1972-1982 from the Mediterranean to the Red Sea
Mediterranean Diving Center, Sidna Ali Beach, Herzliya
In 1970 I was a 23-year-old new immigrant from America. My age and inexperience did not spare me the Chutzpa of opening The Mediterranean Diving Center at Sidna Ali Beach, Herzliya, one of the first diving schools in Israel, a mere 6 months after getting my basic SCUBA certification in my native California.
Around the time I started operations, the Yom Kippur War and subsequent fighting along the Suez Canal and Sinai between Israel and Egypt was winding down and a Cease Fire was in place. But without a formal peace treaty on the horizon, the Israeli government decided to establish several civilian settlements along the Red Sea coast, south of Eilat. Nuweiba, Dahab and Sharm el-Sheikh.
Israeli government officials had approached me about opening a "branch" of our operation in the recently opened "Neviot" village at the Nuweiba oasis. Together with my partners at the time, Natan Vardi and Yitzhak Kastenbaum, we were eager to have a base in the Red Sea and this was an offer that could not refused.
In 1972 I loaded equipment from our Mediterranean Diving Center and headed south to the Red Sea to open the diving club in Neviot, a collective settlement with plans for agriculture and a tourist village. Located in a beautiful and tranquil setting perfect for our diving activity. At the time, conditions at the Neviot village were very basic. The settlement was established by a group of young Israelis in their twenties. The accommodations were simple, clean and comfortable and our diving center was a small hut at the water’s edge of a beautiful beach. It was the perfect venue to add to our diving centers and schools along Israel’s Mediterranean shore at Herzliya, Jaffa and Caesarea. We were already training hundreds of diving annually but had a serious problem with the mandatory deep dives necessary for diver certification due to the inconsistent diving conditions of Israel’s Mediterranean coast. This new base on the Red Sea would be the perfect solution for the final stages of the diving course. We also had plans to promote local and international diving tourism to Sinai. It was the dawn of diving tourism, not only in Israel but throughout the world.
In March 1972, we managed to fill the resort village with divers and maintain a historic Passover Seder right where it all began. After the holiday we immediately organized groups of divers to do the open water dives from the pristine beaches of the oasis where the greatest danger was to be run over by a roaming camel. Diving conditions in the new location was perfect. the shallow reefs were perfect for snorkelling, scuba diving training and diving for beginners. Another big advantage was the accommodations adjacent to the diving club which created a perfect diving holiday package.
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1972 Neviot Holiday Village on the shore of the Red Sea
1972 Mediterranean Diving Center base at Neviot
1972 Diving Courses on the Red Sea.
1972, the first group of American divers
We learned as we worked. On the “Dive” so to speak. In those years, there were no books to read, or magazine articles on how to run a diving club, or a diving school in such a remote place. From a Diving perspective, there was also very little was known about the area. We explored kilometers of coral reefs, looking for the best dive sites and familiarizing ourselves with the area’s marine life.
In the fall of 1972, the first group of Diving tourists from abroad arrived for a land-based Diving safari from Eilat in the north along the Sinai coast all the way to Sharm el-Sheikh and on to the southern tip of the Sinai shore at Ras Muhammad, the “Jewel in the crown” of Red Sea Diving.
After 10 days of diving, the American group leader told me that he thought that the southern Sinai had the best diving in the world, and that it would be in our interest to move our activities to the Sharm el-Sheikh area. He knew what he was talking about, he was also eager to bring more groups the following year. I followed his advice and transferred my activities to Sharm in early 1973.
1972 First American group from Bay Travel
1973 The move to Sharm
Sharm el-Sheikh, was the last stop on the new road heading south from Eilat. There were very few residents when we arrived, most of them military personnel who served at bases in the area. Bedouins had also moved to the area in search of work and here were several dozen Israelis who worked for the Civil Administration as well. Among this mix was a small group of motivated and ambitious entrepreneurs, myself included, eager to start businesses in the area. The new settlement of Ofira was just beginning construction there. Sharm was destined to become the tourist center of the entire Sinai Red Sea coast.
