Desert Sea - Hagen Schmid

In the past the bird and mammal populations of the Arabian Peninsula were well protected by the physical size of the country and its sparsely inhabited deserts. With the discovery of large oil deposits, and following the introduction of industrialisation in the Middle East, extensive road and construction commenced, opening up the region. The photographs in this book may give the impression of a still perfect underwater world, that today is hardly found anymore. Nowadays when one is diving or snorkelling in these waters, one wonders if this is really the same sea. Most photographs were taken on days with exceptionally good underwater visibility. Often it took months or years to get a nearly perfect picture. The creatures are shown in their natural environment, which can be between broken corals or on top of sunken shipwrecks. Whenever known, their common and scientific names, as well as the name and date of the scientist who described them, are given. The texts are kept intentionally short so they do not distract from the shores of the Red Sea. They show the structure of the ever shifting sand dunes, the date palm trees, the laced wooden window facades and the soft coral fans.