One of Egypt’s Oldest Kitesurfing Schools is Making a Big Comeback

While the whole world hails Egypt for being one of the best kitesurfing locations on the planet, there was once a time when there was no kitesurfing scene in the country to speak of, a time when it was considered a niche sport reserved for extremists. Then, over a decade ago, kitesurfing enthusiasts Karim El-Khashab and Amr Essam got together to found one of Egypt’s first and most popular kitesurfing schools, Kiteloop. Setting up shop in 2011 at a windy enclave along Sinai’s west coast, at Ras Sudr’s stretch along the Red Sea, Kiteloop went on to host local and internationally-recognised events and train the first ever Egyptian team to compete internationally. It’s not over-the-top to say that Karim and Amr had a huge role in putting Egypt on the international kitesurfing map.

However, all was not well in their sunny Ras Sudr paradise and the kitesurfing school closed its doors in 2017, much to the shock of Egypt’s growing kitesurfing community. In fact, it sent ripple waves across the world to kitesurfers that had adopted Ras Sudr as their second home. Now, after a brief hiatus, the popular kitesurfing school is making a comeback in Ras Matarma, but with a unique new concept that fuses kitesurfing with entertainment - think of this as something new, think of this as Kiteloop 2.0.

“We’re not just a kitesurfing school anymore,” El-Khashab explains to #SceneTraveller.  “We’re now offering a full experience, with restaurants, a commercial area, one hundred hotel rooms and eight Scandinavian style bungalows with two stories right on the beach. It’s going to be a one-of-a-kind development in Ras Sudr.”

This new, reimagined Kiteloop slots in perfectly into the vision for Matarma Beach Residence, the newest development in a still relatively bare Ras Sudr coast, one that is bringing a touch of sophistication to proceedings.  El Khashab, however, is quick to point out that their new spot is still prime for kitesurfing tomfoolery and that Kiteloop’s soul is still very much at the core of a new project that can only spell good things for Egypt’s resurgent tourism.