SeaLog
Getting there
Boat only, in the Strait of Gubal. It appears on Hurghada-based liveaboard and day-boat itineraries, usually together with Siyoul Kebira. Boats either moor on the south side or enter the lagoon through a narrow channel in the reef.
Siyoul Soraya
Egypt · reef
boat entry
Siyoul Soraya
A small island in the Strait of Gubal with a disproportionately large reef and a lagoon you can enter through a channel.
Max depthnot sourced
Required levelnot sourced
Entry typeboat
Visibilitynot sourced
The dive
Siyoul Soraya - also written Siyul Soraya, Siyul Saghira or Small Siyul - is the smaller of the two Siyul islands in the Strait of Gubal, but it carries a much larger surrounding reef than its neighbour. It is an ordinary Red Sea reef site rather than a headline one, and the published material on it is thin: it appears on Hurghada-based liveaboard itineraries, usually alongside Siyoul Kebira, and there is no operator write-up of the kind that exists for the Gubal wrecks. We would rather say that plainly than dress the page up.
What is consistently described is how the site is dived. There are two options. The reef's southern side is dived either as a drift or from a moored boat. Alternatively the boat noses into the lagoon through a narrow channel in the reef, and divers work their way back out through the channel to dive the outside of the reef. The lagoon channel is the distinctive feature of the place.
Crowd-sourced logbook aggregates - diver reports, not a survey - put typical depths at 15-25 m, visibility around 25 m, current at 0-1 knots and water at 23-27 C, with October to November and July to September named as the better windows. We have not recorded those as our own figures because there is no primary source behind them, and we leave depth and visibility null rather than import someone else's averages.
Our occurrence records for the site are sparse and describe a normal reef: blackspotted sweetlips at the top, then dusky spinefoot, royal angelfish, sea goldie, blacktail butterflyfish, ringed wrasse, rusty parrotfish and striated fusilier, along with black-lipped and Egyptian winged pearl oysters.
- The smaller of the two Siyul islands, with a disproportionately large reef around it
- Dived on the south side, as a drift or from a moored boat
- A narrow channel through the reef lets boats into the lagoon; divers exit through the channel and dive the outer reef
- A liveaboard and day-boat reef stop from Hurghada, usually paired with Siyoul Kebira
- Published information is thin, so most of this page is deliberately left blank
Please note before you go
- The dive can be run as a drift on the south side, so the usual drift-diving requirements apply: SMB, boat contact and a plan for the pickup
- One profile involves swimming out through a narrow channel in the reef, which is a confined route in moving water when the lagoon is filling or emptying
Access & rules
Mandatory requirementsOperator
Access to the site runs through a local operator.
Conditions
Visibilitynot sourced
Currentnot sourced
Surgenot sourced
WaterSalt water
Depth rangenot sourced
Environmentreef
Coralrecovering
Crowdsnot sourced
On current: We found no primary source giving depth, visibility or current for this site. Crowd-sourced logbook aggregates on a dive directory report 15-25 m typical depth, about 25 m visibility, 0-1 knots of current and 23-27 C water, with October-November and July-September named as the better windows, but those are diver-report averages rather than a survey, so we do not record them as our own numbers.
Questions & answers
Where is Siyoul Soraya?
In the Strait of Gubal, in the northern Red Sea between the Gulf of Suez and the open Red Sea. It is the smaller of the two Siyul islands - also spelled Siyul Soraya, Siyul Saghira or Small Siyul - and despite being the smaller island it has the much larger surrounding reef.
How is the site dived?
Two ways. Either on the south side of the reef, as a drift or from a moored boat; or the boat enters the lagoon through a narrow channel in the reef and divers make their way back out through that channel to dive the outside of the reef. The channel is the distinctive feature of the place.
How deep is it and how is the visibility?
We could not find a primary source for either, so we have not recorded numbers. Crowd-sourced diver logbook aggregates suggest typical depths around 15-25 m, visibility near 25 m, 0-1 knots of current and 23-27 C water, but those are averaged diver reports rather than a survey and we would not want you planning a dive on them.
How do you get there?
By boat. It shows up on Hurghada-based liveaboard and day-boat itineraries in the Strait of Gubal, usually paired with the larger Siyoul Kebira. There is no shore access.
