Sha'ab Abu Nuhas

Beside the main shipping routes of the Gulf of Suez and once lacking a lighthouse, Sha'ab Abu Nuhas has seen numerous ships wrecked over the years. Five cargo wrecks lie along the northern slopes and, by other counts, at least seven ships have gone down there; four of them suit recreational diving, from the Carnatic, from 1869 and the oldest, to the Giannis D, from 1983. 'Abu Nuhas' means 'Father of Copper' in Arabic, and the name is said to come from fishermen who found copper artifacts in their nets, remnants of the Carnatic and other vessels lost there. Another version links the name to 'nahs', the bad luck that pursues ships passing near the reefs, and the area is called the 'Bermuda Triangle of the Red Sea'. The identity of the so-called 'tiles wreck' is disputed: the bow, the anchor chain and the engine serial number would indicate that it is the Marcus, from 1978, and not the Chrisoula K.