When we arrived, the accommodations were terrible. A distinct problem was the political and military instability of the region. In fact, no one really knew how long Israel would control the Sinai. That was probably the main reason for the lack of investors to build a proper hotel or offer other tourism services. Every accommodation was established with the option of being loaded onto the back of a semi-trailer and trucking it back to pre-1967 Israel.
Naama Bay with 2 motels in the early 1970’s
There was the aptly named Moses’ hotel in "Downtown" Ofira, and by the way it looked, Moses himself might have stayed there during the Exodus. A half-star rating would have been a kindly exaggeration. In the nearby Naama Bay there was the Caravan motel with 30 small trailers, still sitting on their wheels serving as rooms but ready to be towed back to Eilat when the area returned to Egyptian sovereignty. Nearby was also the Marina Sharm Motel with 30 fiberglass geodesic bungalows. Nothing could be less suitable or uglier for the desert environment.
We were given land on the beach in Naama Bay next to the Marina Sharm to set up our diving club. Our first structure was an old wooden train car unceremoniously dumped on the beach. In the first year of operations our floor was beach sand.
After several weeks of work, the “Train Car” Diving center was just about ready for business, but we had one big problem, there was no electricity. Chutzpa kicked in again and we "borrowed" electricity for the compressor by running a high-voltage power line from the hotel's generators, a distance of 100 meters buried 20 centimeters deep under the beach to the dive center. We purchased a jeep from the army surplus and painted it orange in case it ever got stuck on some desert trail, so that it would be more visible to the air search team. We used a skiff designed for 8-10 divers and equipment. The skiff was basically nothing more than a giant surfboard affectionally called the “Golden Slipper” with an outboard engine. We were finally ready to go out and dive beautiful coral reefs outside of Naama Bay.
Just as we were ready for action, we were informed by the Israeli Navy that diving activity was to be limited to Naama Bay only and that we were not allowed to take guests outside the bay. I thought this was a crazy order, an unacceptable dictate that would kill the business even before it started. I decided not to obey the Navy's instructions. We would venture out of Naama Bay and if we were arrested, we would prove our case and, so be it.
Heading out to dive from the Train Car Diving Center
Early Diving boats crowded to the extreme
Army surplus jeep with local towing service
The next morning, we went out to one of the dive sites just outside the bay. A Navy patrol boat spotted us and ordered us to return to the bay. I responded in my still elementary Hebrew, that if the Israeli government wanted to develop Diving tourism to Sharm, they would not succeed if they did not allow the divers to explore the reefs of the entire area, not only Naama Bay.
The skipper said they had their orders and ordered us return. I advised the him that we would not return and if they wanted, they could arrest us. He called his commander at the Navy base in Sharm and I assume that after he described the sensitive situation the commander wisely instructed him to let us continue with our diving and that he would deal with me later.
That evening I received a summons to the naval base, where I met the commander and senior staff as well as representatives of the civilian government in Sinai. I explained to the distinguished group that I had influential guests diving with me, testing the potential of diving tourism to the Sinai. If these “influencers” were satisfied with the area and the cooperation of local services then thousands of divers will come to Sharm - after all this is exactly what the Israeli government wanted in those days, was it not?
The matter was moved to Jerusalem and after a few days, the insane restriction was lifted, and we were free to dive at all the dive sites along the Sinai coast. A huge victory for us and all the others who would follow us.
1973 Yom Kippur War
After the Jewish New Year holiday, and just before Yom Kippur, I went up north to visit my wife, Sharon. The next morning the Yom Kippur war broke out and I could not return to Sharm, as it was already under Egyptian attack. When I finally was able to return to Sharm I was very concerned as to what I would find there. I was especially worried about my neighbors who were trapped there during the war and of course about the condition in which I would find my diving center and equipment.
