Sha'ab Sataya (Dolphin House Fury Shoals)

Largest reef of the Fury Shoals complex, a 4.7 km horseshoe lying 15 km off Hamata in the deep south of the Egyptian Red Sea. The northern lagoon shelters a resident pod of roughly 100 to 200 spinner dolphins (Stenella longirostris) that return each morning to rest, court and nurse calves after feeding offshore overnight. Snorkelers share the calm lagoon with the pod under marine reserve rules, while scuba dives explore the outer crescent: hard coral plateaus at 5 to 12 m roll over into walls and dropoffs to 40 m, broken by swimthroughs, pinnacles and gardens of Dendronephthya soft coral. Fusiliers, jacks, Spanish dancers, hawksbill turtles and whitetip reef sharks patrol the outer wall. Currents stay mild inside the horseshoe and stiffen on the southern tip.