This short film was shot in August 2001 in Dahab, Egypt.
The northern part of the Red Sea is the coldest tropical ocean in the world. Thanks to the nutrient-poor water, the extraordinary visibility changes with the seasons and can be as good as 150 ft. This provides ideal conditions for UW long shots and renders incandescent light unnecessary in most situations.

The Red Sea is entirely surrounded by desert. At the Bay of Aqaba, however, the tall ridges of the Sinai peninsula (Mount St. Catherine, the tallest peak, reaches up to 8652 ft) make it a very shivery place during the winter.
Dahab is located roughly in the middle between Ras Mohammed, the southernmost point of the Sinai peninsula, and the Israeli citiy of Eilat at the far end of the Bay of Aqaba.
The former Bedouin hamlet has developed into a booming tourist place for sun seekers and wind surfers. Fortunately, the original Dahab with it’s cozy cafes by the habor remained relatively intact and is even today a place to be for a decent apres-dive snack, tea and shisha.

Boat diving was only introduced in Dahab in 2005. Most diving sites, e.g. the famous Blue Hole, are approached by 4 wheel drive cars. At most sites, divers enter the water by walking across the reef roof to the drop off.
The local guides prepare lunch for their parties in the shadow of their cars. Those with a more adventurous natures may even want to try a multi day diving safari with dromedar riding from one dive spot to the next and Bedouine desert camps for the nights.

Dahab gave me the most beautiful shots in the Red Sea. Highly recommended, but more dangerous for the equippment than diving from a boat due to the ubiquitous desert sand.