Siyul

Siyul, also called Siyal, is the northernmost of the four islands that make up the Qula'an archipelago, also known as the Hamata Islands: from north to south, Siyal, Shawareet, Umm Al-Sheikh and Mahabis. It is a low island of coral rock and sand, surrounded on all sides by coral reefs and rocks. Its sandy beaches have earned it the nickname “Egyptian Maldives”. The island is a frequent stop for liveaboards visiting the south of the Red Sea.

On the reef wall the coral is healthy, with beautiful specimens of finger coral, tabular coral and fire coral. Bluespotted ribbontail rays (Taeniura lymma) are pretty common on the reef south of the island. On the sandy bottoms between the island and the reef wall, pipefish, flounders, blennies and sandperch can be seen. There you can also observe the symbiosis between shrimpgobies and alpheid shrimps, which share the same burrow.

In the Hamata region, the best time usually runs from May to October, when there is less wind and the sea is less choppy, but diving is possible all year round.