I was relieved to learn that there were no injuries or deaths in the Sharm area and Juma, my faithful Bedouin worker had handled the situation very responsibly. The morning the war started, and Egyptian jets were strafing the nearby army base, Juma had had the presence of mind and bravery to rush around the bay, collecting all the rental gear, tossing all into the dive center, and then hightail it to the mountains where his parents lived. We reunited months after the war, and it took close to a year for business to return to normal. The Yom Kippur war was a very painful one, extracting great loss of life to both sides. Its outcome would only be realized 6 years later with a peace treaty between Egypt and Israel.
Communication center of the Sharm Army base strafed by Egyptian MiG Jets during the 1973 War.
1974 The first expedition of National Geographic
xThe biggest thing that happened the year following the Yom Kippur war was for us to guide and provide services to a team from “National Geographic” magazine. The writer and photographers from this prestigious magazine came to write a feature article about the underwater life of the Red Sea and used our Sharm Diving center as their base of operations.
When they arrived in early fall, 1974, they were no doubt in shock upon seeing our primitive setup housed in an old wooden train car, with one small compressor, a small boat and a temperamental orange jeep from Israeli army surplus ...
The National Geographic team was led by Dr. Eugene Clark, known respectfully and affectionately worldwide as the "Shark Lady". Genie’s specialty was Shark behavior and she had authored several books including the bestselling “Lady and the Sharks”. The photography team included David and Anne Doubilet, Underwater photographers on their first assignment for National Geographic. I'm sure the Doubilet’s were worried about placing all their expensive photo equipment on our small boat, but they hid their concerns and we made sure everything was lashed down and secure.
Genie, David and Ann had come to Sharm to study, dive and capture stunning images of the Red Sea. Our team was blessed by this experience and we at Red Sea Divers learned a great deal from them as well. The Red Sea story featured in the September 1975 issue was a huge success and yielded David Doubilet’s first cover image for National Geographic and launched a brilliant career that has spanned over 50 years as of this writing.
I received my first lessons in underwater photography from David and he rewarded me a Nikonos II underwater camera as a tip. Working with the Doubilet’s enhanced my desire to photograph underwater which would eventually launch my career in underwater photography. We subsequently worked together on 6 more articles in the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean.
Ann Doubilet and all their gear
David Doubilet and Dr. Eugenie Clark
Myself with David Doubilet
September 1975 Cover Story
1975 Diving in a well, Santa Catarina
xShortly after the departure of the National Geographic, I received a phone call from the local authorities, they were looking for a volunteer diver to help them extract a water pump that had broken down inside an ancient well.
There were not many professional divers available in 1975 and I volunteered to help them. I was amazed to find that the well was outside the Saint Catherine’s Monastery at the foot of Mount Sinai.
After gathering my diving gear and just before departing the dive center I shared with one of our guests from Switzerland that I was going to dive at the base of Mount Sinai at an altitude of 1,500 meters. The Swiss diver shot back: 'Just make sure you dive according to the high-altitude decompression tables”. Honestly, I'd never heard of such a thing, and I asked him if he happened to have these special tables with him. He smiled and replied "I came to dive in the Red Sea, not in the mountains" ...
This adventure in Santa was probably the most dangerous in my diving career. It was not a simple dive descending into a well, which was essentially a narrow, deep, dark hole in the ground ... I had no idea about the dangers involved. I barely survived that dive after getting stuck for a few-heart pounding minutes but was finally able to free myself and the pump and help bring it to the surface. I was relieved but at the same time, aware of the fact that I had taken on a difficult and dangerous task that I was untrained and not yet ready for.
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1975 Diving into the Well at Saint Catherine’s monastery
Upgrading the vision
In 1975 with my desire to expand the activities and services at the club and added two new partners - Yossi Kvashni, experienced ex-Navy SEAL officer and Michael Daniel, a Tel Aviv businessman.
We gave a new name to our company, ‘Red Sea Divers' and undertook a serious program of growth including building a new spacious diving and water sports center immediately adjacent to where the Train Car stood.
