Blue hole in dahab. blue hole
A unique place in Egypt is blue hole located in Dahab. To that unique place amateurs aspire to get thrill And ordinary tourists. Scientists even today have not come to the same opinion on the formation of such a sheer cliff in the middle of the Red Sea. The depth of the Blue Hole is approximately one hundred meters, and this is with a minimum diameter of fifty meters. Especially if you climb to a height, then the view of the Blue Hole is simply mesmerizing. Attracts tourists.
It is enough to imagine for a moment what this spectacle looks like. In the heart of the greenish-blue sea lies a dark almost black giant spot which is surrounded by beautiful coral reefs. Very handsome . Travelers and tourists tend to get here to see with their own eyes from the deck of the boat sea abyss. At the same time, the most daring tourists prefer immersion in the mysterious undersea world. To get to Dahab to the Blue Hole, you need to take a taxi, and there are sightseeing buses for group excursions.
Once explored the Blue Hole famous traveler Jacques-Yves Cousteau. Today there are many divers here. However, not all scuba divers remember the safety rules, and this leads to bad consequences. To avoid such consequences, it is necessary for divers to dive with good experience and together with an experienced diver. Compare.
Features of the Blue Hole
It should be noted that the Blue Hole became popular thanks to freedivers who dived into the abyss without using special equipment. In other words, they only used a mask and snorkel. These Russian tourists successfully completed such extreme dives. But it is worth repeating once again that it is necessary to take swimming seriously, remember the rules and safety measures, and dive only with experienced divers. This will allow you to get the most out of your vacation.
Coming to the big Blue Hole is already very interesting and unique. And for the most vivid impressions, it is worth plunging into its depths. Divers enjoy the beauty of the underwater world by diving to a depth of 40 meters. Here you can see colorful exotic fish that scurry in different directions. At the bottom of the Blue Hole, there are really beautiful underwater landscapes. Many tourists tend to come to Dahab to witness such amazing beauty. In addition, it is necessary to take into account the complexity of the underwater route, and follow the mandatory rules.
Security measures
Unfortunately, the Blue Hole is also known as the "Diver's Cemetery", because it is a fairly large lagoon that is surrounded by various coral reefs on all sides. The most deep point The blue hole is approximately one hundred meters. A small strait connects the sea to the cave, and the strait itself is 55 meters deep. Above the Blue Hole from the side of the strait there are rocks, they are called the Arch. Near the underwater cave, right on the shore, there is a memorial dedicated to the dead divers, their names can be read on the plates.
Some time ago, the Egyptian government forbade leaving such signs, because this could negatively affect tourist attraction A blue hole, as it is an unusual and dangerous natural object. To date, the list of people who were able to overcome the arch, holding their breath, is quite short, it only consists of several surnames. Among them are such professional divers as Austrian Herbert Nietzsch, Bifin from South Africa, and Russians Alexei and Natalya Molchanov. By the way, Natalia Molchanova is the only woman who swam this complex Arch in one breath.
It is quite difficult to find the entrance under the Arch, as the angle is not clear between the hole, the water, and the arch. Also, dim lighting plays a role, because of it it seems that the path is shorter. Therefore, in without fail it is worth using the services of experienced divers. This is especially true for beginners or amateurs. In any case, by remaining vigilant, you can make your vacation in the Blue Hole unique.
The Blue Hole is a vertical underwater cave in the east of Sinai, a few kilometers north of Dahab, Egypt on the Red Sea coast. Which "became famous" as one of dangerous places to dive the world.
Blue Hole is a cave surrounded by coral reefs over 100 meters deep. There are also small holes about 6 m deep, known as a "saddle", and a 26 meter tunnel is the same rock overhanging the strait - an arch, the top of which lies at a depth of 56 m. In an abundance of corals and reef fish.
Divers have standard route consisting of diving into the Bells, passing along the reef wall and entering the Blue Hole through the upper isthmus (depth 6-7 meters). Passing through the Blue Hole along the chord or along the wall, you can get out of the water on a convenient wooden bridge. Thus, it is not required to dive deeper than 20-30 meters to get acquainted with this place.
A beautiful and alluring cavity conceals in itself great danger for the life of divers. Irresponsible divers brought notoriety to the Blue Hole, who dived in this place, not having sufficient qualifications and necessary equipment. The ease of navigating the Arch is deceptive, diving with one tank of recreational equipment is often fatal. In memory of the divers who died in the Blue Hole, a memorial was created on the shore. However, due to a large number In such cases, they stopped putting up “tablets” with the names of the dead, scaring away tourists.
