Sharm el-Sheikh - Egypt, Africa

Sharm el-Sheikh (Arabic: شرم الشيخ‎, Sharm al-Shaykh) is a city situated on the southern tip of the Sinai Peninsula, in South Sinai Governorate, Egypt, on the coastal strip along the Red Sea. Its population is approximately 35,000 (2008). Sharm el-Sheikh is the administrative hub of Egypt's South Sinai Governorate which includes the smaller coastal towns of Dahab and Nuweiba as well as the mountainous interior, Saint Catherine's Monastery and Mount Sinai. Sharm el-Sheikh is sometimes called the "City of Peace", referring to the large number of international peace conferences that have been held there. It was known as Şarm-üş Şeyh (Sharm ush-Sheikh, "bay of the Sheikh" in Arabic) during Ottoman rule and was known as Ofira during Israeli occupation between 1967 and 1982. Among Egyptians, the name of the city is commonly shortened to "Sharm" ([ʃɑɾˤm]). The city has played host to a number of important Middle Eastern peace conferences, including the 4 September 1999 agreement to restore Palestinian self-rule over the Gaza Strip. A second summit was held at Sharm on 17 October 2000 following the outbreak of the second Palestinian intifada, but it failed to end the violence. A summit was held in the city on 3 August 2005 on developments in the Arab world such as the situation in Iraq and the Arab-Israeli conflict. The World Economic Forum on the Middle East 2008 was also hosted by Sharm el-Sheikh. Amidst the 2011 Egyptian protests, President Hosni Mubarak reportedly went to Sharm el-Sheikh and resigned there on 11 February 2011. The average temperatures during the winter months (November to March) range from 15 to 35 degrees Celsius (59-95°F) and during the summer months (April to October) from 20 to 45 degrees Celsius (68-113°F). The temperature of the Red Sea in this region ranges from 21 to 28 degrees Celsius (70-84°F) over the course of the year.