| El Mina, located by the old army port of Hurghada is a wreck of a mine sweeper. One would thins that the name comes from the fact it is a laying by the shipyard (Arabik: el mina), which is not right because it has its own story. The ship, in the 50\'s, was gift for Egyptian Army from Russian Army, who named it El Minija. It sank in 1970, just after Six-Day War, bombed during plane attack undertaken by Israelis in order to destroy Egyptian radar installation. The anchor chains still laying on the bottom means that it sank quite fast. The wreck El Mina is settled on the port side with visible, flat bottom and propellers sticking out, one without blade.
Dive route:
We will go down along the descent line leading us directly to the wreck. When starting our tour from the stern we will admire propellers which once pushed this army ship forward. Further we will swim by partly squashed superstructures. There are many portholes and hatches allowing us to look inside. We can find on the bottom many ammunition cartridges covered completely with corals now. Additionally, you will have a chance to see here a few antiaircraft machine guns and one big nest of anti-aircraft artillery. Then we will dive forwards the bows, where anchor chains are laying on the bottom. When going up along the hull we will reach part of a sonar in the shape of an egg attached right to the hull. In front of us we will see a place where Israeli bomb exploded. You can look inside here, however due to the size of the ship, instability and many sharp edges, penetration is not recommended. We return to the boat along the same line holding it also while ascending. Do not forget a safety stop and mind the boats once on the surface. The boats are sometimes lined up one after another and with unstable mooring (only one line) the boats are often moving with the wind.
Flora & fauna:
The wreck is covered mainly with hard corals, but around the bomb explosion hole there are a lot of Glass Fish and hunting Lion Fish. On the bottom one can often spot Crocodile Fish.
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