We left our resort in the early morning and, with a four-wheel drive, set out to explore the wadi. It lies a few kilometres from the Moon Beach Resort and is a five-minute drive from the main road. Before us was a mille feuille-like mountain embracing a large oasis with plants half submerged in sweet water. Sand dunes surrounded the area, and the varied colours of the different rock strata created a bizarre amphitheatre. Although the weather was hot, there was a cold breeze coming along the valley.
Health tourism is another potential in the area.
Hammamat Pharon, or Pharaoh's Bath, is situated south of Ras Sedr, some 115km from the tunnel. It is a natural hot-water spring in a cave in the mountain where sulphuric water bubbles and flows into the sea. For many years it has been used by the local inhabitants of Sinai, and is well known among residents of Suez, as a cure for rheumatism and other ailments. Inside the cave is a rock bath, and the darkness is heavy with the steam from the spring. When we arrived some people were sitting around inside.