We purchased 100 brand new Aluminum Diving cylinders, an enormous new compressor and diving boats suitable for the club's increasing diving activities. Reflecting to our humble beginning, I felt a great sense of pride and accomplishment seeing the new Diving Center and operations turn into reality.
1976 The new Red Sea Divers Center, Naama Bay, Sharm el Sheikh
1976 Expanding the Red Sea Divers Fleet
Ambassador Samuel Lewis, Maestro Leonard Bernstein and President Sadat and Prime Minister Begin: Peace comes to the Sinai.
Being in the diving business and in such a beautiful location for a long time, allowed me to meet a lot of interesting, amazing people, and make lifelong friendships. At the top of the list were Samuel W. Lewis, US Ambassador to Israel from 1977-1985, and Maestro Leonard Bernstein.
Samuel Lewis was in Israel during turbulent yet historic times, which encompassed the entire peace process and the peace agreement between Israel and Egypt. Sam played a key role in establishing peace between Israel and Egypt. A true "peacemaker."
Shortly after the Ambassador took up his new posting in Israel, I was invited to teach him diving in the Residence pool. Once certified, Sam as everyone called him, came down to dive with us in Sharm at every opportunity. This continued throughout his entire eight years as ambassador and for years after he left. A friendship had been formed that would last for 40 years.
In 1977, immediately after his arrival, Egyptian President Sadat made the historic gesture to come to Israel and meet with the late Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin this was the beginning of the Camp David Peace treaty between Egypt and Israel which culminated in Israel's withdrawal from Sinai in 1982 and the loss of our home and business in Sharm el-Sheikh.
United States Ambassador Samuel W. Lewis
The Maestro comes for a dive
By the mid 1970’s business was picking up and one day, after a day of diving I came back to the diving center and checked the daily rental forms that my Bedouin employee Mahmoud was organizing. On the topmost form was a name that I was well familiar with. One Leonard Bernstein from New York had rented a mask, snorkel, and pair of fins while I was out diving. Could this be the same Leonard Bernstein that I watched every week giving his famous Children’s concerts on TV when I was growing up in LA? I had to find out.
I quickly went to the hotel reception next door and queried the receptionist about the guest Leonard Bernstein. Satisfied that her description matched the images I had in my mind, I took a chance and put a note in his key box inviting him to go out diving the next day with me as my guest.
Sure enough he showed up the next morning, an eager and even somewhat experienced diver having previously dived in the Caribbean. He joined us aboard our dive boat and had what he described as “the time of his life”. He seemed so very approachable and friendly. He liked being in the cobalt blue water, snorkelling and diving or just hanging out with our crew and guests.
After this chance meeting, every time he would visit Israel for a concert or another event, he would always take a few days off to come and just hang around with us at Red Sea Divers, it was an escape from the crowds, his frenetic lifestyle and busy schedule. For just a few days, each time, he was Lenny, one of the gang and it was so much fun to have him around.
There are many anecdotes and stories I can share here but one experience stands out in my mind and I will remember it for as long as I live.
In 1981, Israel was preparing to leave the Sinai and return it to Egypt as part of the Camp David Accords worked out between President Carter, President Sadat and Prime Minister Begin. This was only a year before the final Israeli withdrawal and by chance Lenny was back with us in Sharem just after giving a concert in Tel Aviv. Coincidentally we had a team from National Geographic staying with us while covering the Sinai withdrawal (article appeared in the April 1982 edition of National Geographic).
All of a sudden the authorities advised us that all of our guests had to evacuate the area as Sadat and Begin decided to have a summit meeting in Sharm the coming week. That would mean Lenny and the National Geographic team would have to leave which was really bad news for us for obvious reasons. I made an appeal to the military adviser of Prime Minister Begin and surprisingly received special permission for both Lenny and National Geographic to stay on. Indeed, the name Leonard Bernstein always carried a lot of weight in Israel!
