El Ikhwa Islands

El Ikhwa Islands (Arabic: جزر الإخوة‎ lit. islands of brotherhood), commonly known as Brothers Islands, are two small Red Sea islands in the Red Sea Governorate of Egypt.

El Ikhwa Islands
El Ikhwa Islands
Geography
LocationRed Sea
Coordinates26°18′25″N 34°51′20″E
Total islands2
Administration
Big Brother
Big Brother Island
Geography
LocationRed Sea,
Red Sea Governorate,
Egypt
Area0.78 km2 (0.30 sq mi)[1]
Administration
Demographics
Population0
Little Brother
Small Brother Island
Geography
LocationRed Sea
Area0.26 km2 (0.10 sq mi)[1]
Administration

Geography

They are situated 67 kilometres (42 mi) from El Qoseir on the mainland.[2][3]

The most prominent feature of the islands is the Brothers Islands Lighthouse built by the British in 1883.[2][4] Small Brother lies one kilometre (0.6 miles) south from the Big Brother.[2]

Underwater diving

The islands are a dive site featuring corals and two wrecks: Numidia and Aida.[1] The islands are also famed for encounters with Oceanic Whitetip and Hammerhead Sharks. However, they are only suitable for very experienced divers due to the islands' isolated position, the challenging dive conditions, and very strong currents.[1][2][3] During high season there are many dive safari boats around both islands.

In 2012, CNN ranked Big Brother ninth in a list of the world's 50 best dive sites, and second in the Red Sea.[5]

References
  1. Brothers Islands | Egypt Tourism Authority
  2. "Southern Red Sea Diving - Egypt - Brother Islands - The Brothers". Dive-the-world.com. Retrieved 2013-03-15.
  3. "Brothers Islands | Red Sea Dive Holiday". Scubatravel.com. Retrieved 2013-03-15.
  4. "www.emdb.gov.eg - Lighthouses". Web.archive.org. 2012-11-22. Archived from the original on November 22, 2012. Retrieved 2013-04-07.
  5. Bremner, Jade (6 April 2012). "Into the deep: World's 50 best dive sites". CNN.
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