It is often said that you must scratch the surface to discover true beauty. This is only half true about Eilat, for in this cherished part of Israel, its beauty is both above and below its magical multifarious surface – eternally alluring – inviting mesmerising discovery.
Coral Reef Red Sea (Eilat)
Beneath the flowing shades of green and blue of the Red Sea lies some of the world’s finest coral, first popularized by the expeditions of the underwater legends Hans Hass and Jacques Cousteau in the 1950’s and 1960’s. Cousteau returned to the Red Sea many times, ranking it among his favorite diving spots throughout the world. His books, articles and films conceivably did more than anything else to make the fledgling diving community aware of the wonders that lay below the surface of the Red Sea.
Cousteau’s ‘Calypso Red Sea Expedition (1951-52) – the Calypso was a converted US minesweeper – yielded numerous discoveries, including the identification of previously unknown plant and animal species and the discovery of volcanic basins beneath the Red Sea. Praised as “a poet of the deep”, Cousteau received in 1961, the National Geographic Society’s Gold Medal at the White house by President John F. Kennedy, which read: “To earthbound man he gave the key to the silent world.”
To learn more about Cousteau’s “poetry of the deep”, I literally dived in to explore the underwater world of Eilat’s coral reefs.
The Deep End
The day was perfect, as most days in Eilat are – breathless and calm.
Joining a bunch of aquatic enthusiasts, we donned goggles and flippers and dived off the southern pier at Coral Beach Reserve, eight kilometers north of Eilat. The home of one of Eilat’s most popular diving reefs, the Coral Beach Reserve is unique in that it is the northernmost coral reef in the world.
Breaking through the surface, we entered this magical multicolored coral garden – our sights feasting on parrot fish, butterfly fish, angel fish, eels and even a small octopus.
“You don’t have to move around, just float quietly and wait, and the fish will come to you.” Such was the advice of one local instructor and how right he was. ‘Far from the Madding Crowd’, it was a sheer kaleidoscope of beauty and tranquility punctuated by a constant flurry of dazzling colours as the ‘all-star cast’ of coral characters played out before us. It was a colourful drama that has been enacted daily since the dawn of time.
There are over 270 species of coral in this underwater world. Within the numerous small habitats, there are over 2,500 species of underwater life, some unique to the Red Sea. These include sea turtles, sea urchins, oysters, sea anemones, crabs, sponges, octopi, cuttlefish, tropical fish and seven types of cheerful dolphins. They all appear as keen to see the tourists as the tourists are to see them.
Beneath the Surface
Since the coral reef is a complex and delicate ecosystem, any deviation to its balance could cause a negative chain reaction.
Dr. Rael Horwitz having completed a research postdoctoral position in French Polynesia studying climate change effects on coral reefs is presently manager of the Community Ecology laboratory at the Institute of Evolution, Haifa University.
I met with Rael Horwitz a doctorial research student at the Interuniversity Institute for Marine Sciences situated at the southern end of the Coral Beach Reserve. Born in East London, South Africa, Horwitz was researching climate change and the impact it has on coral reefs. “We are focusing on two main areas, ‘Global Warming’ and its effect on marine ecosystems and ocean acidification, which we refer to as the ‘younger naughty brother’ of global warming. In the last decade, there has been a significant increase in the study of acidification. It’s a major concern for coral reefs all over the world.”
“Why is that?” I enquire.
“Up to about fifty percent of carbon dioxide is absorbed by the oceans which acts as a buffer; a carbon sink. However, with the ever-increasing pollution in the atmosphere, the carbon dioxide that is being absorbed in the sea has become alarmingly too acidic. The effect of this is that over time it attacks the external skeletons of the coral, making them less robust, and more vulnerable to dissolution. In effect, they simply begin to melt.”
However, climate change is not the only culprit. “It is a combination of natural factors and anthropogenic (man-made factors). We cannot permit an assault on our delicate ecosystem by unregulated diving. In this regard, Israel has really stepped up to the plate in exercising proper controls.”
