Al-Quseir - the “Smaller Version” of a place - as the Arabic translation implies is far from being of small in terms of its importance. With a personal history of over 4’000 years local officials are trying to ensure the city’s heritage is kept safe. Thanks to the fact that Al-Quseir is the at the end of the shortest distance between the Nile and the Red Sea, the city’s history dates back as far as 1493 BC, when Queen Hatshepsut deployed an expedition to Punt, current Ethiopia. Later, the Romans set up Myos Hormos, the Roman name for Al-Quseir, just 8 km north of present Al-Quseir. After the Romans came the Ottoman era, who under Sultan Selim, Ruler of Egypt, set up a fortress, to protect the city against invaders. Later, Napoleon and after him the British Empire occupied this key city. It was not until the completion of the Suez Canal in 1869, that Al-Quseir lost role as key link between the Orient and the Occident. Today, Al-Quseir has come a long way in becoming a top rate destination for divers from all over the world. Thanks to the regions environmental awareness, diving is restricted to a limited number of divers, thus reducing the stress on the beauty that is the underwater environment.
If you decide to head north from Al-Quseir, you will come across some remarkable dive sites: the first being Sirena Beach Home Reef, the house reef of Quseir’s Subex Dive Center. This is a reef that has options and variety written all over it. Even before you dive under water you are offered the first two options. Either enter the reef from the jetty or opt for a Zodiac ride from the jetty to the outer reef. If you decide to enter the reef from the reef you are given the option of continuing either to the left or to the right. If you decide to start your dive at the outer reef you are even given the option to dive back to the jetty to make your exit there. Once you are exploring the reef you will quickly realise, that this is as diversified as any top rate dive spot around the world. The topography of the reef is extremely diversified with scattered pinnacles, tunnels, chimneys, outcrops and caves waiting for you to be explored. Not to mention, that the variety of coral growth is sheer mind-boggling. The marine life to be found here is nothing short of what the reef itself has to offer. With Napoleon wrasse, morays, lionfish, goatfish, rock cod, trumpetfish and groupers inhabiting the reef, gobies, shrimp and squid on the sand and shallow waters and the likes of tunas, fusiliers, mackerels, jacks and snappers on the outer reaches you will have to admit that there is plenty to see here at Sirena Beach Home Reef.
Continuing our journey further north you will come to a maze of a coral garden that is called Beit Goha after an Egyptian cartoon character that is known for complete confusion. Why Beit Goha you might ask? Just ask one of the guides how often they got lost in this labyrinth. Generally shallow with an average of 10 m (33 ft) this coral garden does drop to depths of over 30 m (100 ft), however. Similar to the previous site you will find an elaborate system of tunnels, caves and canyons alternating with sandy patches and offers diversity in coral growth that is second to none! It’s as if the present hard and soft coral formations, such as beautiful tables, branching arcopora, bommies and countless of carpet anemones, not only have been perfectly mixed by some higher power but that they constantly try to outdo one-another. A truly fascinating sight! It is easy to understand that such a perfect habitat has the marine life to match: Snappers, unicorns, surgeonfish, groupers, trumpetfish, triggers and goatfish. And if you closer look at the sandy bottom you will see the likes of white-tip sharks, guitar sharks, blue spotted stingrays and crocodilefish. Heaven on earth for any diving enthusiast!
Heading again a bit further north, 32 km (20 mi) north of Subex Dive Center to be exact, you will come across a spot that is known as Safaga 1 / Kilo 32 north. If you are a lover of turtles it is an easy choice to decide to head to this shall reef that, due to its northern point, is partly sheltered from the north wind waves. Similar to the previous sites you will find several caves and passages in various depths that are eagerly waiting to be explored. Additional to said caves and passages you will find that in the north the reef has extended a submerged finger to approximately 35 m (113 ft). With stone corals dominating the scene, such acropora, lacy corals, brain and star corals you will still find a good selection of soft corals, such as dendronephthya or elephant ear. As already mentioned, this is a spot where you will have the chance to marvel at the elegance of turtles. But the marine life of Safaga 1 has more to offer: Next to the wide variety of reef fish, this is the perfect place to see bottlenose dolphins. If you dive the northern edge of this reef, be careful not to get entangled in one of the many fishing lines.
With such a display of variety you might want to chose to solely dive the spots north of Al-Quseir. We strongly advise you not to do so as you would miss half the fun and wonder that is Al-Quseir. Merely 10 km (6 mi) south of Al-Quseir lies El Kaf, a remarkable dive that begins with an entry through a canyon and into a sandy bay. Standard for a dive at Al-Quseir you will find plenty of caves, passages, slopes, shelves, pinnacles and ravines to explore. The coral growth found at El Kaf is so ridiculously huge and exquisite that even the corals are covered with corals. You will find several dead huge Acropora tables which have been completely covered by soft coral growth. Having a closer look at the marine life you will find a rich diversity of blue spotted stingrays, dozens of wrasse species and starry and spotted pufferfish, trumpetfish, snappers, fusiliers, glassfish, batfish and goatfish.
The last but not least spot on our trip to the south is Kilo 15 south being just 15 km (9 mi) south of Al-Quseir. Similar to El Kaf, Kilo 15 south begins with another entry trough a system of tunnels and canyons down to a sandy slope. To complete your descent you will have to swim through a tube of 5-7 m (33-50 ft). After your descent the reef unfolds right in front of you with its moderate slope only to drop to vertical walls later. To your left you will come across a few pinnacles and larger coral blocks with the wall’s reef gently starting to curve outward. Needless to say that the coral growth, hard corals are dominating this site, is as good as at any other site in Al-Quseir. Similar to Beit Goha to the north of Al-Quseir this is another excellent spot to marvel at the beauty of white-tip sharks or even guitar sharks. Be careful not to marvel at these creatures for too long as your exit can be somewhat cumbersome, so a good reserve of air is needed.