.jpg/170px-Daedalus_Reef_lighthouse_(6165938227).jpg) Lighthouse on the Daedalus Reef | ||
| Daedalus Reef · ديدالوس ريف Abū el-Kīzān · أبو الكيزان | ||
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The Daedalus Reef, English: Daedalus Reef, Arabic:شعاب ديدالوس, Shiʿāb / Shaāb Dīdālūs, orديدالوس ريف, Dīdālūs Rīf, tooأبو الكيزان, Abū al-Kīzān, is an approximately 1,100 meters long and 300 meters wide, free standing, platform coral reef in the open sea egyptian part of Red Sea, about 100 kilometers east of Marsā ʿAlam away. A lighthouse was built on a small artificial island in the south of the reef in 1863, which was rebuilt in 1931. The reef in the south of Egypt offers the opportunity to observe large fish, but due to the current conditions it is one of the most demanding spots for scuba divers.
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The free-standing reef received a lighthouse in 1863, which was passed through the Parisians Barbier, Bénard & Turenne company was established. For this purpose, a small island was heaped up on the reef. The original lighthouse was probably hexagonal and had the lighting system with a wide walkway at the top.
Nevertheless, the steamship crashed here on May 15, 1890 Dacca on his way from London to Queensland, Australia due to a navigation error. All 464 passengers and 91 crew members were saved. The wreck is lost.
The lighthouse was replaced by a new building in 1931.
getting there
The journey can only be made by ship. This is due to the distance of the reef from the mainland on day trips from Marsā ʿAlam or Port Ghalib from or on liveaboards as good as Not possible, but is usually only offered on liveaboards. The boats anchor on the south side of the reef near the lighthouse.
Tourist Attractions
Under water
The Daedalus Reef is free in the open sea and has no neighboring reefs. The top of the reef is about half a meter deep. The reef walls drop steeply to a depth of about 20 meters, then a little shallower to about 90 meters. From a depth of about 30 meters, the slopes become increasingly sandy. At some distance, the Red Sea is about 450 meters deep. Approximately in the area of the footbridges to the lighthouse there is a plateau that is elongated in a west-east direction, but narrow to the south at a depth of 20 to 40 meters.
The current runs from north to south. It mostly divides in the northern part of the west side of the reef. Near the northern tip, it runs clockwise to the east. Because of these currents, the reef is only suitable for experienced scuba divers. Night dives are not allowed.
The reef is particularly known for its rich biodiversity. There is an increased likelihood of encountering large fish in the north of the reef and on its east side. The fish species that frequently occur here include the deep-sea whitetip shark, gray reef shark, hammerhead shark, napoleon and pelagic fish. Other fish species include anemonefish, barracuda, mackerel, tuna and trumpet fish.
Soft and hard corals grow on the reef slope. To the south of the point where the current divides on the west side, there is a colony of anemones and anemonefish at a depth of about 10 meters. In the north of the west side there are also steel girders of the freighter Zealot recognizable, whose wreck lies here at a depth of about 90 meters.
There are several diving options. Usually the divers are dropped off from a rubber dinghy. Due to the length of the reef, there is often not enough time to get to the southern tip, so that the divers are picked up again by an inflatable boat. For one thing, you can start the dive at the northern tip to look for sharks. At some distance from the northern tip you can dive south on both sides of the reef. Due to the light conditions, the east side is more suitable in the morning, the west side in the afternoon. The last option is a dive on the plateau on the south side of the reef.
At the surface of the water
Two jetties lead to the lighthouse from the south side of the reef. The east of the two has fallen into disrepair and can no longer be used.
About 30 meters high, rebuilt in 1931 1 lighthouse
with its white and black horizontal stripes is still in operation and sends out a light signal with three light flashes every twelve seconds, which is still visible 15 nautical miles away. Next to the lighthouse is a two-story building for the Egyptian coastal defense and the navy with accommodation and a kitchen. On the converted lighthouse there is still the original manufacturer's board from Barbier, Bénard & Turenne, the world's leading lighthouse and Fresnel lenses-Manufacturer in the 19th century, which shows the year of construction 1863 and the serial number 37.615.
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The lighthouse can be visited. Inside the lighthouse there is an iron spiral staircase that also leads to the roof of the outbuildings. At the end of the spiral staircase, an iron ladder leads to the lighting system.
shop
T-shirts can be purchased in the lighthouse.
Kitchen and accommodation
Accommodation and meals are z. B. offered on the safari boats. An overnight stay on site is possible.
literature
- : Diver’s Atlas Southern Red Sea: Dive site descriptions for liveaboards and day trips. Vienna: Seainsight, 2011, ISBN 978-3-9503160-0-1 . Dive site 1-1-5.
- Depiction of the old lighthouse together with the wreckage of the Dacca in the Illustrated London News dated May 31, 1890.
Web links
- Dacca Passenger Ship 1882-1890 on wrecksite.eu