1981 Begin and Sadat Summit in Sharem
During this week in preparations for the summit, our diving center became the hub for all the hundreds of journalists and electronic media people who came to cover the event. Every major American and European TV network had crews down in Sharm which was at that time a sleepy little town with 2 ½ motels, 3 restaurants, 3 diving centers and little else.
Nothing much was happening (unless you were really into SCUBA diving), and hearing that an American (me) was running the diving operations there, attracted ABC, NBC, CBS to come interview me to get some local “color”. When they saw Lenny sitting having lunch in our little restaurant, they went ballistic. Obviously, he was a much better story than I!
In any respect, they asked me for ideas of stories they could pursue whilst waiting for Begin and Sadat to show up. I was obviously anxious to get their attention and perhaps some amazing publicity and income for our struggling business. I told them that just south of Sharem at a place called Ras Mohamed, (one of the worlds truly great and now famous diving sites), there were reports that at night for the first time ever, Israeli and Egyptian fisherman were anchoring side by side fishing. This was almost revolutionary for anyone privy to the historical antagonism if not outright hatred and violence between Israeli’s and Egyptians until this peace process.
I had it on good authority from my fishermen friends that this was indeed a sight to behold and when I shared it with the ABC anchor, he jumped at the idea and chartered our best dive boat to go out that night and film the event. Lenny, having been in earshot of all this immediately insisted that he come along as well. Lenny was not an easy person to say no to and the ABC crew just loved the idea. So, a time was set for later that evening and the deal was struck. After hearing of our plans, the National Geographic team of David and Anne Doubilet also requested permission and they were on as well. For us, ABC News and National Geographic on our boat was the ultimate “wet dream”.
The only problem for me was to figure out how to sneak into an area that was absolutely off limits to tourist boats like ours. Israeli fishermen had special permits that were not available to us. I made a plan to avoid the navy by heading north toward Tiran Island and then looping southeast and then west to finally reach the fishing spot just to the west of Ras Mohamed. Things were a little tense on the boat as we couldn’t run any navigation lights and it was a dark night without a trace of the moon. Luckily our radar picked up the dots just off the coastline signalling that the fishing boats were indeed in place. The camera crews got their gear ready; we didn’t have a clue what was about to transpire.
We steered the dive boat right at the largest cluster of fishing boats, moving in total darkness. Lenny was loving every minute of it. So, alien to his normal world of glitz and glitter. About 50 meters from the fishing boats, I allowed the film team to put on their very powerful lights and together with our boat’s spotlight, we really lit up the entire sea exposing tens of small fishing boats and a few larger Egyptian boats down from Suez. This was the first time in 15 years (since the 1967, 6-day war) that they could access these bountiful waters.
We freaked the fishermen out as they surely thought we were the Israeli Navy coming in on a raid. With cameras running we pulled right up to the stern of the largest Egyptian fishing boat. They had Arabic music blaring from a portable cassette tape, fish innards and bait strewn all over the place, on the deck, everywhere. Big men dressed in Jellabiya’s and without doubt carrying the scent of their work.
I had told everyone on our boat not to think about going onto the Egyptian boat until one of the Arabic speaking members of our crew could ask permission so you can imagine how surprised and worried, I became when Lenny suddenly jumped from the bow onto the slippery back deck of the fishing boat and started mingling with the Egyptian fishermen. I quickly jumped over the railing to join him but before I could reach him, he was engaged in a Debka dance with the biggest, swarthiest fisherman there. The scene was beyond surrealistic, the fisherman was nearly twice the size of Lenny and the two of them were like swirling Dervishes moving to the Arabic melodies. After 5 minutes of this, the fisherman, who obviously had no clue that his dance partner was probably the most famous musician and artist in the world, picked him up and gave him a kiss on the cheek!
At that point, our boat was tied off onto the fishing boat and the TV and Magazine crews were filming and clicking away.
This bizarre and amazing scene at Ras Mohamed, one of the most remote spots in the world, will stay with me and all those who witnessed it forever. Needless to say, Lenny had the time of his life and I can remember his beaming face on the long, dark ride back to port!
