Sharm El Sheikh, South Sinai, Egypt

Anemone City

Anemone City sits along the Ras Mohammed peninsula in the southern Sinai, named for the dense carpet of magnificent anemones (Heteractis magnifica) covering its plateau between 12 and 25 metres. Hundreds of red anemonefish (Amphiprion bicinctus, the Red Sea endemic clownfish) shelter among the tentacles, making the site one of the most photogenic shallow areas of the park. The plateau slopes south toward Shark Reef and is typically dived as a drift, with currents running from north to south that occasionally bring jacks, barracuda schools and grey reef sharks onto the wall. Hard coral cover is excellent — Acropora tables, Porites bommies and Stylophora — interrupted by sandy patches where blue-spotted stingrays rest. Visibility regularly exceeds 25 metres from March through November, and water temperatures range from 21 °C in winter to 28 °C in late summer. Anemone City is part of Egypt's first marine protected area (gazetted 1983) and is most often combined with Shark and Yolanda Reef as a single drift dive.