Treasures, Shipwrecks & the Dawn of Red Sea Diving

Treasures, Shipwrecks and the Dawn of Red Sea Diving

By Howard Rosenstein
Reviewed by Dan Orr

Rarely do I sit down and read a book in its entirety in one sitting, but I started reading Treasures, Shipwrecks & the Dawn of Red Sea Diving by Howard Rosenstein and did not put it down until I had read, and thoroughly enjoyed, every chapter.

This is a fascinating story that, if it was not the real life of Howard Rosenstein, it would make a first-class adventure novel. The book details Howard’s singular focus to realize his passion for diving, marine science and tourism by bringing the wonders of what would become one of the premier diving destinations to divers the world over.

Most of us have lives made up of varied beginnings and endings. For Howard Rosenstein, it is hard to keep track of all the beginnings in his extraordinary life. One beginning was, at the tender age of eleven, when Howard, armed with a bucket, sponge and liquid soap searched driveways near where he lived for dirty cars to wash. A dirty car and a chance meeting with a former “Hollywood Glamour Girl” turned into a prophetic conversation with the eleven-year-old. The former Glamour Girl recognized something in this young man, possibly his entrepreneurial spirit. During that chance meeting, she told him, “Howie, when you grow up, you will be a world traveler.” Little did she realize how correct her prophecy was. In just a few years, he was, indeed, traveling the world.

Another beginning occurred while snorkeling off the shore in an area of Israel that had been the harbor of the Roman city of Caesarea. As he returned to the shore, he saw a “flicker” down below which turned out to be the glint of gold. Rather than “Pennies from Heaven,” this glint, from a cache of Roman gold coins on the bottom of the sea, was a beginning that provided unexpected good fortune for Howard Rosenstein. That good fortune would, ultimately, go well beyond Israel and spell good fortune for, not only the diving world, but the world in general.

Another chapter in his amazing life began when his dream of establishing a dive center in the Sinai came to fruition. It took a great deal of effort and chutzpah to establish a successful dive center in an area where very few, if any, divers or tourist had ever been. With Howard’s successful Sinai Dive Center as his base of operations, he continued his search for the best and most pristine dive sites throughout the Sinai, including locating and identifying some of the region’s most exciting shipwrecks.

When trying to build a career and a life for himself and his family, especially in an area with much potential political turmoil, it took some protectzia (a Hebrew slang term meaning the use of one’s connections to your advantage) to make things work in his favor and in the favor of the growth of scuba diving in the region.

Undeterred by natural disasters, roadblocks from politicians, and even confrontations with the military, Howard was able to use his unique skills and more than a little chutzpah, such as creatively inventing “Sinai Rule 950,” to achieve his goals. Through the use of his special brand of diving diplomacy, Howard was able to gain a seat at the table during the historic tourism talks between Egypt and Israel and help achieve what many thought was the unachievable. With the love of scuba diving and the marine environment as common elements, Howard was able to help bring together representatives from Egypt and Israel in the name of regional tourism, that would, for a time, put that part of the world at peace. This historic meeting would help the Red Sea become one of the diving world’s most sought-after diving destinations.

Over the length of his long, varied and exciting career, Howard would introduce friends and notable colleagues to the magical wonders of the underwater world around the Sinai Peninsula. This would include many of the world’s top underwater photographers, marine scientists, diplomats, and other influential people as they dived, photographed, and shared their mutual love for diving in some of the most spectacular and pristine dive sites in the world. Such notables as Dr. Sylvia Earle, Dr. Eugenie Clark, David Doubilet, Jack McKenney, Hans Hass, Leonard Bernstein, Anwar Sadat, Menachem Begin, and General Moshe Dayan would enjoy the undersea wonders of the Sinai. They would each help make diving diplomacy a force that would help shape the future of diving and tourism in the region. This would lead to a full understanding of the value of tourism in bringing different peoples and different ideologies to share a common element, the importance of preserving the underwater world. As his brand of diving diplomacy evolved, he would hear the recurring comment from those who dived the Red Sea, “If I had to choose one place to spend the remainder of my diving days, it would be here.”

In fact, Howard’s love of diving goes well beyond the bounds of our planet. During a National Geographic expedition to Sharm El Sheikh, renowned underwater photographer David Doubilet captured an underwater image of Howard that was included in the time capsule placed on NASA’s Voyager One spacecraft launched in 1977. That time capsule is a twelve-inch gold-plated copper disk containing pictures and sounds representing life and culture on our planet earth.

That glint of gold from the bottom of the sea turned out to be unexpected good fortune for us all. Thank you, Howard Rosenstein, for sharing your fascinating journey and career with us. This is not only a story worth reading, but also a story worthy of sharing with everyone who loves the sport of scuba diving and the underwater world.