Maestro Leonard Bernstein getting ready for a Dive
Peace is coming!
As part of Israel's gradual withdrawal, in 1979 the Sinai was split almost down the middle from north to south. To the north, was the El Arish oasis on the Mediterranean coast. To the south, the temporary border ended at Ras Muhammad, the southernmost tip of the Sinai. The Ras as we called it was without a doubt one of the most famous and best dive sites in the Red Sea. That temporary border line left the very best diving of Ras Muhammad just across the border on the Egyptian side and we were forbidden by the Egyptians to dive there.
This ban on diving in Ras Muhammad was a severe setback for all divers and we had to find an immediate solution. I shared Ras Muhammad's closure problem with Ambassador Lewis and with his active intervention the problem was solved, and Ras Muhammad was once again available to our guests.
The temporary border marker atop the cliff of Ras Mohamed
The Yolanda. The shipwreck in Ras Muhammad
Adventures were not lacking at that time. As soon as Ras Mohamed was reopened for Diving a cargo ship named Jolanda, ran aground atop “Shark Reef” at Ras Muhammad. The ship began to sink and caused extensive damage to the dive site.
To make matters worse, a Swedish salvage ship anchored on the reef near the sinking ship and began a salvage operation causing severe damage to the precious and fragile coral ecosystem. It was an acute ecological disaster. I immediately went to the site and photographed the damage caused by both ships and returned to the dive center to report to the Israeli authorities. We were able to mobilize enough support and with the help of the American Embassy in Cairo, to close the salvage operation. Not only did we make efforts to keep Ras Muhammad open to divers, but we were able to minimize damage and save Ras Muhammad as a dive site.
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The Jolanda and the Salvage vessel Montaigne at Shark Reef, Ras Mohamed
Anchor chain of the Jolanda lying on the reef
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1979 Dunraven -
The Dunraven was one of the more colorful and famous adventures in which we took part, and it included the discovery of a mysterious sunken ship in a time of tensions and hopes that led to the pending peace agreement between Israel and Egypt.
The Dunraven saga began in our fertile imagination fueled by a burning desire to offer a sunken ship to our dive sites. In the 6 years of diving tourism, in the Red Sea, we could not offer the divers a wreck diving experience. Sunken ships are a very sought-after attraction to divers. In the late 1970’s this popularity stemmed partially from the popular 1977 adventure film "The Deep" starring some of Hollywood's biggest stars, including Nick Nolte, Jacqueline Bisset and Robert Shaw.
The great success of the film contributed to a spike of diving tourism to the Caribbean. This fact was not lost on us, and we understood immediately that there was something there that could help us as well. Our crew at Red Sea Divers, along with our talented colleague and graphic artist Shlomo Cohen, cooked up a real Shipwreck Fantasy.
We concocted a story about a mysterious treasure; about a ship carrying gold bars to pay the Bedouin fighters who joined “Lawrence of Arabia” in the battles between the British and the Ottoman Turks (rulers of the Middle East who ruled for 500 years until World War I). We had only one major problem, in our part of the Red Sea we had not succeeded in locating a single sunken ship. We needed a shipwreck and fast.
During a chance meeting at sea with local Bedouin fishermen, they mentioned that in the Gulf of Suez, about an hour cruise from Ras Muhammad, is what they thought was a sunken ship. According to one of the fishermen, this was a site with many fish, and according to him, and with noontime sun overhead, in a calm and quiet sea, one can make out a large and unusual dark area at the base of Shab Mahmoud Reef.
The reef mentioned by the fishermen was kilometers off the Sinai coast. We tried our best to get an exact location for this potential sunken ship, but the best description we could get was "After turning the corner at Ras Muhammad heading into the Suez gulf in a westerly bearing, smoke 2 cigarettes and in the distance, you will see waves breaking on a reef (Shab Mahmoud). Go to the southwestern end. Of the reef, and below you, is the site believed to be a sunken ship." We were skeptical, but what did we have to lose, other than time and fuel. Either way, it would to be an interesting day of exploring a new coral reef area, and if we succeeded, it would be an amazing discovery.
