View source for Dahab

{{Distinguish|Dahab Island}}
{{Infobox settlement
<!--See the Table at Infobox Settlement for all fields and descriptions of usage-->
<!-- Basic info  ---------------->| name               = Dahab
| other_name         = 
| native_name        = {{lang|ar|دهب}}
| nickname           = 
| settlement_type    = coastal town
| motto              = <!-- images and maps  ----------->
| image_skyline      = {{Photomontage
| photo1a = Dahab panorama.jpg
| photo2a = Blue Hole 2005.JPG
| photo2b = CIMG2602 Two Red Sea Bannerfish, Lighthouse Reef (2692870043).jpg
| photo3a = Dahab shoreline.jpg
| photo3b = Dahab - Costa - panoramio - Francesco Lo Bello.jpg
| size = 280
| spacing = 3
| color = transparent
| border = 0
}}
| image_caption      = Overview of Dahab, its beaches and [[coral reef]]
| image_flag         = 
| flag_size          = 
| image_seal         = 
| seal_size          = 
| image_shield       = 
| shield_size        = 
| image_map          = 
| mapsize            = Location map Egypt South Sinai
| map_caption        = 
| pushpin_map        = Egypt Sinai<!-- the name of a location map as per http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Location_map -->
| pushpin_label_position = bottom
| pushpin_mapsize    = 
| pushpin_map_caption = Location in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula

<!-- Location ------------------>| subdivision_type   = Country
| subdivision_name   = {{flag|Egypt}}
| subdivision_type1  = [[Governorates of Egypt|Governorate]]
| subdivision_name1  = [[South Sinai Governorate|South Sinai]]
| subdivision_type2  = 
| subdivision_name2  = 
| subdivision_type3  = 
| subdivision_name3  = |<!-- Politics ----------------->
| government_footnotes = 
| government_type    = 
| leader_title       = 
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| leader_title1      = <!-- for places with, say, both a mayor and a city manager -->
| leader_name1       = 
| established_title  = <!-- Settled -->
| established_date   = <!-- Area    --------------------->
| area_magnitude     = 
| unit_pref          = Metric
| area_footnotes     = <ref name="citypopulation">{{cite web |title=Dahab (Kism (urban and rural parts), Egypt) - Population Statistics, Charts, Map and Location |url=https://citypopulation.de/en/egypt/admin/s%C4%ABn%C4%81_al_jan%C5%ABbiyah/3507__dahab/ |website=citypopulation.de |access-date=17 March 2023}}</ref>
| area_total_km2     = 1,083
| area_land_km2      = <!--See table @ Template:Infobox Settlement for details on automatic unit conversion-->
<!-- Population   ----------------------->| population_as_of   = 2023
| population_footnotes = <ref name="citypopulation2023">{{cite web |title=Egypt: Administrative Division (Governorates and Districts) - Population Statistics, Charts and Map |url=https://citypopulation.de/en/egypt/admin/ |website=citypopulation.de |access-date=27 July 2025}}</ref>
| population_note    = 
| population_total   = 3,169
| population_density_km2 = auto
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| population_blank1_title = Ethnicities
| population_blank1  = 
| population_density_blank1_km2 = auto
| population_density_blank1_sq_mi = auto
<!-- General information  --------------->| timezone           = [[Egypt Standard Time|EST]]
| utc_offset         = +2
| timezone_DST       = 
| utc_offset_DST     = 
| coordinates        = {{coord|28|29|35|N|34|30|17|E|region:EG|display=inline}}
| elevation_footnotes = <ref name="citypopulation" />
| elevation_m        = 21
| elevation_ft       = <!-- Area/postal codes & others -------->
| postal_code_type   = <!-- enter ZIP code, Postcode, Post code, Postal code... -->
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| blank_name         = 
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}}

'''Dahab''' ({{langx|arz|دهب|dahab|gold}}, {{IPA|ar|ˈdæhæb|IPA}}) is a small town on the southeast coast of the [[Sinai Peninsula]] in Egypt, approximately {{convert|80|km|mi|abbr=on}} northeast of [[Sharm el-Sheikh]].

