Hurghada

Hurghada, Sakalla الغردقة (Arabic) al-Ghardaqah
Al-Gouna: a compound on the suburbs of Hurghada.
Hurghada, Sakalla Location in Egypt
Coordinates: 27°15′28″N 33°48′42″E
Country	Egypt
Governorate	Red Sea
Population
• Total	248,000
Time zone	EST (UTC+2)

Hurghada aerial

Hurghada (Arabic: الغردقة‎ Al Ġurdaqa, Egyptian Arabic: [el ɣæɾˈdæʔæ]) is a city in the Red Sea Governorate of Egypt. It is a main tourist center and second largest city (after Suez) in Egypt located on the Red Sea coast.

Overview

The city was founded in the early 20th century, and since the 1980s has been continually enlarged by Egyptian and foreign investors to become the leading seashore resort on the Red Sea. Holiday villages and hotels provide aquatic sport facilities for sailboarders, yachtsmen, scuba divers and snorkelers.

Hurghada stretches for about 36 kilometres (22 mi) along the seashore, and it does not reach far into the surrounding desert. The resort is a destination for Egyptian tourists from Cairo, the Delta and Upper Egypt, as well as package holiday tourists from Europe, notably Serbs, Italians, Russians, Poles, Czechs and Germans. Until a few years ago it was a small fishing village. Today Hurghada counts 248,000 inhabitants and is divided into three parts: Downtown (El Dahar) is the old part; Sekalla is the city center, and El Memsha (Village road) is the modern part. Sakalla is the relatively modest hotel quarter. Dahar is where the town's largest bazaar, the post office and the long-distance bus station are situated.

The city is served by the Hurghada International Airport with scheduled passenger traffic to and from Cairo and direct connections with several cities in Europe. The airport has undergone massive renovations to accommodate rising traffic. Hurghada is known for its watersports activities, nightlife and warm weather. Daily temperature hovers round 30 degrees celsius most of the year. Numerous Europeans spend their Christmas and New Year holidays in the city, primarily Germans, Russians and Italians.

Economy and tourism

Although a town in its own right Hurgada’s current major industry is foreign and domestic tourism, owing to its dramatic landscape, year-round dry and temperate climate and long stretches of natural beaches. Its waters are clear and calm for most of the year and have become popular for various watersports, particularly recreational scuba diving and snorkelling.

Owing to the High temperatures and dry climate many of the hotels in the area now offer water parks the such as the Jungle Aqua Park, who boasts being the biggest.

Climate

Al-Mahmeya is a National Protected park on the coast of Hurghada.

Hurghada has a subtropical-desert climate (Köppen climate classification Bwh), with mild-warm winters and hot to very hot summers. The summer season lasts year round. Temperatures in the period December–January–February are moderately warm, while November, March and April – comfortably warm. May and October is hot and the period from June to September is very hot. Sunshine hours are around 3,800 per year (one of the highest results in the world), from average 9 hours of sunshine / day in December to average 13 hours in July. Average annual temperature of sea is 24 °C (75 °F), from 21 °C (70 °F) in February and March to 28 °C (82 °F) in August.

Climate data for Hurghada
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Average high °C (°F)	21.5 (70.7)	22.6 (72.7)	25.2 (77.4)	29.1 (84.4)	32.9 (91.2)	35.3 (95.5)	36.2 (97.2)	37.1 (98.8)	35.3 (95.5)	31.1 (88.0)	26.8 (80.2)	22.7 (72.9)	30.48 (86.86)
Daily mean °C (°F)	16.3 (61.3)	17.0 (62.6)	19.6 (67.3)	23.5 (74.3)	24.9 (76.8)	30.1 (86.2)	31.3 (88.3)	34.2 (93.6)	29.3 (84.7)	26.0 (78.8)	21.7 (71.1)	17.6 (63.7)	24.04 (75.27)
Average low °C (°F)	11.0 (51.8)	11.4 (52.5)	14.0 (57.2)	17.8 (64.0)	21.9 (71.4)	24.8 (76.6)	26.4 (79.5)	27.2 (81.0)	24.2 (75.6)	20.9 (69.6)	16.6 (61.9)	12.5 (54.5)	18.97 (66.15)
Precipitation mm (inches)	0.4 (0.016)	0.02 (0.0008)	0.3 (0.012)	1.0 (0.039)	0.04 (0.0016)	0.0 (0)	0.0 (0)	0.0 (0)	0.0 (0)	0.6 (0.024)	2.0 (0.079)	0.9 (0.035)	5.26 (0.2071)
Avg. precipitation days (≥ 0.01 mm)	0.3	0.2	0.3	0.3	0.2	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.2	0.2	0.3	2.0
Sunshine hours	279	290	310	300	341	360	403	372	330	310	270	279	3,844
Source: World Meteorological Organization (UN), weather2travel.com for data of sunshine hours