The next day, we set out, turned the corner at Ras Muhammad, I asked one of the staff for two cigarettes. Amazingly after the second cigarette, I scanned the horizon and noticed waves breaking on a coral reef far off the shore. We had located the Shaab Mahmoud reef, now we had to seek out the wreck. I quickly organized for a dive and as soon as I hit the water, I saw a large, inverted ship lying on the bottom, covered with flocks of large and small fish. Eureka! We had our sunken ship.
Spotting the Dunraven site in the Suez gulf
Filming the BBC Documentary “Mystery of the Red Sea Wreck” Illustration by Shlomo Cohen.
A year after this first dive, a BBC crew came to shoot a documentary “Mystery of the Red Sea Wreck. about the ship and its history. Link to the movie https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qhwkz3dzafo << BBC
First visit to Egypt.
The peace treaty between Egypt and Israel was signed in 1979. The first time an Arab state signed a peace treaty with Israel. The agreement included a staged Israeli withdrawal from the Sinai. In other words, until April 1982, we had three years left to operate our diving center in Sharm. What would be afterward? That was the big question.
One of our clients, a businessman from South Africa, had contacts in the Egyptian tourism industry, He suggested that we fly together to meet with them in Cairo to discuss options for cooperation after the withdrawal from Sinai.
At that time there were no direct flights from Israel to Egypt, and Israeli citizens were not even allowed to enter Egypt. Using my American passport, I flew from Tel Aviv to Athens and then connected to Cairo to meet my friend. He had scheduled two days of meetings with potential partners and government officials, including ministers. It was exciting and bizarre to come to Cairo, after years of wars and bloodshed, here I was, among the first Israelis to get to see and hopefully enjoy the fruits of the peace process. Beyond the hope, the future was still very uncertain. Our meetings went well, I found a lot of interest with the Egyptians I met, regarding the Sinai, specially in regards to the potential for international tourism.
Presentation at Mena House
A short time after my first private visit, I was invited to be part of an official delegation to Cairo, This was actually part of an expert’s delegation accompanying Israel’s Minister of Tourism for Bi-Lateral tourism negotiations, with his Egyptian counterpart. My area of expertise being Diving Tourism.
I proposed to the Israeli delegation that I prepare a slide presentation on diving tourism in Sinai and they agreed but needed the approval of the Egyptian officials. To my delight he also agreed!
In the presentation, I wanted to emphasize two points: first, that Diving tourism could be the backbone of a lucrative tourism industry in Sinai under Egyptian rule. Second, that the Sinai ecosystem above and below the water needed to be well protected and preserved. I would emphasize that the Israeli government enforced strict environmental laws against damage to coral reefs, including fishing in areas designated for tourism, a total ban on collecting shells or corals, and a ban on discharging pollutants into the Red Sea or coastal areas. In my eyes, these were important points to present in the slide show.
I was looking for the opening sentence to grab the attention of the non-diving participants, keep them captivated, and reveal to them the world of the sea and nature and the implications of developing Tourism.
Ultimately, I came up with the opening sentence: "Tourists will pay a lot of money to dive with sharks" ...
After the “Shark” opening, I started the slide presentation, I covered Sinai’s beautiful mountainous region, Saint Catherine’s Monastery, down to the shores of the Red Sea, the coral reefs adjacent to the shore and the world of diving, and why the Red Sea is considered one of the top diving destinations in the world. Judging by the applause and questions after the presentation, it was a success.
After the presentation, officials from the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism asked to meet with me the next morning at my hotel to discuss the possibility of my continuing to run the diving club after the Israeli withdrawal. It was quite an honor, and I was the only Israeli operator to receive such an offer. I do believe being an American citizen did play a factor. To this day I have the contract, which I considered but ultimately decided that Israel was my home and where We wanted to raise our children. I respectfully declined.
