Aswan/Luxor	The Informal Family In Sinai
The Informal Family on the Red Sea	The Informal Family in Egypt

COPYRIGHT NOTICE:

These images are the property of the author and can be viewed only on this site. Do not download, copy, mirror, link, or otherwise use these images in any other setting without the express written permission of the author. You are welcome, however, to link to this page.

Please!!!

...send me comments or questions!

See books on Travel

See books on Egypt