Many people with little knowledge of Egypt and less interest in exploring this ancient land believe it to be a desert.

Egypt is much more diverse than deserts surrounding the fertile Nile Valley, though few of us have actually had the opportunity to seek out these various habitats where one may very well freeze to death under a blanket of snow in the high Sinai mountains, view tropical birds and a marshy lake district, or explore the rich pristine coral reefs and marine life of Egypt's coastal waters.

Yet many of these areas are but a stone's throw away from the ancient monuments and the sandy beaches that are so popular among tourists.
Perhaps this is why, since the early 1980's that the Egyptian government has been so intent on establishing Nature Reserves, or as they are often referred to in Egypt, Protected Areas.

Today, there are some 21 national parks in Egypt, of which perhaps the best known and one of the oldest is at Ras Mohamed on the tip of the Sinai Peninsula.
This is actually a marine reserve that is, to the outside world, most familiar to scuba divers.

Here, one finds mangrove trees, along with some 200 species of coral, around 1,000 species of fish, along with various birds such as Osprey and White-eyed gulls, but also endangered turtle populations and even threatened mammals such as the Dorcas Gazelle.