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YOHO
05-23-2005, 02:54 AM
Hi from the RED SEA in Jeddah , warm nice wether most of the year,and nice reefs ,any one alse from Jeddah?or coming to Jeddah ? :)

OceanEd
05-23-2005, 06:50 AM
I used to fly into Jeddah 3 or 4 times a year and direct all the PADI instructor courses that were taught in the Kingdom. I thought the diving around Jeddah and West coast was great. Much better than over on the East coast.

Are you doing any freediving and spearing over there? I don't think you can spear on scuba. Am I right?

YOHO
05-28-2005, 05:29 AM
Hi ,Yes I'm freediving spearfishing , and yes it's not legal to scopa spear fishing - you are right- but most of my friends hide the spearguns in the boat :D and go scouba and spear fishing mainly looking for that red Grouper -locale known as Najel- If you ever gona come back to Jeddah be ready for some action and just send me an email iwagdy@hotmail.com :) :)

OceanEd
05-28-2005, 10:27 AM
YOHO:

The last time I was in Jeddah was in 1990. I don't think I will be coming back anytime soon because I have retired.


Enjoy the conditions you have for diving, they are some of the best in the world.

YOHO
05-31-2005, 05:11 AM
Yes when the vis is right you can really enjoy the seen under water in the red sea.

the freshman
06-02-2005, 06:37 AM
Hi YOHO - Dolphin, how are u, when i first read the post i said to my self here is one more friend, glad to see u'r post, my parents in low are leaving Fri. tomorrow, so I hope that next weekend I can skip home and manage a trip with u, it feels like a big time since I went out
Take care

YOHO
06-04-2005, 09:49 AM
Hi Freshman,
how is your baby? by the way last time you left your stringer( hock) with me.

the freshman
06-09-2005, 05:17 AM
Hi YOHO,
Baby is fine, thanks for asking, but as you know the beginning is always not easy as this is the first time, but the past week was difficult as his stomach was always in pain

I did see your other post looking for a dive partner in Dubai and Fujirh. wish I could join you
By the way, Maher is now in Dubai I think he still have a bout a week there to come back

As for the hook, I’ll pray that the next trip we make I could hook a nice fish on it
Take care

warpig160
06-15-2005, 07:41 PM
Hello YOHO and Freshman,

Have you or anyone else done any spearfishing in or near the Gulf of Aqaba? Perhaps there are some Jordanian spearos out there? Thanks.

the freshman
06-16-2005, 05:05 AM
hi warpig160, how are you
i'm Jordanian but currently in Saudi Jeddah
relay don’t have any info about spear fishing in the gulf of aqaba, but I have a feeling there is no spearfishing there or maybe its illegal
would love to know any info about this, do you live there?

warpig160
06-17-2005, 07:48 PM
Hello Freshman and Good Morning.

I live in the US, but I am seriously considering a job in Jordan. Before I commit to anything, I would like to learn about the spearfishing in the Aqaba area. I have heard that the people are warm and friendly. I think that the diving may be good, but I have heard nothing of the fishing.

the freshman
06-18-2005, 08:19 AM
Hi, wish you the best of luck on whatever you decide, and yes I can assure you people are very nice friendly
As for aqaba I’ll try to do some search, but my feeling about spear fishing came from the following facts:
Aqaba is ranked among the top diving sites worldwide
Jordanian gov is working very hard in marketing this area as a tourist destination
The Jordanian shoreline on the Gulf of Aqaba is very small (a few kilometers only) and one part is in use as a pot and the other as tourist and recreation
For this I think they might be over protecting the area
Will keep you posted with my findings
Take care

warpig160
06-19-2005, 08:55 PM
Hello Freshman,

I appreciate your advice and research on this. As there are 4 countries in the same general area, would travel or fishing by boat be difficult? The potential for complexity may only be figured out by a local who actually does spearfishing there. I have perhaps a couple of months to decide anyway.

