THE HOLY LAND REGION BY REGION - Jerusalem and the Holy Land - page 197

Eilat o
Road map B7. * 50,000. k @
n 8 Beit ha-Gesher Street. #
8am-6pm Sun-Thu. [phone].

Lying at the end of the Gulf
of Aqaba, on a stretch of
Israel's 12 km (7 mile) long
southern coast, Eilat is the only
Israeli town on the Red Sea.
The town is filled with hotels
and tourist villages, and is a
centre for diving and trips into
the desert. Eilat is similar in
many ways to Aqaba, which
faces it from 6 km (4 miles)
away on the other side of the
Gulf. Along with an equally
stunning location, Eilat also
shares a similar history to
Aqaba, due to their close
proximity. Now separated by
political boundaries however,
it is Eilat that has prospered
the most. With the United
Nations partition of Palestine
in 1947, Israel was ceded this
small stretch of coastline, and
Eilat has since developed
rapidly, both as a port and as
a popular holiday resort, with
excellent tourist facilities.
The bottom of the Red Sea
is the main attraction here.
If you don't want to dive to
admire this multicoloured

Coral Island, south of Eilat in the Gulf of Aqaba

ecosystem, there are glass-
bottomed boats as well as the
“Yellow Submarine”. This large
23 m (75 ft) long submersible
leaves from Coral World, and
cruises out over the reef,
descending to a depth of
around 60 m (200 ft).
The large Coral World
Underwater Observatory is
an oceanographic complex
where you can get a close-
up view of the marvellous
marine life here. It contains
25 tanks with more than
500 species of fish, sponges,
corals and invertebrates. The
most interesting displays are
those with the larger creatures
such as sharks and sea turtles.
The main spectacle though is

at the underwater observatory
itself, which is 6 m (20 ft)
underwater and gives a
spectacular live view of the
local marine life through its
large glass windows.
Divers and expert swimmers
will be delighted at Dolphin
Reef , where small groups led
by an instructor can actually
swim with the dolphins and
observe their behaviour as
they play, swim and hunt.
The salt marshes just north
of Eilat are the feeding grounds
of many species of migratory
birds travelling between Africa
and Eurasia every spring and
autumn. The International
Birdwatching Centre , at
Kibbutz Eilot, has an interpre-
tation centre, and organizes
guided birdwatching tours.
In season, the skies are filled
with thousands of flamingos,
storks and herons, as well as
eagles, hawks and buzzards.
By boat you can go to
the fabulous reefs off Coral
Island (or Pharaoh's Island),
which lies just across the
Egyptian border. Regular trips
are run for divers, but those
wishing to land and visit the
12th-century Crusader fortress
that dominates the island will
need to find a tour that can
arrange a group visa.
O Coral World Underwater
Observatory
Coral Beach. Tel [phone].
# 8:30am-4pm daily. & 7
www . coralworld.com/eilat
O Dolphin Reef
Southern Beach. Tel [phone]. l

# daily. & www . dolphinreef.co.il
O International
Birdwatching Centre
Kibbutz Eilot, 2 km (1 mile) N of Eilat.
Tel [phone]. l # Oct- Jun:

Sun-Thu (am only). & 7 8

Swimming in the perfectly clear waters off the beach at Eilat