Red Sea Living General information about Egypt & Hurghada

1. Hurghada
2. Places near Hurgahda
3. About Egypt
4. Why Egypt
5. Facts & Figures

Hurghada

Al-Mahmya: a tourist facility on the protected Giftun island off the coast near Hurghada

Hurghada (ar.: Al Ghardaqah, الغردقة) is an Egyptian city and a tourist center on the Red Sea.

The city was founded in the early 20th century, and since the 1980s has been continually enlarged by American, European and Arab investors to become the leading bathing resort on the Red Sea. Holiday villages and first class hotels provide excellent aquatic sport facilities for sail boarders, yachtsmen, scuba divers and snorklers.

Hurghada stretches for about 40 km along the seashore, and it doesnt reach far into the surrounding desert. The resort is a destination for package holiday tourists from Europe, notably Russians, Czechs and Germans. Until a few years ago it remained a small fishing village. Today Hurghada counts 40,000 inhabitants and is divided into three parts: Downtown (El Dahar) is the old part; Sekalla is the modern part, and El Korra Road is the most modern part. Sakkala is the relatively modest hotel quarter. Dahar is where the towns largest bazaar, the post office and the long-distance bus station are situated. Many restaurants, bars and shops, small pubs and internet cafes are available all over Hurghada.

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.

Main street of a bazaar at El Dahar, downtown Hurghada

Hurghada is known as a party town, and with its many clubs, life could be said to begin there at night. Nearly every hotel has its own disco. The most famous ones are "Calypso" and "Papas Beach". Renowned for belly dancing, Arabic and Nubian folklore, is "Alf Leila Wa Leila" ("One thousand and one nights"). It is a big open-air area, which offers a bit of everything.

Hurghada has become an international center for aquatic sports like windsurfing, sailing, deep-sea fishing, swimming, and above all snorkeling and diving. The unique underwater gardens offshore are some of the finest in the world, justifiably famous amongst divers. The warm waters here are ideal for many varieties of rare fish and coral reefs, which may also be observed through glass bottom boats.

The city provides a gateway to prime diving sites throughout the Red Sea. Its central location provides favorable access to very famous dive sites. In addition, Hurghada is known for providing access to many uninhabited offshore reefs and islands.

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Notable places in proximity of Hurghada

• Sharm El Naga - a village, around 40 km south of Hurghada. Its beach contains possibly the most beautiful reef cliff in the region.
• El Gouna - an artificially-created and privately owned luxury hotel town, about 25 km north of Hurghada. Its beauty comes not only from its quietness and cleanliness, but also from the fact that the town consists of several islands separated by channels and connected by bridges. Besides 14 hotels and 2 marinas, there are also three hundred private villas and apartments, and some five hundred more are under construction. It is sometimes called Egypts Venice.
• Al-Mahmya - a tourist beachfront camp on the protected Giftun island, 45 minutes by boat from Hurghada.
• Soma Bay - a tourist resort situated 45 km south of Hurghada, with various hotels including Sheraton, Robinson Club and Hyatt Regency.
• Sahl Hasheesh - a tourist resort situated 20 km from Hurghada airport.
• Makadi Bay - a dreamy beachside resort, just 35 km south of Hurghada. Makadi Bay is an oasis of quality beach resorts providing a superb location for scuba diving and snorkeling.

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About Egypt

In the fifth century BC Herodotus wrote of Egypt that nowhere are there so many marvelous things...nor in the world besides are to be seen so many things of unspeakable greatness - and not too much has changed. The Sphinx, the Nile, ancient Luxor, the pyramids - Egypts scope is glorious.

Its not just the Pharonic monuments that have drawn travelers to this country since long before the birth of Christ - its the legacy of the Greeks, Romans and early Christians, and the profusion of art and architecture accumulated from centuries of successive Islamic dynasties.

It is also Red Sea scuba diving, hot night spots, luxury hotels and five star restaurants. It is romantic cruises down the Nile on festive river boats, a night at the grand opera and it is a cultural experience like none you have ever experienced. Egypt is a land bustling with life, sound, visual beauty and excitement. More than anything else,  Egypt is fun. For thousands of years, it has been the playground of emperors and kings, and we hope you will take the time to find out why.

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Why Egypt?

Egypt has the largest population in the Middle East, a stable economic growth rate which exceeds 6%, whilst enjoying a strategic location. As well as economic agreements with the EU, US and the rest of the Arab world, Egypt operates a liberal financial system which allows foreigners to own property. There exists within the market a high demand for quality real estate, in addition to this Egypt offers a stable foreign exchange, an open foreign exchange policy and a booming stock exchange; Egypts significant growth in foreign and local investment looks highly promising, showing a 500% increase over the past 12 months.

At the crossroads of Africa and Asia, Egypt is the gateway for business in the Middle East, Africa and the Mediterranean basin. The new Egyptian government has put in place fundamental changes that allow its economy to integrate with the main stream of the world economy. Today, Egypt has established a market based liberalized and open economy that includes significant strengths in communication and information technology, natural gas, tourism, feeder industries, ready-made garments, cement, agricultural products and real estate development.

The reduction of custom duties has opened Egypts markets to more foreign trade and stimulated domestic producers. Business procedures have been streamlined. Corporate and personal taxes have been cut drastically and now are lower than in most countries. State assets in all sectors of business are being transferred into the private sector. Companies are being restructured. The cost of doing business in Egypt is extremely favorable, particularly labor and land cost. Electricity and gas are priced extremely competitively. The movement of goods is being speeded up with an improved transport system. The ports are being modernized.

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