Blue Hole (Red Sea, Egypt): description. "Cemetery of divers"

Among the most mysterious places on our planet are natural formations in the depths of the sea - the so-called blue holes. They are vertical caves, which are part of the system of underwater caves. 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 of the Egyptian city of Dahab.

The blue hole (Red Sea, Egypt) is also one of the most dangerous vertical marine caves on the planet, for which it received its second name - "Diver Cemetery". It can be called "Everest" for divers: it is both beautiful and terrible. This article will tell you about this beautiful, mysterious and dangerous place for underwater 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 of Dahab (Egypt), which is located in the eastern part of the Sinai Peninsula. In this city there are up to 60 training centers for diving, so it is the center of divers.

From the city of Dahab, the cave is located at a distance of 15 km. Only a few minutes will be needed to get to it on a sightseeing bus or taxi. Like large holes in the waters of other countries, the Blue Hole (Red Sea) has a cafe near the coastal territory, a toilet and a parking lot. Those who want to dive for the first time have the opportunity to choose one of the nearby diving clubs, where they will explain the basic rules of using equipment and behavior under the water.

Short description Blue hole in Egypt

The depth of this vertical cave is 130 m, the diameter is not less than 50 m, and it is surrounded by coral reefs. Approximately at a depth of 56 meters above the passage that connects the cave with the red sea, corals loom, forming the so-called Arch. The traditional route allows divers to enter the cave at a depth of 6 m. In order to go through the sea, it takes a lot of experience and special training.

In addition to the direct pleasure of diving to depth and reaching big or small personal records, a blue hole, or a blue hole near Dahab, opens a magnificent live underwater world before the divers. Inside the cave, they can see unusual marine life.

A blue hole that has become a cemetery

Many underwater caves sooner or later become for someone a cemetery. There are always some inexperienced divers who will want to prove something to themselves or others, and the result of their outrageous presumption will be the tragic end of their life and the stain on the reputation of a beautiful place for diving. Some experienced divers have died here because they simply did not calculate their strength. Thus, the Blue Hole (Red Sea) buried more than a hundred divers in its waters.

The stain on the reputation of the blue hole in Egypt became especially evident after the memorial plates with the inscriptions containing the names of those who died in the cave of divers were installed on the coast near it. True, although this cave still sometimes becomes for some cemeteries, the signs near the coastal cliffs have ceased to be installed. "It is very depressing picture for enriching the city and country of tourists," thought, probably, the authorities, and forbade the expansion of the coastal memorial.

What a blue hole in Egypt attracts divers

Divers from all over the world flock to Dahab to admire the inside of the beautiful cave, raise the level of adrenaline, fill every cell of the body with new sensations and improve their skills. Divers like this sea hole because it is easy to get to it from the shore. In addition, the water in this area is always calm both on the surface and at the depth.

To the depth of 80 m the cave approaches directly upright, and then under a small slope it reaches 100 m. The tunnel exit is located at a depth of 130 m. The cave structure is very convenient for immersing both divers and freedivers.

The main routes for divers

Beginners can easily descend into the cave on a chord or coral wall, and then without problems get out of the water along the wooden bridge. Due to the fact that the entrance to the cave is not deep, inexperienced divers can become acquainted with it while diving only 20-30 m. Coral growths and flocks of bright fish will be a magnificent sight for them.

Experienced divers diving with nitrox dive to a depth of 54-55 m and through the Arch go to sea. Falling to a greater depth, approaching the bottom of the cave, risk only the most experienced divers. For the inexperienced, such immersion often ends tragically. In addition to natural diving at a great depth of danger, at a depth of 50 meters divers risk to face to face with a shark-hammer.

Highscore Records

A blue hole (the Red Sea, Egypt) was on the teeth only a few professional freedivers. Herbert Nietzsch from Austria, Alexander Bubenchikov from Ukraine, Konstantin Novikov from Russia was able to overcome the tunnel at a delay in breathing. A diver from Canada named William Trabridge went through a hole not only without a can of oxygen, but even without fins.

The only woman who could walk through the arch of the Blue Hole at the detention of breath - Natalia Molchanova. In addition, she is known for being the only woman in the world who could hold her breath for 9 minutes, and her deep record for free immersion is 100 meters.

Legend of the Blue Hole in Egypt

There is a folk tale in which the life and death of a young girl is described. They say that she was the daughter of an emir who lived on the coast and when her father went into battle, she arranged a life of racketeering for herself. The young people with whom she had intimacy, to the arrival of her father, were drowned in the sea. So they tried to hide the truth from him.

However, in the end everything became known to his father, and he ordered his daughter to be executed. The girl did not wait for the verdict and drowned herself in the blue hole. Before her death, she stated 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 do diving sink?

The reason for the deaths of divers in the overcoming of the Blue Hole in Egypt is the same as when trying to overcome other large holes. At the depth of them, the inevitable effect of "nitrogen intoxication" is comprehended. The diver's state of easy intoxication begins to feel at a depth of 60 m. At a depth of 80 m, he may lose the ability to reason sensibly, become prone to reckless behavior and lose orientation. And sinking deeper, the diver can fall into a state of uncontrolled panic.

What caused this reaction? When on land or at shallow depths, a person does not experience any nitrogen effect on his condition. But when it is at a decent depth, the pressure of water leads to a change in the properties of this substance and the penetration of a large number of it into the blood. So there is a "nitrogen anesthesia".

Despite its notoriety, a magnet attracts divers and still has a more than 100-meter deep Blue Hole (Red Sea, Egypt). Some of them use it to reach new records, others get their first experience of underwater diving in this extreme place, and someone dives there only to admire the enchanting landscapes. With good preparation, this cave is not as scary as it seems to many.