.jpg) Hurghada Hurghada is located 22 km south of El Gouna and 54km north of Safaga, the Red Sea to the east and the mountains of the eastern desert to the west. Two decades ago Hurghada was a modest little fishing village but is now home to more than 40 thousand people. Most of them work in tourist services for more than 1 million sun seekers and diving enthusiasts visiting the area each year. Crystal clear and calm waters and fascinating coral reefs have made Hurghada or Al Ghardaka as the Egyptians call it, Egypts most popular resort town with more than 150 hotels in all categories. The main town area is called Al Dahar and is located in the northern part of the city. A few km south you will find Sakala, the "new centre" of Hurghada. In both areas you will find plenty of bazaars, shops, restaurants, bars, night clubs, fruit and vegetable markets as well as the post office, telephone center, banks and money exchange offices plus more. Further south yet is Mamsha, which is the main Village Road leading out towards Sahl Hasheesh. This area is mainly touristy with many franchise restaurants, McDonalds, Hardrock Cafe and Little Buddha to name but a few. The strip has many hotel resorts including the Steigenberger Hotel, Intercontinental Hotel and the Grand Plaza resort. The area is mainly pedestrian and the traffic is one way. Every week thousands of people fly into Hurghada for the sun the watersport activities and the great nightlife, scuba diving is still the main activity here although wind and kite surfing are becoming more popular. Snorkelling trips, desert safaris and camel excursions entertain and delight tourists year after year. |
 El Gouna El Gouna is "The Little Venice" on the Red Sea, and is just a few minutes away from Hurghada. It is built on 10km of beachfront and boasts a unique and diverse architecture. El Gouna is a fully equipped resort community created from the desert by a man with vision, Mr. Samih Sawiris, president of the Orascom company and sole owner of the 19 million m² resort. Spread across a myriad of islands and beautiful lagoons, El Gouna offers a wide range of accommodations from comfortable guest houses to luxurious five star hotels. El Gouna provides everything one would expect from diving and water sports centers, horse stables, go-karting, shopping arcades, bazaars, a wide selection of restaurants and bars, night clubs, internet cafe, ATM machine, pharmacy, El Gouna International School, nursery, private hospital, a marina with lots of interesting places around, airport, the only casino on the Red Sea coast, private radio station, post office, real estate office and an eighteen hole golf course designed by Gene Bates with a unique aqua driving range |
Marsa Alam Marsa Alam is a small but important city. It is located 130km South of El Quseir and 270 km south of Hurghada. Edfu at the Nile valley lays 220 km to the west. Marsa Alam has about 6000 inhabitants. They are fishermen, or shepherds raising sheep, goats and camels or work in mining cutting marble, granite and philosopher stone. Mining here has been a way of life since ancient times. During the Pharaonic and Roman times the desert around Marsa Alam was known for it's resources of gold, emeralds and semi precious stones. The rise of tourism in the area has provided additional jobs for the community. The local people are originally represented by two tribes, the Al Ba Abda and the Al Basharya. They lived in the eastern desert for a long time and the ancient Egyptians used them to protect Egypt's eastern borders. Later these tribes mixed with the Arabs who introduced Islam. The Al Ba Aabda speak Arabic but have, like Al Basharya, a private language called Tebdawi or Badawit, this language is only spoken and does not exist in writing. The government have now started to build houses for the Bedouins and they now have access to services such as hospitals, medical centers and schools. Marsa Alam sits on the T-junction between the Red Sea coast road and the road to Edfu. This road which was probably built by Ptolemy the 2nd during the Greek period, passes through many historic places such as Wadi Baramiya where ancient Egyptians mined much of their gold, or Wadi Miya where a temple was built by Seti the 1st. The fantastic sandy beaches with their lagoons of turquoise coloured water and virgin reefs provide perfect conditions for all kinds of water activities. Marsa Alam is famous for diving and was recently discovered by kite surfers for it's excellent wind conditions. Diving sites such as Elphinstone reef, Dolphin house, Fury shoals, Zabargad or Daedlus attract divers from all over the world. The surrounding desert is untouched by tourism. Besides its natural beauty it has many archaelogical sites that is visited by desert safari companies. Wadi El Jimal, one of the most beautiful natural parks in Egypt, is located south of Marsa Alam. There is much wildlife and many historical sites dating from Ptolemaic and Roman times. Many tourist villages and luxurious hotels have been built along the coast of Marsa Alam, since Marsa Alam has it's own airport it is easy for tourists to travel to. |
