Photo : Mohamed Khalil — CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Sinai · Taba, Sinai
Fjord Bay
A deep bay closed in by mountains, south of Taba. The word fjord is a stretch.
The coast road running south from Taba to Nuweiba bends above a round, almost closed bay held between two granite spurs: this is what people here call the fjord, though no glacier ever came near it. The water is shallow and clear in the middle, the reef starts a few metres off the sand, and you can put your head under without a boat. Across the water the far shore of the gulf closes the horizon, and the evening light colours it for half an hour. The beach is set up for visitors, with a stairway down from the road; an operator runs it — loungers, umbrellas, a snack bar — though that kind of business opens and closes with the season.
The extra bit
Stop at the bend up above before you go down: the bay is only seen whole from there, and that is the framing everyone recognises. The way down takes two minutes.
Know before you go
Getting onto the beach costs money, the lounger more, and it is all cash. The sand does not last: a few metres out the bottom turns to coral and sea urchins — reef shoes or fins, and you do not walk on the reef. The bay is sheltered between its two granite spurs, but the Gulf of Aqaba is a windy place and the chop often comes over the spur from the middle of the day. There is no town around: do not count on finding food or drink between Taba and Nuweiba — carry your own water.