1981 Israeli and Egyptian Ministers of Tourism meeting at Mena House, Cairo
1981 First dives in the reefs of Abu Nuhas, Shadwan Island.
The period leading up to the evacuation was a difficult time for all the Israeli residents of the Sinai. I still had a desire to continue diving activities in the Red Sea, hoping that the peace agreement would allow us to visit and dive along the shores of the Red Sea on both sides of the Gulf of Suez and south to the Sudanese border. There were hundreds of kilometers of pristine reefs yet to be dived and explored. I wanted to have a head start and looked for ways to get to the other side and dive the reefs and islands of the Egyptian Red Sea and Suez Gulf.
Towards the end of 1981 an opportunity arose. The skipper of one of our chartered dive boats flying an American flag suggested we "sneak" out of Sharm to the Egyptian side. We both had American passports, so we thought that once we got out of the jurisdiction of the Israeli Navy we could dive and explore the Egyptian coast as American tourists on a yacht with an American flag.
We set out one evening heading south into international waters beyond the area patrolled by the Israeli Navy. We then changed course west towards Shadwan Island.
With a lot of excitement and adrenalin, we planned to dive the reefs of the uninhabited island. As we approached its eastern side, the sea conditions were not good for diving. But as soon as we reached the northeast side, we found shelter near two stranded ships stuck on Abu Nuhas, a reef just east of the island.
Abu Nuhas reef is a cemetery for sunken ships, at least four that we could determine. We dived several dives on the “Carnatic” until sea conditions worsened, and we had to run for shelter. We found a safe anchorage precisely where several years before the Egyptians had operated one of Russia’s most sophisticated Radar stations. During the War of Attrition an Israeli commando raid had dismantled and transferred it to Israel.
Sunken ship graveyard at Abu Nuhas
The Lighthouse of Shadwan Island.
Time to leave.
The date of Israel's withdrawal from Sinai in April 1982 was approaching. The Egyptians set up a government company to purchase all of Israel's tourism infrastructure including our Red Sea Divers center. Negotiations on the Israeli side were handled by a military committee who negotiated the sale of the properties. The Egyptians did not haggle much as it seemed that they just wanted us out as soon as possible without long-winded negotiations on prices.
We left Sinai in April 1982 with our heads held high. I personally supported the peace process and did everything I could to make it a success.
The peace agreement has lasted for more than 40 years. That made it worthwhile. Even if it severely impacted my personal and professional life. Our family left the Sinai with a sense of accomplishment and pride.
From a historical point of view, it can be concluded that a handful of hard-working Israeli entrepreneurs, with the support of the Israeli government, had managed to convert an eternal battlefield where battles had been waged from time immemorial to an internationally respected and sought-after international tourism destination. The groups and individual travelers had come from all over the world. Articles were published in leading magazines and magnificent films produced about diving the Red Sea - all of which were a great source of pride that I carry to this day. We were truly an integral part of the historical process.
Of no less importance, we cooperated to produce laws that would enforce the protection of the unique beauty above and below the water in this remarkable place. This was a great achievement indeed!
Egyptian and Israeli Naval officers reviewing maps of the diving sites.
A joint Egyptian, Israeli, American documentary appeal to keep the Sinai reefs protected.
L-R Myself, Ayman Taher and Dr. Eugenie Clark (photo by Amos Nachoum)
April 1982, Lowering the Israeli flag for the last time in Ophira, Sharm el Sheikh
Epilogue - Fantasea Cruises
A year after the withdrawal, I was back in the Dive Travel business in the Red Sea with Fantasea Cruises a company I formed after we left Sharm. With our 2 Live-Aboard Diving Yachts Fantasea 1 and Fantasea 2. We finally ceased all Red Sea Diving operations in 1997, 25 years after it all began!
Fantasea 1 Live Aboard Fantasea 2 Live Aboard
* Special thanks to the pioneering crew members of the Red Sea divers who helped fulfill my dream:
**Special thanks to my wife Sharon Shavin Rosenstein, who helped make this Fantasea a reality.
