MASTER DIVERS INTERNATIONAL

Academy of Diving & Underwater Exploration
www.masterdiversinternational.com

PADI - SSI - CMAS - IDEA - TDI - BSAC & Armed Forces Dive Certifications accepted

Bubble maker to PADI  instructor Courses available. Plus all PADI Specialty Courses applicable to local conditions.

1 star to 3 star Diver & Instructor CMAS and Egyptian Diving & Life Saving Federation courses.

Nitrox & Enriched Air Available.

Tri Mix

Technical & Industrial Diving courses through the Arab Maritime Transport Academy to be offered soon.

Introductory dives for adults and children discover scuba diving.

Discounts available for clubs, research & educational organizations & large groups. Special customized packages to satisfy any requirements.

You can also visit our forum at http://www.alexandriawreckdivers.com/

Welcome to the archeological, wreck and geological divers dream, adventure and extreme scuba diving at its best!

The north coast of Egypt is a relatively unexplored area for recreational diving, with many wrecks and archaeological sites yet to be discovered, although many of the sites have been known to “locals” for many years. The maritime history of places such as the Port of Alexandria, Ras Hekma, Mersa Matruh, and Salum, offer historic diving opportunities that cannot be found elsewhere. Each year there are more historic sites discovered off of Egypt’s north coast by archaeologists and recreational divers.

Divers and underwater archaeologists such as Frank Goddio (Cleopatra’s Palace and Napoleon’s flagship), and Jean-Yves Emperour (The ancient Pharos lighthouse) have opened the doors for recreational divers to dive into the past. Credit must also go to the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities and Dr Zahi Hawwas.

Master Divers International, Is a fully certified PADI, CMAS, Egyptian Scuba Diving & Life Saving Federation   dive center providing dive training and dive excursions to dive sites all along the North Coast of Egypt, as well as select inland sites. Below is a list of dive sites that are currently open for recreational diving:

·         Dive on lost civilizations in Alexandria.Specifically, Cleopatra’s Palace located in the eastern harbor of Alexandria. This dive is unique as it combines two eras of history as there is a WWII plane wreck which settled right on the walkway of Cleopatra's palace.

·       Pharos Light House: Nice boat dive averaging 7 -8 meters. See one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. Around the lighthouse you will find sphinx statuary, major parts of the lighthouse, including huge granite sections of the ramp that carried firewood to the top of the lighthouse. Plus various minor components of the lighthouse which contain stone engravings.

·         Diving in  Siwa Oasis Lakes of Bier 1 and Shiatta. Bier 1 is unique because it was constructed by an oil research company. Over the years, the local population has used this as a main water source, and for bathing, resulting in extensive contamination of the water source. We are proposing an environmental project in which we will monitor the pollution levels as a training exercise in order to provide training opportunities for budding environmentalists. Lake Shiatta is the location, although hotly disputed, of Alexander the Great’s tomb. Maximum depth is approximately 40 meters located on the border of Great Sea of Sand and EL-Difaa’ plateau.

·         Dive a 2000year old roman pool in the Sahara desert. In the pool explore ancient remains at 4 meters and explore the one of a kind marine environment where a saltwater source and fresh water source provide 2 types of marine life in the same pool

·         Snorkeling or diving on a WWII submarine located in Mersa Matruh in 3-4 meters of water.

·         Torpedoes from the submarine (mentioned above) that were jettisoned at the entrance to the harbor. Torpedoes lie at 30+ meters among Greco-Roman Amphoras (It is highly recommended that divers take only pictures, leave only bubbles….don’t touch the torpedoes!)

·         Forward half of a cargo ship that was cut in half by a torpedo during WWII in 22 meters of water. Engine room exposed, with lots of machinery in recognizable condition (pumps, motors, boiler parts). Lies just off of Caves in Mersa Matruh. NICE DIVE!

·         Small wreck off of Sidi Krier (halfway between Alexandria and Mersa Matruh). 18-20 meters, good non-historic wreck. Good for training dives (or if you need a break from seeing all of the historic stuff!). 

·         Plus over 10 wrecks in salum to be open for diving soon.

·         Diving on Napoleons fleet at Abu Kir the site of the Battle of the Nile to also be open soon.

Diving in Alexandria and along the north coast is the true test of patience, skill, and is only for experienced watermen. It seems that every hard core diver on the planet has heard of the lost city in Alexandria, from dive shops in Florida to dive centers on Maui and Bali.  However Alexandria, the North Coast, and Mersa Matruh are hardly hosting any divers at all because in order to properly dive these areas you need to either live here locally, drive here on weekends or holidays, or spend a minimum, and we stress, a minimum of 2 week’s vacation in the area in order to take full advantage of what the North Coast has to offer.  

Diving in Alexandria and other sites on the North Coast, like any other dive site, is dependent upon local water and weather conditions. With that being said, a diver can expect to make a minimum of 4 dives over a 2 day period, but may not be able to dive a particular site requested due to water conditions. The decision to dive/or not to dive a particular site is left to the Dive Master’s discretion. Any decision to dive, or not, will be based on the local water conditions, dive group experience/skill level, and size of dive group. One thing that we stress is that SAFE diving is the ONLY diving that we do!

Fort Qait Bay hosts a museum which , upon completion of renovation, will showcase a wide range of items recovered from four ships of the Napoleonic fleet , recently found in Abu Qir Bay. Predominantly, artifacts from the wreck of “L’Orient”, which was Napoleon Bonaparte’s flagship at the Battle of the Nile.

Dive on the Lost City of Cleopatra & Alexander the Great. Explore Napoleon's Sunken Fleet, help search for the Romanoff ship that sank in 1911 within site of Alexandria carrying the world’s largest diamond, or do some serious spear fishing around numerous WW2 Wrecks.
There is nothing quite like diving for treasure (it's like history frozen in time). It's what diving is all about! 

Now lets make something very clear, people are calling these dives "discoveries," they are not that. Alexandria locals have known about the history that lies beneath their waters since they were children. Alexandria is a treasure and wreck diver’s paradise, and now we finally have the opportunity & government permits to dive on these exciting sites. Soon there will be more awesome sites to dive on and more dive centers on the North Coast will make diving here even more affordable. Adham Compound invites the Alexandrians who helped diving in the red sea to be so successful to do their thing in Alexandria and on the North Coast.

North Coast Sites summary: East to West:

• Sidi Krier: Steel Wreck 8 to 12 meters depth good for wreck diving certification courses
• Alamain virtual underground military museum however these dives are highly specialized and require specific permits for sites to be dived (expect delays when dealing with the Egyptian Government).
• Khalig Hashaifa between Ras El-Hekma and Mersa Matruh archeological sites
• Mersa Matruh Several steel wreck including a WWII submarine at 2-3 meters plus several archeological sites yet to be surveyed
• Between Mersa Matroh and Salum very few have been diving. The only person I know of is Ali Saad El Din in the early 70s. The stories from him and several Bedouins I have talked to elude to the fact that tons of archeological artifacts are visible even from the shore but nobody dares to enter the Tiger & Mako shark infested waters. Ali is an old and trusted Friend and one of the greatest watermen on the planet, it's thanks to his influence and true inspiration that this dive center has become a reality.