IN Lately became popular freediving, diving on maximum depth without special equipment and oxygen, he did not leave this place without attention.
By the way, among the freedivers who overcame the Arch in one breath: Herbert Nietzsch from Australia, Bivin from South Africa and Natalya Molchanova with her son Alexei from Russia.
Professional freediver William Trubridge swam the Blue Hole without equipment or fins.
Should be given Special attention passing under the Arch:
* It is difficult to detect the entrance due to the fuzzy angle between the arch, open water, and the hole itself.
*Due to the dim lighting and the fact that most of the light comes from outside, the path seems to be shorter than it actually is. Divers report that the arch is less than 10m long, measuring 26m from one end to the other.
According to the Egyptian authorities, the total number of deaths at this place is 40 people, but many local guides dives believe that the authorities deliberately underestimate the number of victims, in fact, their number is twice as much.
When oxygen diving to a depth of 90 meters, anesthesia will be so strong that a person may lose consciousness.
Another danger and possible reasons a fall in the central nervous system (CNS) regulator due to oxygen toxicity, which leads to convulsions and can create high oxygen pressures greater than 1.6 atm for a long time. At a depth of 90 meters, it will have a pressure of 2.1 atmospheres. To reduce the risk apply technical divers diving with less oxygen with other mixtures during the dive to 90 meters, the maximum content of 14% oxygen in the gas mixture, and consisting of three gases to reduce the partial pressure of each gas.
On the shore there tourism infrastructure, parking places for transport, in several shops you can buy souvenirs and relax in a cafe.
Everyone can admire them from a bird's eye view or from safe place on the shore. But only experienced divers can plunge into their arms and return alive and unharmed.
One of these blue holes in the Red Sea, lurking not far from the village of Dahab, claimed the lives of many reckless divers. It is often called the cemetery of divers, there is even a memorial with dozens of names of the dead on the coast. Nowadays, the Egyptian government has banned the placement of new signs so as not to create anti-advertising for a profitable tourist destination.
An ancient legend tells of the emir's daughter, who, in the absence of her father, indulged in orgies with local youths. So that her father would not find out about her unsightly behavior, after the amusement, the unfortunate people were thrown into a bottomless pit. The emir, having learned about the cruelty of his daughter, ordered her to be executed. The girl, without waiting for the execution, threw herself into the same pit. Before the jump, she shouted out that she would take to her everyone who dared to enter the water in this place.
The Dahab blue hole is a huge coral funnel with a diameter of 50 meters and going deeper than 100 meters. Reflecting from the walls, the sun's rays turn it into a fantastic tunnel leading to the sea. At a depth of 54 meters there is a passage to the open sea. This place was a trap for divers who stayed there forever.
The largest hole in diameter, called the Great Blue Hole, is located on the territory of a small state in Central America. The photo of this hole has become a symbol of Belize - a dark blue spot on a turquoise surface. caribbean looks very impressive from above.
The hole is 305 meters wide and 120 meters deep. listed it as one of the top ten places in the world. made the Great Blue Hole a World Heritage Site.
Starting from a ten-meter depth, coral thickets rage. There are many fish here, including lionfish, giant grouper, many lobsters, shrimp, crabs, sea turtles. There are nurse sharks and reef sharks.
At a depth of 70 meters there are entrances to giant underwater caves, decorated with outlandish stalagmites and stalactites. The caves are connected to each other by passages. In one of them, three skeletons of people who got lost here were found.
One of the blue holes nature formed right off the coast of the island of Gozo,. In this place, a huge rock encloses a small area of the sea, in which there is a well 60 meters deep.
Off the coast of the numerous islands of the Bahamas, there are many underwater caves and the famous blue hole named Dana, which is the deepest in the world (200 meters). The hole is located right near the shore: after walking a few meters, where the water is knee-deep, you can suddenly fall to a depth of two hundred meters.
In these places, freedivers, divers without scuba diving with a breath hold, set records. In 2010, New Zealander William Trub dropped 101 meters and became the first to reach such a mark.
It is impossible to ignore the deep-sea sinkhole in the South China Sea, it is called the Dragon Hole, locals— The eye of the South China Sea.
Literary scholars believe that this hole is mentioned in the classic, fantasy-satirical novel by an unnamed 16th-century author, Journey to the West. The novel tells about the companion of a monk-traveler, the king of monkeys, to whom the dragon of the underwater kingdom, living in deep cave, gave a magic club.
