“There is nothing quite so delightfully mysterious as a secret in your own backyard.”
We couldn’t agree more with author Patrick Rothfuss here. At Scuba Seekers, our backyard is home to the often overlooked Mashraba dive site – an underwater haven that certainly holds its fair share of secrets and reveals new ones with each and every descent.
It is no coincidence our staff loves diving Mashraba day in and day out – even on their coveted off days. So what exactly do we love about it so much? Read on to find out!
1. All roads lead to Rome…
…Roman’s Rock that is.
One of the best kept secrets in Dahab, Roman’s rock is a large pinnacle jutting up from the sand to showoff an impressive formation covered with vibrant soft and hard corals. With its base sitting at 30m and topping out at around 18m, you can (and trust us – we have) spend an entire dive exploring every nook and cranny while swarms of anthias, glass fish, grouper, goatfish, and snapper swirl around you.
It’s one of the most coral-rich pinnacles in Dahab and is not to be missed.
2. Mashraba’s variety of dive profiles seems never ending.
Mashraba right, Mashraba left, Mashraba straight ahead, Mashraba swim-through, Bannerfish Bay to Mashraba drift, Mashraba along the reef, Mashraba around the saddle.
Shall we go on? Because we could!
From 6 meters to 18m to 30m to 40m – and beyond, there’s no shortage of underwater areas to explore in Mashraba. Each dive profile offers something new and different – no matter your certification level or how many times you’ve dived Mashraba before.
No one dive is like the other.
3. Our housereef has several different topographies to explore.
A variety of profiles = a variety of underwater scapes and things to see. Whether you enjoy:
- combing the seagrass beds for seahorses, nudibranchs, snake eels, ghost pipefish, and other elusive creatures
- searching for stonefish under the statues of Mashraba’s underwater museum
- drifting along sunlit reef walls teeming with colorful reef fish
- probing areas of rock and rubble where octopus hunt with groupers, morays peek from the crevices, and frogfish hide among broken coral heads
- exploring the shadowy depths in and around Mashraba’s 40m swim-thru
Each topography brings its own unique dive experience.
4. Mashraba offers ideal conditions for training dives.
Mashraba lies in a protected bay that offers incredible diving conditions year round. With calm waters, gentle sandy slopes, varying depths, and little current, divers can learn in a safe environment directly in the Red Sea – no pool needed.
Whether students are doing their first try-dive, getting certified as an Open Water diver, continuing their education as an Advanced diver, or even training at the Tec and CCR levels – Mashraba is the perfect place to master whichever new dive skills you are learning.
5. Our housereef is a night diver’s best kept secret.
While the overwhelming majority of divers flock to nearby Lighthouse once the sun sets, those in the know descend down into Mashraba instead – meaning you’re likely to have the site all to yourself.
As the moon rises, the depths here come alive with divers often spotting cuttlefish and squid, anemone and spider crabs, collector urchins, morays, spanish dancers and the nocturnal white-spotted octopus.
6. The Mashraba early bird catches the…
…Turtle.
I know that’s not how the saying goes but it’s especially applicable to sunrise dives on our housereef. Divers who set that early morning alarm at least once during their dive holiday for one of our special 6am dives are likely in for a big shelled-back reward.
Mashraba has several resident green and hawskbill turtles that are particularly active at dawn. While marine life tends to do what marine life does (meaning you can never 100% guarantee a sighting) – a dawn dive is your highest chance at spotting everyone’s favorite reptile.
7. Our housereef is the best spot for underwater macro photographers.
Mashraba is the closest thing Dahab has to muck diving and certain dive profiles are rife with broken coral heads, sandy patches, and miles of seagrass – perfect for patient divers and underwater photographers seeking out the smallest of marine creatures.
Tiny shrimps catching rides on sea cucumbers, crabs hidden in finger coral, nudibranchs sniffing around for a mate, and anemone eggs being cared for by their territorial parents are only a small sampling on what macro lovers may see.
See why we can’t stop gearing up even on our days off? But don’t take our word for it – come and experience our housereef for yourself and discover the surprises waiting around each coral pinnacle and every blade of seagrass!