However, like climate change, “there are other causes where we in Israel, have very little control and yet suffer the consequences,” warns Horwitz, citing over-fishing as a prime example.
“Every component in a marine environment has a role to play. Maintaining the balance is critical. If there is excessive intervention in the food chain -such as through over-fishing, leading to a depletion of fish that say feeds on algae – then down the line this will affect the coral. You cannot change nature’s balance and not expect serious consequences over time.”
Delving in Deep
Rael Horwitz as a doctorial research student in Eilat.
Attractive for tourists, says local marine biologist Dr. Ofer Ben Tzvi, “is the coral reefs accessibility. “Anyone can enter the reef. You don’t need boats; they are only metres off shore. Even if you want to dive in deep, you don’t need a boat to get to a depth of 60-70 metres. People are diving here off shore to depths of 100 metres! The beauty here is that you have coral reefs ranging in depths from virtually zero – ideal for snorkelers – to 90 metres for the serious divers with oxygen cylinders.”
Another favorable factor, “is that the sea is so clear; visibility excellent,” says Ben Tzvi. “You have light penetrating very deep. Coral requires light, which explains why deep coral is so prevalent off the Eilat coast.”
Shark’ing Experience. Visitors mesmerized by the vast variety of sharks swimming amongst the coral at Eilat’s Underwater Observatory Marine Park’s ‘Shark World’
A third favorable aspect according to Ben Tzvi is that coral lovers will find “a wider range of species in a small area than if you say dive at the Great Barrier Reef which has so much more variety but far spread out. One of the reasons for this is that the Great Barrier Reef, which stretches over 2,600 kilometers (1,600 miles), has far more dominant species of coral. Eilat has no dominant species. The coral is all varied. So, in one dive you are more likely to find a greater variety of coral than say one dive in the Great Barrier Reef.”
On Horwitz’s recommendation “to better understand the ecosystem as well as to ease identifying the fish,” we visited the famed Coral World Park which includes a collection of aquariums and the renowned Underwater Observatory. The park has three big pools for sharks, rays, sea turtles and other large marine creatures, while the other pools show species of coral fish not seen from the underwater observatory. Each aquarium represents a separate area of the coral reef and contains life forms associated with particular corals at different depths. What we found stunning was a unique exhibit of ‘flashlight fish’ housed in a completely dark environment, illuminated only with their luminescent organs.
For those who prefer to see the coral and tropical fish without getting their feet wet, a visit here is an enriching substitute. This is not a conventional aquarium with which visitors may be familiar. The conspicuous white steeple-like iconic observatory is well integrated into the marine environment. Living coral heads have been transplanted around the tower, creating new habitats for thousands of sea creatures that move around, free to stay or leave. Hours can slip away as visitors become mesmerised, gazing at corals and sea anemone of every possible form as the tropical fish complete the moving picture.
As one tourist remarked trying to out-stare a school of tropical fish behind the glass plane, “I’m wondering! Who’s more fascinated with whom?”
Close Encounters
Just When You Though You Were Safe! ‘Jaws’ welcoming visitors to Shark World.
No less fascinating since it opened in 2015, is the Underwater Observatory Marine Park’s ‘Shark World’. It is hardly surprising.
The biggest shark pool of its kind in the Middle East it offers a rare opportunity for a close-up engagement with a variety of Red Sea sharks.
Facing the large windows are rows of seats in an amphitheater that allow visitors to sit and stare in fascination as tiger sharks, hammerheads, sand sharks swim around the coral. Joining them are walruses, sea bats, stingrays and thousands of fish that coexist in perfect harmony.
“Wow, this beats the shark pool at Las Vegas!” was the stunned remark from a USA tourist beside me. I was uncertain whether he was referring to card sharks or those with fins, but nevertheless the observation was spot-on. Eilat’s Shark World cost over 26 million shekels covering an area of 1000m2. The result is visually stunning.