Dahab can be divided into three major parts. Masbat, which includes the [[Bedouin]] village of Asalah, in the north; Mashraba, south of Masbat, and Medina in the southwest.<ref name="TA">{{citation|url=https://www.tripadvisor.com/Tourism-g297547-Dahab_South_Sinai_Red_Sea_and_Sinai-Vacations.html|title=Dahab - Red Sea|access-date=25 August 2023|website=TripAdvisor.com}}</ref> Dahab is mentioned in [[Deuteronomy]] as {{lang|he|דִ֥י זָהָֽב}} (''dî zāhāḇ),'' and in the Septuagint translation as Καταχρύσεα. [[Wilhelm Gesenius|Gesenius]] exegetes as, ''“I have no doubt but that it is the same place as that now called Dehab on the western shore of the Ælanitic gulf, where there are many palms.”''<ref>{{Cite web |title=דִּי זָהָב |url=https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/h1774/wlc/wlc/0-1/}}</ref> Dahab is known as the "diving capital" of South Sinai, and one of the most famous diving destinations in the world, thanks to a number of unique sites that suit all levels of diving enthusiasts.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Scuba Diving in Dahab, Egypt {{!}} Red Sea Tribe |url=https://redseatribe.com/ |access-date=2025-10-13 |website=Scuba Diving in Dahab, Egypt {{!}} Red Sea Tribe |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Russell |first=Mark 'Crowley' |date=2025-04-21 |title=Divers, crew evacuated as Red Sea liveaboard Firebird strikes reef en route to Dahab |url=https://divemagazine.com/scuba-diving-news/red-sea-liveaboard-firebird-strikes-reef-en-route-to-dahab |access-date=2025-10-13 |website=DIVE Magazine |language=en-GB}}</ref>

==Tourism==
[[File:Dahab evening 03.JPG|thumb|right|300px|Beach promenade on a winter day]]

Dahab attracts large numbers of tourists. It is world-renowned for its [[windsurfing]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Boraie |first=Eihab |date=2020-06-17 |title=Why Egypt's Dahab is the perfect Red Sea resort town |url=https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/egypts-dahab-red-sea-haven/index.html |access-date=2023-11-03 |website=CNN |language=en}}</ref>

Local Bedouin children, sometimes encouraged by their families, come to beach cafes and restaurants to sell items such as woven bracelets to tourists.<ref name=CLMEP1>{{cite book|editor=Barbara Bender|title=Contested landscapes: movement, exile and place; [World Archaeological Congress ... Cape Town, South Africa]|year=2001|publisher=Berg|location=Oxford [u.a.]|isbn=978-1-85973-467-4|pages=372|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hUmvNzw4eBgC&q=dahab%2C+sinai&pg=PA121}}</ref>

== Geography ==
=== Landscape ===
Dahab contains many mineral deposits, including rutile, zircon, monazite, leucoxene, and gold. Many of these are Neoproterozoic rocks such as [[schist]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Surour |first1=Adel A. |last2=El-Kammar |first2=Ahmed. M. A. |last3=Arafa |first3=Ebtisam H. |last4=Korany |first4=Hala M. |date=2021-12-01 |title=Mineralogy and geochemistry of fine-grained Dahab stream sediments, Southeastern Sinai, Egypt: emphasis on the intergrowths of Fe–Ti oxides |url=https://doi.org/10.1007/s11631-021-00475-1 |journal=Acta Geochimica |language=en |volume=40 |issue=6 |pages=871–894 |doi=10.1007/s11631-021-00475-1 |bibcode=2021AcGch..40..871S |issn=2365-7499|url-access=subscription }}</ref> 

=== Climate ===
Dahab has a [[hot desert climate]] ([[Köppen-Geiger climate classification system|Köppen]]: BWh)<ref name="Climate-Data.org">{{cite web | url= http://en.climate-data.org/location/8574/ | title= Climate: Dahab - Climate graph, Temperature graph, Climate table | access-date = 13 August 2013
| publisher = climate-data.org }}</ref> as the rest of Egypt. The weather on summer days is very hot and also quite hot at night. Winter days are warm and nights are mild. Dahab has a very dry climate and rain is rare, even during the winter months. The precipitation peaks in February.<ref name="Climate-Data.org"/>

