Hurghada

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Hurghada
الغردقة (Arabic) al-Ghardaqah
Al-Gouna: a compound on the suburbs of Hurghada.
Al-Gouna: a compound on the suburbs of Hurghada.
Location in Egypt
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Country  Egypt
Governorate Red Sea
Elevation 14 m (46 ft)
Population (auto)
 • Total 261,714
Time zone EST (UTC+2)
Area code(s) (+20) 65

Hurghada (/hərˈɡædə, -ˈɡɑː-/; Arabic: الغردقة‎‎ el-Ġardaqa  Egyptian Arabic pronunciation: [el ɣæɾˈdæʔæ]) is a city in the Red Sea Governorate of Egypt. It is a main tourist center and third largest city (after Suez and Ismailia) in Egypt located on the Red Sea coast.

Overview

Morning at Hurghada Marina

The city was founded in the early 20th century. Until a few years ago it was a small fishing village but since the 1980s has been continually enlarged by Egyptian and foreign investors to become the leading coastal resort on the Red Sea. Holiday villages and hotels provide aquatic sport facilities for sailboarders, yachtsmen, scuba divers and snorkelers. Hurghada is known for its watersports activities, nightlife and warm weather. Daily temperature hovers round 30 °C (86 °F) most of the year. Numerous Europeans spend their Christmas and New Year holidays in the city, mainly Germans, Russians and Italians.

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 Italians and Germans. Today Hurghada counts 248,000 inhabitants and is divided into three parts:

  • Downtown (El Dahar) is the old part;
  • Sekalla is the city center;
  • 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 connecting to Cairo and directly with several cities in Europe. The airport has undergone renovations to accommodate rising traffic.

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.

Dive sites around Abu Ramada Island, Giftun Kebir and Giftun Soraya are popular. Tourists also visit shipwrecks such as the El Mina or the Rosalie Moller.[1]

Demographics

Hurghada has a school for Russian children, the Russian School Hurghada; as well as the newsletter MK in Egypt. Much of the signage in the city, as of 2015, is in Russian. There is also a sex tourism industry catering to Russian women. In June 2015 MK in Egypt publisher Yulia Shevel stated that there were about 20,000 Russians in Hurghada, giving it Egypt's largest Russian population, though only about 3,000 were officially documented.[2]

Climate

Hurghada has a subtropical-desert climate (Köppen climate classification: BWh), with mild-warm winters and hot to very hot summers. Temperatures in the period December–January–February are warm, while November, March and April are comfortably warm. May and October are hot and the period from June to September is very hot. The average annual temperature of the sea is 24 °C (75 °F), ranging from 21 °C (70 °F) in February and March to 28 °C (82 °F) in August.

The highest temperature recorded occurred on June 12, 2013 and was 46 °C (115 °F), while the lowest record temperature was recorded on February 2, 1993 and was 0 °C (32 °F).[3]

Climate data for Hurghada
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 28.0
(82.4)		 30.7
(87.3)		 34.3
(93.7)		 41.3
(106.3)		 39.4
(102.9)		 42.6
(108.7)		 40.8
(105.4)		 38.6
(101.5)		 38.2
(100.8)		 38.2
(100.8)		 34.4
(93.9)		 30.3
(86.5)		 42.6
(108.7)
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)		 36.1
(97)		 34.3
(93.7)		 31.1
(88)		 26.8
(80.2)		 22.7
(72.9)		 27.9
(82.2)
Daily mean °C (°F) 15.7
(60.3)		 16.8
(62.2)		 19.3
(66.7)		 22.8
(73)		 26.1
(79)		 28.9
(84)		 29.7
(85.5)		 29.9
(85.8)		 28.0
(82.4)		 25.2
(77.4)		 21.0
(69.8)		 17.1
(62.8)		 23.4
(74.1)
Average low °C (°F) 11.0
(51.8)		 11.4
(52.5)		 14.0
(57.2)		 17.8
(64)		 21.9
(71.4)		 24.8
(76.6)		 26.4
(79.5)		 26.2
(79.2)		 24.2
(75.6)		 20.9
(69.6)		 16.6
(61.9)		 12.5
(54.5)		 18.7
(65.7)
Record low °C (°F) 5.6
(42.1)		 5.6
(42.1)		 7.5
(45.5)		 9.1
(48.4)		 13.4
(56.1)		 18.8
(65.8)		 20.9
(69.6)		 20.9
(69.6)		 17.0
(62.6)		 13.8
(56.8)		 9.2
(48.6)		 6.0
(42.8)		 5.6
(42.1)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 0.4
(0.016)		 0.02
(0.0008)		 0.3
(0.012)		 1
(0.04)		 0.04
(0.0016)		 0
(0)		 0
(0)		 0
(0)		 0
(0)		 0.6
(0.024)		 2
(0.08)		 0.9
(0.035)		 5.26
(0.2094)
Average rainy days (≥ 0.01 mm) 0.3 0.2 0.3 0.3 0.2 0 0 0 0 0.2 0.2 0.3 2
Average relative humidity (%) 48 46 46 43 42 41 45 46 48 53 51 51 46.7
Mean monthly sunshine hours 265.7 277.6 274.3 285.6 317.4 348.0 352.3 322.4 301.6 275.2 263.9 246.7 3,530.7
Source #1: World Meteorological Organization (1971-2000)[4]
Source #2: NOAA (mean temperature, record high and lows, humidity and sun 1961–1990)[5]

Climate Charts[6] shows different averages and cooler day temperatures in summer.

Hurghada mean sea temperature[7]
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
22 °C (72 °F) 21 °C (70 °F) 21 °C (70 °F) 22 °C (72 °F) 24 °C (75 °F) 26 °C (79 °F) 27 °C (81 °F) 28 °C (82 °F) 27 °C (81 °F) 26 °C (79 °F) 25 °C (77 °F) 23 °C (73 °F)

Resorts near Hurghada

Al-Qusayr

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Main article: Al-Qusayr, Egypt
Russian dumplings (Pelmeni) in central Hurghada.

Al-Qusayr 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, Leucos Limen (white port in Greek) in the Hellenistic and Ptolemaic period, and Portus Albus in the Roman period. In the Islamic period it was given the name Al Qusayr, which means "a small palace or fortress".

Located between Hurghada and Marsa Alam, Qusayr 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 Qusayr as pilgrims to Mecca. It was also the only port importing coffee from Yemen. During the French occupation of Egypt, Qusayr 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 Qusayr are the fort and the water reservoir. The water reservoir was Qusayr's only source of drinking water 100 years ago.

Al Qusayr 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.

Makadi Bay

A Tourist Resort located 30 km south of Hurghada dedicated only to hotels, shops and clubs. There's no settlements with locals. Place features good sandy beach.

Anemonefish at Sharm El Naga beach

Sharm El Naga

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

Soma Bay

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Main article: Soma Bay
Soma Bay.

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

El Gouna

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Main article: El Gouna
Walkway in Hurghada by night.

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,El Gouna national 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.

Education

International schools include:

See also

References

  1. ↑ Dive sites Hurghada
  2. ↑ Abdallah, Buruddeen M. "Hurghada: ‘Russian’ capital of Egypt" (Archive). Daily Trust. June 6, 2015. Retrieved on November 18, 2015.
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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