The South African Connection
What was surprising to a few South African tourists in our group, was an illuminating linkage of their fellow countrymen to this wondrous underwater world!
In 1995, I interviewed the visionary of Eilat’s Coral World, international businessman and philanthropist Morris Kahn, a recipient today of honorary doctorates from Israel’s most prestigious universities for his outstanding leadership and visionary contributions to the State of Israel.
Entrepreneur Extraordinaire. Benoni-born, Morris Kahn’s vision stretches from the deep depths of the sea to outer space.
Born in Benoni in the province of Gauteng, Kahn, the founder of international communications provider the Aurec Group and Israeli software giant Amdocs, first visited Israel in 1955 and discovered “a strange country, a foreign language, different food – but a feeling of being at home with my people,” he said.
The following year, he returned to stay.
When asked in 1995 by the writer, what excited him most of all his numerous business interests, Kahn replied with boyish enthusiasm, “My Coral World project – coral is my hobby, my passion and my love.”
While recovering from a diving accident in the late sixties, “I became aware of what the non-diving public was missing. I dreamt of sharing the splendour and marvels of the sea with everyone,” and so Coral World was born.
The first Coral World with its unique Underwater Observatory was welcomed by enthusiastic crowds in 1974 in Eilat. The design team included South African architects Maurice Kaplan, Leon Charney and later Ben Peleg.
In addition to Eilat, Kahn’s company Coral World International have built Underwater Observatories and Aquaria around the world in Maui, Hawaii; St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands; Coral Island Nassau, The Bahamas; as well as in Perth and Sydney in Australia. The tower of the observatory in Nassau was built by a Druze company in Israel and shipped to The Bahamas.
Most exciting for Kahn in that 1995 interview, was “that we hope soon to build a Coral World in Hurghada in Egypt.” Kahn expressed the significance of an Israeli company developing a project in an Arab country. “I genuinely believe that business is the best way to build bridges.”
From the depths beneath the sea, ‘the boy from Benoni’, who grew up in Welkom in the OFS has his sights on the far reaches of outer space. Kahn today is a Public Board Member of SpaceIL, an Israeli nonprofit founded by three young engineers in 2010, answering the Google Lunar XPRIZE challenge of making history by landing the first Israeli spacecraft on the moon “and to inspire a generation along the way.”
The former US astronaut Buzz Aldrin and second person to walk on the moon, tweeted the following congratulatory note to Kahn: “I congratulate my friend Morris Kahn & TeamSpaceIL on inspiring the next generation in Israel to reach for space.”
In the meantime – less far in distance but no less fascinating in beauty – cross the moonscape of the Israeli Negev desert to Eilat and enjoy the coral of the Red Sea.
What lies beneath is beguiling beauty?
The warm water temperatures of the Red Sea and the clear water create an environment suitable for corals.
Coral reefs are built mainly by coral polyps – miniature tubular creatures having only one opening surrounded by tentacles. Some varieties of these polyps, called stone coral polyps, secrete calcareous material extracted from the water, creating a protective skeleton within its soft tissue. Most stony coral reefs are built by numerous interconnecting colonies of polyps. When the polyps die, they leave behind their skeleton, forming a base for other polyps and eventually create the huge rock walls of the reef.
A reef provides food and refuge and is an excellent habitat for many life forms. In addition to corals (both hard and soft, sponges, sea anemones, sea stars, cucumbers and urchins), tropical fish of spectacular forms and colors inhabit the Red Sea coral reefs. Many other creatures also inhabit the area such as dolphins, sharks and even sea cows and whales.
The richest part of marine life off Israel’s coast is located within the Coral Beach Nature Reserve, some 8 kilometers south from Eilat. Masks and snorkels, as well as life jackets can be rented there. The Eilat coral reef is the northern part of the Red Sea’s 4500 kilometers of coral reefs, and the most northern reef in the world.
Good Behaviour. Shark World’s marine biologist Aviv Lavi reveals the behaviour patterns of Red Sea sharks.