{{Weather box
|width = auto
|location = Dahab
|metric first = yes
|single line = yes

|Jan high C = 21.0
|Feb high C = 22.4
|Mar high C = 25.3
|Apr high C = 28.7
|May high C = 32.2
|Jun high C = 34.7
|Jul high C = 35.5
|Aug high C = 35.8
|Sep high C = 33.5
|Oct high C = 30.5
|Nov high C = 26.5
|Dec high C = 22.2

|Jan mean C=15.6
|Feb mean C=16.7
|Mar mean C=19.6
|Apr mean C=22.9
|May mean C=26.1
|Jun mean C=29.0
|Jul mean C=30.2
|Aug mean C=30.4
|Sep mean C=28.4
|Oct mean C=25.1
|Nov mean C=21.1
|Dec mean C=16.8

|Jan low C = 10.2
|Feb low C = 11.0
|Mar low C = 14.0
|Apr low C = 17.1
|May low C = 20.1
|Jun low C = 23.4
|Jul low C = 24.9
|Aug low C = 25.0
|Sep low C = 23.4
|Oct low C = 19.8
|Nov low C = 15.7
|Dec low C = 11.5

|precipitation colour=green
|Jan precipitation mm = 1
|Feb precipitation mm = 2
|Mar precipitation mm = 2
|Apr precipitation mm = 0
|May precipitation mm = 0
|Jun precipitation mm = 0
|Jul precipitation mm = 0
|Aug precipitation mm = 0
|Sep precipitation mm = 0
|Oct precipitation mm = 1
|Nov precipitation mm = 1
|Dec precipitation mm = 2

|Jan rain days=1
|Feb rain days=1
|Mar rain days=1
|Apr rain days=1
|May rain days=1
|Jun rain days=0
|Jul rain days=0
|Aug rain days=0
|Sep rain days=0
|Oct rain days=1
|Nov rain days=1
|Dec rain days=1

|Jand sun=8
|Febd sun=9
|Mard sun=9
|Aprd sun=10
|Mayd sun=11
|Jund sun=13
|Juld sun=13
|Augd sun=12
|Sepd sun=11
|Octd sun=10
|Novd sun=9
|Decd sun=8

|source 1 = ''Climate-Data.org''<ref name="Climate-Data.org"/>

|source 2 = ''Weather to Travel'' for rainy days and sunshine<ref name="Weather to Travel">{{cite web|url=http://www.weather2travel.com/climate-guides/egypt/dahab.php|title=Dahab Climate and Weather Averages, Egypt|access-date=5 November 2013|publisher=Weather to Travel|archive-date=17 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181117193323/https://www.weather2travel.com/climate-guides/egypt/dahab.php|url-status=dead}}</ref>
}}

{|class="wikitable"
|+Dahab mean sea temperature<ref name="Weather to Travel"/>
|-
!Jan
!Feb
!Mar
!Apr
!May
!Jun
!Jul
!Aug
!Sep
!Oct
!Nov
!Dec
|-
|{{convert|22|°C}}
|{{convert|21|°C}}
|{{convert|21|°C}}
|{{convert|23|°C}}
|{{convert|25|°C}}
|{{convert|26|°C}}
|{{convert|28|°C}}
|{{convert|28|°C}}
|{{convert|28|°C}}
|{{convert|27|°C}}
|{{convert|25|°C}}
|{{convert|23|°C}}
|}

==See also==
{{portal|Egypt}}
* [[List of cities and towns in Egypt]]
* [[2006 Dahab bombings]]
* [[Red Sea Riviera]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
{{Commons}}
* {{wikivoyage-inline|Dahab}}

{{coord|28|29|35|N|34|30|17|E|region:EG_type:city|display=title}}
{{Egyptian Cities}}
{{Red Sea Riviera}}
{{Former Israeli settlements in the Sinai| state = expanded}}

[[Category:Populated coastal places in Egypt]]
[[Category:Resorts in Egypt]] 
[[Category:Sinai Peninsula]]
[[Category:Underwater diving sites in Egypt]]
[[Category:Underwater diving resorts]]
[[Category:Populated places in South Sinai Governorate]]
[[Category:Tourism in Egypt]]
[[Category:Seaside resorts in Egypt]]
[[Category:Red Sea Riviera]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions in Egypt]]