Shukran

the freshman
06-20-2005, 03:52 AM
hi, i found this link but dont know if its updated
http://www.noonsite.com/Countries/Jordan/?rc=Formalities

warpig160
06-20-2005, 07:16 PM
Hello Freshman,

I think the answer is no spearfishing. I searched some SCUBA websites in Egypt, Israel, and Jordan, and they all stated "no spearfishing". Saudi Arabia is perhaps possible with the right permit, but I am not sure how easy that is to obtain if one is not a resident. But you are right about the tourism aspect. All the countries in the area are marketing this area for tourism, and spearfishing is not permitted.

OceanEd
06-20-2005, 11:12 PM
Warpig:

I have worked in Israel, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE, training their scuba instructors. There is no spearfishing allowed. Israel and Jordan want the reefs and waters left alone for tourism. Saudi Arabia has no tourism because you can't even get into the Kingdom unless you are sponsored by a Saudi citizen and you have a reason for being there. Each time I went in to work I would have to surrender my passport at a Saudi embassy for 7 to 10 days and wait for approval. During that time I would just have to sit and wait because I couldn't travel without my passport. So I usually ended up doing this in Paris because it took less time than London or the other places I had to choose from.

If you take a job in Jordan you can still have some fantastic diving, but the northern area of the Gulf of Aqaba, where Jordan has part of the coast is not as full of life as the southern end which now is part of Egypt. If you can get down to Ras Mohammed and the Straights of Theran you will find some of the best diving anywhere, but you can't spearfish.

You would go from Jordan through Eilat (which is in Israel) and then through the check point at the south end of Eilat and into Egypt. Then you would drive down the Siani Peninsula to Sharem El Sheik at the southern tip which has become a massive tourist destination and has many dive operations.

I think it would be very hard if not impossible for you to get to the East side of the Gulf which is part of Saudi Arabia. I also think it is dubious that any foreigner could get a permit to spear fish unless you know some very, very influential people.

warpig160
06-22-2005, 07:46 PM
Hello OceanEd,

Thank you for taking the time to reply. You definitely have some insight as to what is going on in that area. I was hoping that there would be some local spearfishing, as I am sure that hunting on land is out of the question. It sounds like some great SCUBA diving, even though I prefer freediving. The only influential people I would know would be in Jordan, which will not help me with Saudi Arabia. How long of a drive would it be from Jordan to Ras Mohammed? Could you even drive your own vehicle, or would you have to take a bus? I would be working near Amman, so maybe they have flights to the tourist areas of Egypt? Anyway, thanks again for the info.

OceanEd
06-22-2005, 09:18 PM
As far as I know the borders between Jordan and Israel can be crossed in your car at this time. If someone knows differently, please jump in. You can drive through the checkpoint at the southern end of Eilat and into Egypt. From there, there is only the one road that goes North/South down the Siani Pennisula to Sharim. Depending on the state of the road and conditions I would estimate a total drive time of 4 or 5 hours. I have no idea on how long you can spend at a border crossing in that part of the world. It can vary greatly depending on what the political situation is in the area.

There is no reason why you can't freedive. You can have crystal clear water and lots of marine life. Everyone seems to be focused on SCUBA, however. Also, when you get to the south end of the Siani the straights leading into and out of the Gulf of Aqaba have some strong currents. You would want to make sure you are diving in a way that takes this into consideration.

When I was in the Jordan/Eilat area the diving was not anywhere as good as further south. This was because of all the freighters that travel up the gulf to both Eilat and Jordan. When you have shipping ports in a relatively small area at the top of a narrow gulf it can degrade the water somewhat. It was still better than many places in the world.

It's a fascinating part of the world. Watch your 6.

When I was there, Israel occupied the entire Siani and there were no flights from Jordan or any other Arabic country into Sharim. I am sure there are many now because it is such a huge tourist destination. This being the case, you should also look at flying down to Hurgada in Egypt. It is another very large diving destination for Europeans.