Itinerary cruise "Jordan and Egypt: Sacred Lands of the Red Sea"

Embarkation on board le Ponant from 4pm to 5pm

Located on the southernmost tip of the Sinai Desert, Sharm El Sheikh offers you a truly amazing undersea world. No other place can rival with it for the sheer clarity of the crystalline water which harbours an exceptional underwater heritage. The Ras Mohammed National Park which you can explore in a glass-bottom boat is hometo over 150 varieties of coral.

Further on, St Catherine’s Monastery awaits you. This Greek Orthodox building stands on the Biblical site of the Burning Bush at an altitude of 1,570 m. Today it is home to around 20 monks most of whom hail from Mount Athos in Greece. The icon collection is quite exceptional illustrating over 1,400 years of history.

On the shores of the Red Sea, this small fishing port is named after the hot springs found near by and is the ideal jumping off point to explore the oldest Christian monastery in Egypt: St Anthony where 65 Coptic monks live today. Founded by the disciples of St Anthony it has been altered many times over the centuries. The first mention of a monastic movement only appeared in the early 7th century but a village with a church, chapels, monastic cells and gardens was quickly established. And this is how it still appears today, sheltered behind a 10 metre high wall. As a result of being so far away in the heart of the desert, the occupants escaped the troubles of the Arab conquest and continued their intellectual activities until the end of the 15th century.

The town was born out of a crazy yet ultimately successful project: to link the Mediterranean with the Red Sea and to create in the 19th century a shipping route via a canal. The Suez Canal cuts through 162 km of desert and was inaugurated in 1869 in the presence of Empress Eugenie, then nationalised by Nasser in 1956. Riding around town at the gentle pace of a colourful barouche you can admire the colonial houses with their large balconies which have helped forge the reputation and charm of Port Said.