SINAI PARK

 
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Egypt has largely bet on the tourist industry (around 12% of the GDP), and for the Sinai region it is nearly all of the economy that is based on tourism. A risky bet, since as soon as political tensions occur, it is the entire region that is deeply affected. The terrorist attacks of 2000, the Intifada in nearby Palestine, the 2011 revolution, and more recently the bombing of a russian plane in October 2015 that killed 224 persons, have been undermining the coming of Westerner tourists on whom...
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  • Sharm el Sheikh, Sinai, Jan 2015. Scenery of the sound and light show of the "thousand one nights".

  • Sharm el Sheikh, March 2015. A group on quad bikes on an expedition in the desert. Such trips are included in the “all inclusive” package, sold by tour operators. The trip usually includes a camel ride and a "Bedouin dinner" with a belly dancer show.

  • Sharm el Sheikh, Sinai, January 2015. An animation programmed by Genena, the biggest mall center ever built in Sinai. Opened since summer 2014, it counts several hundreds of boutiques, most of them still empty, but also a bowling, a 7D cinema, an ice rink, a museum with replicas of the Tut king tomb.

  • Dahab, Sinai, February 2015. In the foreground is a tourist village left unfinished. The site has been abandoned since the 2011 revolution. The investors are still hesitating to get the construction going again. Each tourist village are built as enclosed units where the entrance and exits are secured in order to protect the tourists.

  • Taba, Sinai, July 2014. Al Farah sea side resort, unfinished and left abandoned since 2007.

  • Taba, Sinai, July 2014. From the Israeli border to Sharm El Sheikh, almost the entire cost of the Aqaba Gulf is built with tourist infrastructures. However, 3 natural parks initiated under Mubarak's government are limiting the deterioration of the cost.

  • Taba Heights, Sinai, July 2014. In the "Taba Heights", most of the hotel chains share a golf course. Of which only one area is looked after while the rest of the course has been destroyed by the floods.

  • Sharm el Sheikh, South Sinai, July 2014. Outdoor shopping centre "Il mercato", which reproduces the architecture of famous Italian buildings.

  • Sharm el Sheikh, Sinai, March 2015. Despite an over abundance of available buildings, the constructions of tourist's infrastructures are still going on in Sharm el Sheikh. Porto Sharm is a complex with a hotel and an area dedicated to private sales. The entire complex is built around a 2000 square meter pool, and covers an area of 650 000m2. And as for many other building in the region, this giant complex will only be used if it finds an owner.

  • Sharm el Sheikh, Sinai, February 2015. A security guard is checking all entrances and exits of the Novotel site. On most touristic spots, a strong selling argument lies in the number of security guards involved. Each hotel, each fun park has a tight system of controlling who goes in and who comes out.

  • Sharm el Sheikh, South Sinai, July 2014. Wardens of the Sharm el Sheikh Botanical Garden. Although it is still looked after, the garden is not open to the public. Commissioned by Suzanne Mubarak, wife of the former dictator, it was named Peace Park in homage to the numerous Peace Conferences held in the once famous sea side resort.

  • Nuweiba, Sinai, June 2014. A stray camel. A lot of animals, once used as tourist's attractions, are left abandoned.

  • Dahab, Sinai, February 2015. A group of Russian tourists is taking a break during a quad bike excursion at the Wadi Gunaim Oasis. The group's excursion program is set by the operating tour negotiators, who take commissions on each stop. Russian tourism is very much looked after and looked for since the Europeans have left the Sinai Region.

  • Ras Mohammed, March 2015. A group of Russian tourists is listening to their guide instructions to shoot their holiday video, sold to each one of them at the end of their trip. In the Natural Park, considered as offering a unique fauna and flora diversity, group excursions are many. Hence the minutes are counted during each break, only giving the tourists enough time to quickly take the pose.

  • Sharm el Sheikh, Sinai, January 2015. Scenery of a sound and light show.

  • Nuweiba, Sinai, June 2014. Structure of an abandoned beach umbrella.

  • Taba, Sinai, July 2014. Seaside resort left unfinished and abandoned. After Israel's withdrawal in 1982, Sinai's sea side with its coral reeves and underwater life, saw a real boost in the development of tourism by the Egyptians. But the 2011 revolution inflicted a shock in the local econonmy.

  • Sharm el Sheikh, Sinai, January 2015. An artificial swimming pool allowing for the delicate swimmers to enjoy the sea without having to walk on rocks or to swim over corals.

  • Sharm el Sheikh, Feb 2015. The roads have just been renovated in the perspective of the coming international investment conference "Egypt the future!. The city has deployed huge efforts in order to impress foreign governments and private companies who will be soon fill the hotels of Sharm el Sheikh

  • Sharm el Sheikh, Sinai, January 2015. Whereas the coast of Sharm has reached the limits of construction capacity, the city is extending toward the desert, with even more hotels, but also housing compounds for the seasonal staff.

  • Dahab, Sinai, March 2015. Divers equipped with goggles and snorkel are preparing to enter the “Blue Hole” : one of the most famous diving site in the world. Corals and fishes is the main attraction of the Sinai Region. And despite the local governments measures to protect the corals, the numerous divings have consistently damaged what will need centuries to recover.