What will I see?
Ordinary Red Sea reef life. Our own occurrence records here are sparse and headed by blackspotted sweetlips, then dusky spinefoot, royal angelfish, sea goldie, blacktail butterflyfish, ringed wrasse, rusty parrotfish and striated fusilier, plus black-lipped and Egyptian winged pearl oysters. Directory descriptions mention reef fish and starfish and nothing more specific.
Is this a site worth planning a trip around?
Honestly, no - it is a reef stop rather than a destination. The Strait of Gubal's draw is the wrecks (Thistlegorm, Rosalie Moller, Ulysses, the Abu Nuhas group) and sites like this fill out the itinerary between them. If you are on a northern route you will likely dive it; nobody comes for it.
Life recorded at Siyoul Soraya
38 species within 1.5 km · OBISGymnothorax javanicusrare · 1 recordsHexabranchus sanguineusrare · 1 records
Plectorhinchus gaterinusoccasional · 5 records
Chaetodon austriacusrare · 2 records
Hologymnosus annulatusrare · 2 records
Caesio striatarare · 2 records
All 38 species recorded in this area
| Species | How often | Records |
|---|---|---|
| Plectorhinchus gaterinus | occasional | 5 |
| Chaetodon austriacus | rare | 2 |
| Hologymnosus annulatus | rare | 2 |
| Caesio striata | rare | 2 |
| Pseudanthias squamipinnis | rare | 2 |
| Pygoplites diacanthus | rare | 2 |
| Scarus ferrugineus | rare | 2 |
| Siganus luridus | rare | 2 |
| Cyclichthys spilostylus | rare | 1 |
| Dascyllus abudafur | rare | 1 |
| Epibulus insidiator | rare | 1 |
| Halichoeres hortulanus | rare | 1 |
| Abudefduf sexfasciatus | rare | 1 |
| Inimicus filamentosus | rare | 1 |
| Lutjanus bohar | rare | 1 |
| Naso elegans | rare | 1 |
| Odonus niger | rare | 1 |
| Pardachirus marmoratus | rare | 1 |
| Phyllidia varicosa | rare | 1 |
| Pione mussae | rare | 1 |
| Pomacanthus imperator | rare | 1 |
| Pomacanthus maculosus | rare | 1 |
| Pteria aegyptiaca | rare | 1 |
| Pterois miles | rare | 1 |
| Stichopus pseudohorrens | rare | 1 |
| Acanthurus sohal | rare | 1 |
| Apolemichthys xanthotis | rare | 1 |
| Chaetodon semilarvatus | rare | 1 |
| Gymnothorax javanicus | rare | 1 |
| Myripristis murdjan | rare | 1 |
| Hexabranchus sanguineus | rare | 1 |
| Priacanthus hamrur | rare | 1 |
| Pinctada margaritifera | rare | 1 |
| Caesio suevica | rare | 1 |
| Cephalopholis argus | rare | 1 |
| Chaetodon fasciatus | rare | 1 |
| Chaetodon larvatus | rare | 1 |
| Chlorurus sordidus | rare | 1 |
Nearby sites in Abu Nuhas
Explore all sitesSiyoul Lagoon1.7 km
Abu NuhasThe sheltered north end of the Small Siyul reef in the Gubal Strait, where the boat moors behind the reef and the dive runs over sand and coral blocks.
El Gilwa2.1 km
Abu NuhasThe broken side of Siyul island: coral blocks and pinnacles standing on sand, with three moorings so the dive can be replanned around whichever way the current is running.
Siyoul Kebir2.9 km
Abu NuhasThe reef around Big Siyul island: a sheer north wall that runs into a plateau east and south, dived as a drift when the north current allows and from a mooring when it does not.
Blind Reef4.1 km
Abu NuhasA Strait of Gubal reef entry we could not verify: no published description of this site under this name.
Umm Usk6.7 km
Abu NuhasA horseshoe reef in the Strait of Gubal whose sheltered lagoon is a safari-boat overnight mooring, which is why most people who dive it do so at night.
Giannis D, wreck7.6 km
Abu NuhasA Greek freighter broken in three on Abu Nuhas, whose stern and engine room sit canted at 45 degrees and disorient everyone who enters.
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