Ǧuzur al-Iḫwa
| Ǧuzur al-Iḫwa | ||
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| Waters | Red Sea | |
| Geographical location | 26 ° 18 ′ N , 34 ° 51 ′ E | |
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| Number of islands | 2 | |
| Main island | Big brother | |
| Total land area | 0.05 km² | |
| Residents | uninhabited | |
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The Ǧuzur al-Iḫwa ( Arabic جزر الإخوة; English Brother Islands , or Brothers for short ) are two small islands ( Little Brother and Big Brother ) in the Red Sea that belong to Egypt .
geography
The two uninhabited islands are around 800 meters apart on a line running from northwest to southeast, almost 60 kilometers east of the Egyptian coastal city of al-Quseir .
Little Brother ( 26 ° 18 ′ 6 ″ N, 34 ° 51 ′ 46 ″ E ) has an area of 1.4 hectares , is 200 meters long and has an underwater plateau at around 40 meters in the north, which is used by reef sharks as a cleaning station becomes. The south, west and east sides drop into the sea without plateaus.
Big Brother ( 26 ° 18 ′ 49 ″ N, 34 ° 50 ′ 42 ″ E ) has an area of 3.6 hectares, is 400 meters long and has a similar structure to Little Brother, but here the plateau is in the south. Its landmark is the 36 meter high lighthouse . Both islands are surrounded by a steep fringing reef , which initially drops vertically by 60 to 80 meters to a plateau and then to greater depths.
climate
Due to its location, Ǧuzur al-I einwa has a balanced climate, as the high temperature of Africa is mitigated by cool sea breezes. The hottest time of the year is between July and September, with over 12 hours of sunshine per day, with maximum daytime temperatures of 28–30 ° C (January – March 22–23 ° C, April – June 23–28 ° C, October – December 24–28) ° C). It cools down a bit at night. The average water temperature is 23-30 ° C. Precipitation is usually recorded only in the mild winter months. There are two windy seasons: the summer winds can blow from May to September and the stronger winds in winter.
Diving area
The Brother Islands are the destination of many recreational divers . The water around the two islands is considered to be one of the most difficult and dangerous diving spots in the world because of the strong currents . The diving area includes the fringing reefs of both islands. Approaches are possible from Safaga , but the Brothers are also part of some liveaboards in the Red Sea. A total of four incidents with whitetip deep sea sharks have been recorded so far, which is why the diving area was closed to scuba diving in December 2018 in order to research the behavior of the species and the environmental impact on the popular reefs. The imposed ban was lifted in March 2019 on the condition that overnight stays and night dives on the reefs in question were avoided in order to specifically prevent attacks by white tip deep-sea sharks.
Attractions
The landmark Ǧuzur al-Iḫwas is the 36 meter high lighthouse on Big Brother , which is looked after by Egyptian soldiers. It can be visited.
literature
- Matthew D. Firestone et al: Egypt . 2nd German edition MairDumont, Ostfildern 2009, ISBN 978-3-8297-1600-0 , p. 483.
Individual evidence
- ^ W. Sedelmaier: World diving travel guide. Steiger, Munich 2000, ISBN 3-89652-217-5 , p. 20.
- ↑ Laura Schmid: Marco Polo travel guide Red Sea, Sinai. Mair Dumont Marco Polo, 2014, ISBN 978-3-8297-8786-4 , pp. 101-102.
- ↑ Michael Krüger: Brother Islands remain closed to divers due to shark accidents. In: diving . February 13, 2019, accessed December 7, 2019 (German).