The Straits of Tiran lie at the mouth of the gulf of Aqaba and are bordered on the west by the coast of Sinai and on the east by the island of Tiran. In the middle of this channel are four reefs lying in a northeast-southwest direction that were named after the 19th century English cartographers who drew the first nautical map of this region: JACKSON REEF, WOODHOUSE REEF, THOMAS REEF and GORDON REEF. These reefs divide the straits into two canals, to the east is the so-called GRAFTON PASSAGE, which is used exclusively by ships going northwards, while to the west is the ENTERPRISE PASSAGE for ships heading south. The strong currents that characterize the Straits of Tiran transport great quantities of plankton and other nutrient material every day, thus supplying a great deal of food to the corals and hence to the reef fish which in turn are eaten by the large pelagic predators such as barracuda, jackfish, tuna and above all sharks which are always in this zone. Consequently, scuba divers in the waters of Tiran are sure to see not only an infinite number of corals but also rich fauna, both reef and pelagic.

RAS MOHAMED National Park has 9 dive sites: Ras Ghozlani, Marsa Barieka, Ras Zatar, Jackfish Alley, Eel Garden, Shark Observatory, Anemone city, Shark & Yolanda Reefs. South of Sharm el Sheikh the coast is totally deserted, with no shelter for more than a mile, up to the small bay named MARSA GHOZLANI, where the RAS MOHAMMED NATIONAL PARK begins. This is followed by another bay, MARSA BAREIKA which is much
larger and deeper. It penetrates the land for 2.8 miles, forming the RAS MOHAMMED peninsula, which extends south-eastwards into the Red Sea for almost 5 miles and separates the Gulf of Aqaba from the Gulf of Suez. Because of its geographic position the Ras Mohammed peninsula is a privileged area that benefits from strong currents that transport large quantities of plankton and other food that give rise to an extraordinary growth of hard and soft corals and attract large schools of both reef and pelagic marine fauna. With the great abundance of food, barracuda, jackfish, tuna and sharks swarm in these waters, especially between June to August, offering divers the chance to make extremely interesting and exciting dives.

The Temple is our house reef. It is located on the north side of Sharm El Sheikh Harbor. Formed of a group of three pinnacles that rise up from 20 metres below to the surface. This is a flat, sloping reef with two major, and a few minor, pinnacles adding contour to the reef face. The largest of the pinnacles is 'The Tower'. Its bulk is split by two major fissures, one of which can be swum through. The second should not be entered, to avoid damaging the delicate gorgonians growing along its sides. All the pinnacles hide a surprisingly rich variety of reef animals.
The pinnacles are rather close to each other and have sand channels between them. The pinnacles have sheer walls which are covered with soft and hard corals, fan corals and reef fish. Coral growth throughout the site is good, with a density and mix of species difficult to match in the immediate area. They are a blanket of color. The fish are as pleasant a surprise as the coral, with a truly amazing range of species colonizing the reef. There are lionfish all about, as well as stonefish that do not move and are camouflaged. Around the pinnacles are schools of glass sweepers that move together.
Because The Temple is so close to Sharm El Sheikh and Na'ama Bay, it is a very popular night-dive site. At night the basket stars create the illusion of a curtain in the light current as they feed. As the basket stars are hit by your dive light, they tend to withdraw into a ball. As the light moves away, they expand back out and continue feeding. The feather stars and soft corals have many colors that are very beautiful in the dive lights. You can find parrotfish in the crevices with your dive lights. Some may even have their cocoons around them.
The typical depth range of the Temple is 5 to 20 meters deep and is accessed by our shore.

Woodhouse Reef is narrow and long done only as a drift dive. Its northern part is the attractive and it has a canyon starting at 30 meters. Lots to see there from red anemones, great potential for Sea Turtles, Jackfish and Eagle Rays. Strong currents exists at the northern end and poor weather conditions upon surfacing the dive. Also referred to as the 'washing machine' due to powerful whirling currents and strong winds.

Gordon Reef is easily identified by the wreck of the Panamanian cargo ship Loullia which crashed in 1981. Enjoy the various species of coral, small nudibranches hidden in the crevices and the soft corals, you can encounter as well White Tip Reef Sharks and Eagle rays. By the middle of the reef you will see some metal drums that homes Octopus and different types of eel such as Moray, Peppered and Gold edged morays. Divers need to be careful of strong current at the north and southern ends of this reef.

A world ranked dive site formed of two little underwater islands, the Shark reef and the Yolanda reef. Shark Reef, is a vertical wall dropping to 700 meters, covered with fantastic corals. While the Yolanda Reef has a wide plateau with a coral garden and lots of of pinnacle corals. Between Yolanda reef and the Ras Mohamed reef lies the remains of the wreck of the Yolanda that is 74m long and was carrying bathroom supplies heading to the Gulf of Aqaba when she crashed in 1980. The presence of strong currents is often at this site. Diverse marine life to watch : scorpionfish, crocodilefish, groupers, turtles, tuna, big morays and napoleon fish, Red Snapper, batfish, unicornfish, barracudas and more which of course sometimes attracts the predators such as Grey reef or black tip Sharks.

The name of this site derives from the white sandy road between the coral ledge bordering the coast and a parallel satellite reef that is often frequented by Jackfish and other predators. Jackfish Alley, which was originally known as Fisherman's Bank, is south of Ras Za'atar. You will have to make it as a drift dive, lookout for Gorgonians, stingrays, trevally, Glass fish, triggerfish and sometimes you might see a Whitetip reef shark.

This is the northernmost reef in Tiran and is known for the wreck, partially demolished in 1996, of the Cypriot merchant ship Lara, which sank here in 1985. Diving here usually begins on the southern side, which is sheltered from the waves and wind and where there are a large metal buoy, a fixed mooriing - which is not far from the reef - and two other mooring points on the reef on water level: here the wall, cut through by some splits, descends steeply to the sandy floor (-45 meters). Going westwards (dive A), you will see some gorgonians and a splendid red anemone at a depth of 28 meters. This is followed by a plateau that is connected to Woodhouse Reef by a saddle. The south-western corner of Jackson Reef, where numerous fire corals (Millepora dichotoma) can be seen, is subject to the currents, which can be extremely violent. If conditions are right (especially when the tide is ebbing), it is possible to drift dive on the eastern part of the reef (dive B). Here, about 15 meters down, is a sandy ledge that sinks into the abyss to the north. It is quite easy to spot turtles (Eretmochelys sp.) and large pelagic fish in this zone. Among the latter are White-tip reef sharks (Triaenodon obesus), Grey reef sharks (Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos) and Hammerhead sharks (Sphyrna lewini), which are especially numerous from July to September.

This reef is one of the most spectacular diving sites in the northern Red Sea for both recreational and Technical Divers. The lack of mooring points makes drift diving necessary: The southern corner of the reef is the classic starting point for your underwater itinerary, which continues along the eastern side where the wall, rich in multicoloured coral, descends to a sandy plateau that begins at a depth of about 25 meters and has a slight incline. Here you can see large Alcyonarians (Dendronephthya sp.), impressive gorgonians and colonies of black coral , Antipatharians with their characteristic spiral shape. At a depth of 35 meters a splendid and extremely deep canyon opens out, running parallel to the reef and crossed by a series of impressive arches. At the north-eastern corner of the reef you may come upon a very strong counter-current. If you can get past this point and conditions are favourable, you can go around the entire reef. This will allow you to explore the northern wall, which has some nice shelters and splits, and the western one, where you will see many crevices and caves, lovely gorgonians and a wealth of fauna consisting of sea turtles, reef fish .