The Dragon Hole has been known for a long time, but only recently, with the help of robots equipped with sensors, its depth was determined. It is 300 meters, the diameter is also rather big - 130 meters. At a depth of up to 100 meters, life is in full swing, but deeper, where an oxygen-free environment begins, life stops. To date, the measurement results have not been confirmed by international experts.
To get a lot of impressions, to be surprised and admired, it is not necessary to fly to deep space miracles are nearby. The blue holes closest to us are located in picturesque corners. For example, a blue hole southwest coast islands of Korcula. Its depth is 35 meters. The entrance to the hole is at a depth of 10 meters. Crabs, octopuses, shrimps, turtles and fish are found in its waters, you can even meet sharks.
Among the most mysterious places on our planet includes natural formations in sea depths- the so-called blue holes. They are vertical caves that are part of underwater cave systems. From above, they look like dark blue spots, contrasting with the general background of the water surface. One of the most attractive for divers is a sea well located off the coast. Egyptian city Dahab.
Blue hole (Red at the same time is one of the most dangerous vertical sea caves on the planet, for which it received its second name - "Cemetery of divers". It can be called "Everest" for divers: it is both beautiful and scary. This article will tell you about this beautiful, mysterious and dangerous place for scuba diving.
Blue hole in Egypt: how to find
To get to one of the most dangerous "attractions" for divers, you need to direct your way to the city which is located in the eastern part. This city has up to 60 diving training centers, so it is a place of concentration for divers.
From the city of Dahab, the cave is located at a distance of 15 km. It only takes a few minutes to get to it by sightseeing bus or taxi. As in the waters of other countries, the Blue Hole (Red Sea) has a cafe, a toilet and parking on the nearby coastal territory. Anyone who wants to dive underwater for the first time has the opportunity to choose one of the nearby diving clubs, where they will be explained the basic rules for using equipment and behavior underwater.
Brief description of the Blue Hole in Egypt
The depth of this vertical cave is 130 m, the diameter is at least 50 m, and it is surrounded by coral reefs. Approximately at a depth of 56 meters above the passage connecting the cave with the Red Sea, corals hang, forming the so-called Arch. The traditional route allows divers to start penetrating the cave at a depth of 6 m. In order to go out to sea through it, a lot of experience and special training is required.
Apart from the immediate pleasure of diving deep and achieving big or small personal bests, a blue hole, or blue hole near Dahab, opens up a magnificent living underwater world for divers. Inside the cave, they can see unusual marine life.
Blue hole turned graveyard
Many underwater caves sooner or later become a cemetery for someone. There will always be a few inexperienced divers who want to prove something to themselves or others, and the result of their outrageous arrogance will be a tragic end to their lives and a stain on their reputation great place for diving. Some experienced divers died here because they simply did not calculate their strength. Thus, the Blue Hole (Red Sea) has already buried more than a hundred divers in its waters.
The stain on the reputation of the blue hole in Egypt became especially obvious after memorial plaques with inscriptions containing the names of the divers who died in the cave began to be installed on the coast near it. True, although this cave still sometimes becomes a cemetery for some, the tablets coastal rocks stop installing. “This is a very depressing picture for tourists enriching the city and the country,” the authorities probably thought, and forbade expanding the coastal memorial.
Why the blue hole in Egypt attracts divers
Divers from all over the world flock to Dahab to admire the inside beautiful cave, raise the level of adrenaline, fill every cell of the body with new sensations and improve your skills. Divers love this sea hole because it is easily accessible from the shore. In addition, the water in this area is always calm both on the surface and at depth.
To a depth of 80 m, the cave approaches straight vertically, and then at a slight slope it reaches the mark of 100 m. The exit from the tunnel is located at a depth of 130 m. The structure of the cave is very convenient for both divers and free divers.
Main routes for divers
Beginners can easily descend into the cave along a chord or coral wall, and then get out of the water without any problems using a wooden bridge. Due to the fact that the entrance to the cave is not deep, inexperienced divers can get acquainted with it when diving only 20-30 m. Coral growths and schools of bright fish will be a great sight for them.
Experienced divers diving with nitrox dive to a depth of 54-55 m and go out to sea through the Arch. get down on great depth approaching the bottom of the cave, only the most experienced divers are at risk. For the inexperienced, such a dive often ends tragically. In addition to natural dangers when diving to great depths, at a depth of 50 meters, divers run the risk of coming face to face with a hammerhead shark.
Records in the Blue Hole
The blue hole was tough enough for only a few professional freedivers. Herbert Nietzsch from Austria, Alexander Bubenchikov from Ukraine, Konstantin Novikov from Russia were able to overcome the tunnel while holding their breath. And a diver from Canada named William Trubridge went through the hole not only without an oxygen tank, but even without fins.