Resorts near Hurghada

Al Quseir

Main article: Al-Qusair

Russian dumplings (Pelmeni) in central Hurghada.

Al Quseir is one of the Egyptian gateways, and one of the oldest cities on the western coast of the Red Sea. In the past it was known by various names, such as Thagho in the pharonic period, Licos Limen (the white port) in the Ptolemaic period, and Portus Albus in the Roman period. In the Islamic period it was given the name Al Quseir, which means "a small palace or fortress".

Located between Hurghada and Marsa Alam, Quseir used to be an important port. Many people traveled from there to the land of Punt to buy ivory, leather and incense. During the Ottoman and the Islamic periods, Egyptians and Muslims from North Africa traveled from Quesir as pilgrims to Mecca. It was also the only port importing coffee from Yemen. During the French occupation of Egypt, Quseir was the arrival point for Arabs and Muslims from Hegaz coming to fight beside the Mamalic against the French army. The most important sites in Quseir are the fort and the water reservoir. The water reservoir was Quseir's only source of drinking water 100 years ago.

Al Quseir Al Kadima is another important site as well. It was the old Roman port where hundreds of amphora and old pottery artifacts were found. Even the police station is located at a historical site. There are now many bazaars here, as well as cafes, coffee shops and restaurants offering sea food. There are several 300-year-old buildings here: the Ottoman fort and the old mosques Al Farran, Al Qenawi and Al Senousi.

Al Quseir is known for diving, with many miles of unspoiled coral reef. Most hotels have dive centres, and there are some downtown, as well. Safaris are popular here, either by quad bike or jeep, including trips into the desert and visits to a Bedouin village, as is camel-riding.

Sharm El Naga

A village, around 40 km (25 mi) south of Hurghada. Its beach contains a beautiful reef cliff.

taken at sharm el naga beach

El Gouna

Main article: El Gouna

A privately owned luxury hotel town, about 25 km north of Hurghada. Quiet and clean, the town consists of several islands separated by channels and connected by bridges. Besides 14 hotels and 3 marinas, there are also 2200 private villas and apartments, while many more are under construction. It is promoted by some as Egypt's Venice. It is built on 10 km of beachfront and has unique and diverse architecture.

El Gouna provides diving and watersports centers, horse stables, go-karting, shopping arcades, bazaars, a wide selection of restaurants and bars, night clubs, an internet cafe, four bank branches, many automated teller machines (ATMs), two pharmacies, the El Gouna international school, a nursery, a private hospital, three marinas, a library, an airport, one of several casinos on the Red Sea coast, a private radio station, a post office, a museum, real estate offices and an 18-hole golf course designed by Gene Bates with a unique aqua driving range.

Al-Mahmya

A tourist beachfront camp on the protected Giftun island, 45 minutes by boat from Hurghada.

Soma Bay

Soma Bay A tourist resort situated 45 km (28 mi) south of Hurghada, with various hotels including La Residence des Cascades, Palm Royale Soma Bay, Robinson Club, Sheraton (Kempinski – opening August 2008) & Caribbean World Resort Soma Bay ( opened December 7).

See also

• Red Sea Riviera
• Hurghada International Airport