Nuweiba means, “bubbling springs” in Arabic
and it is one of the big oases in st1: place> South
Sinai. The 7-km long stretched town developed from a barren
isolated place with no infrastructure into a promising
and attractive tourist destination. Nuweiba is just recently
discovered by tourist investors establishing hotels along
the coastline south and north of Nuweiba, connecting it
with Taba in the north and Dahab in the south. Nuweiba
can roughly be divided into 3 main sections:
Nuweiba Tarabin, the northern part, consists of a thick
grove of palms, a shallow bay and the ruins of a Turkish
fort. The well inside the ruins has served the Bedouins
as a fresh water source for centuries. In the early 80s
the process of settling started, when families of the
Tarabin tribe who occupy the area north of Nuweiba permanently
moved to live in their summer location. At this time the
Bedouins set up the first simple accommodation made of
scrap wood and metal - the only material available - rooms
for travelers. With an increase in tourism and an improving
infrastructure soon many campsites and small hotels sprouted
like mushrooms along the
bay.
Tarabin is known
for its lively oriental atmosphere. Restaurant by restaurant
and bazaar next to bazaar gives you the impression of
a colorful oriental market place.
Along the beach you find lively outdoors restaurants
in Bedouin style furnished with carpets and cushions
that invite to lay back and relax and let the time pass
by.
Eighty-five
kilometers north of Dahab, and just above st2:GivenName>Abu
Galum, lies the port and beach resort of Nuweiba.
Like Sharm el-Sheikh, Nuweiba actually consists of several
different locations, each with its own distinctive character.
To the south, tucked at the foot of the steep mountains
of the interior and lying on the shore of an expansive
bay, are the port and luxurious oasis of Nuweiba Muzeina.
This coastal resting spot has drawn travellers for centuries,
having long been an important port for Muslim pilgrims
en route to Mecca. Today, Nuweiba Muzeina's magnificent
beaches and coral reefs are the most common draw, and
the bay is home to a number of resorts and tourist villages.
The port continues to offer ferry service to Aqaba on
the Jordan coast on a daily basis.
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north, on the far side of the prominence that thrusts
out into the Gulf of Aqaba to form Nuweiba Bay, is Nuweiba
el-Tarabin. Although possessed of an equally lovely
beach, Tarabin is more modestly developed, for the area
is home also to the Tarabin tribe of the Bedouin.
Also at Nuweiba el-Tarabin
are the ruins of the great fortress of Tarabin, constructed
at the outset of the 16th century by the Mameluke sultan
Ashraf Qansouh el-Ghouri (1501-1506). The sultan was
concerned to protect the Sinai from Turkish invasion,
as well as to ensure the safety of travellers around
this port city. Although the construction proved of
little help against the Turks (who invaded shortly afterward),
its well has for centuries served as a convenient source
of fresh water for the Bedouins.
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