The only woman who was able to pass through the Blue Hole Arch while holding her breath - In addition, she is known for being the only woman in the world who was able to hold her breath for 9 minutes, and her free diving depth record is 100 m.
Legend of the Blue Hole in Egypt
There is a folk tale that describes the life and death of a young girl. It is said that she was the daughter of an emir who lived on the coast, and when her father went to battle, she arranged a wild life for herself. Young people with whom she had an intimacy were drowned in the sea by the time her father arrived. So they tried to hide the truth from him.
However, the father eventually became aware of everything, and he ordered the execution of his daughter. The girl did not wait for the verdict and drowned herself in a blue hole. Before her death, she declared that she would drown everyone who was in the water at the place where she died. With this story, some try to explain such a large number of deaths in the cave.
Why divers drown
The cause of divers' deaths while crossing the Blue Hole in Egypt is the same as when trying to overcome others big holes. At depth, they are comprehended by the inevitable effect of "nitrogen intoxication". A diver begins to feel a state of slight intoxication at a depth of 60 m. At a depth of 80 m, he may lose his ability to reason, become prone to reckless behavior and lose his bearings. And going even deeper, the diver can fall into a state of uncontrollable panic.
What caused such a reaction? When on land or at shallow depths, a person does not experience any effect of nitrogen on his condition. But when it is at a decent depth, water pressure leads to a change in the properties of this substance and the penetration of a large amount of it into the blood. This is how nitrogen anesthesia works.
Despite its notoriety, the Blue Hole (Red Sea, Egypt), which still has more than 100 meters deep, still attracts divers like a magnet. Some of them use it to achieve new records, others acquire in this extreme place their first experience of scuba diving, and someone dives there just to admire the mesmerizing scenery. With good preparation, this cave is not as scary as it seems to many.
Blue holes are amazing vertical underwater caves. These natural objects got its name from the bright contrast of dark blue water and lighter water around the cave. Such holes are sinkholes filled with water and below sea level. There are not so many such formations in the world, so the caves have become a favorite place for divers to dive. Previously, it was already written about one of such wonders of nature that in, today we will talk about the Egyptian landmark - the Blue Hole in the Red Sea.
To see the underwater cave, you need to go to resort town Dahab in the east Sinai Peninsula. The Blue Hole is a popular and important attraction here, as diving is one of the main features of the resort. Dahab is one of major centers diving training and diving to depths of up to 200 meters. There are about 60 centers operating here, so the Blue Hole in the Red Sea has become a kind of "Mecca" for divers.
The Blue Hole is one of the 10 most dangerous dive sites in the world. The depth of the cave reaches 130 meters, and its entrance is surrounded by coral reefs. At a depth of 56 meters is underwater tunnel, called "Arch" because of the corals hanging over the passage, which formed a kind of arch. A special flavor of corals during the dive is given by reef fish, which are in abundance here.
The blue hole "provides" the traditional route for diving, which originates 200 meters north of the entrance. Divers moving along the reef can get into the cave through the upper isthmus, called the "Saddle" at a depth of 6-7 meters. Thus, the route does not require diving deeper than 20-30 meters. However, the passage from the cave to the sea through the Arch requires high qualifications and special training.
The blue hole, in addition to its popularity, also has a negative reputation. Many divers without sufficient qualifications and appropriate equipment dived in this place, which later often led to a sad outcome. In memory of the dead divers, a kind of memorial was created on the shore, where nameplates were put up. However, recently the signs have ceased to be put up, because due to their large number, the flow of inquisitive travelers is decreasing, which is not good for the place where tourism is the main income.
blue hole perfect place for diving experienced divers, since the cave has a convenient entrance from the shore, the absence of waves of water on the surface and strong currents under water. In the center of the hole, the depth reaches 80 meters, further along the slope it reaches 100 meters, and at the exit of the tunnel - 130 meters. In addition, the Blue Hole is a favorite place for lovers of breath-hold diving (free diving). To date, many people who have been able to overcome the underwater tunnel in one breath without auxiliary means. Among these people are world champion in freediving from New Zealand William Trubridge, world record holder from Austria Herbert Nietzsch, Alexander Bubenchikov from Ukraine, Konstantin Novikov from Russia. Natalya Molchanova became a legend - the first and only woman in the world who made the passage of the Arch, the only woman who overcame the mark of 100 meters while diving into the depth while holding her breath, and also the first woman in the world who held her breath for more than 9 minutes.
