Hurghada
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الغردقة Hurghada |
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| Coordinates | 27 ° 13 ′ N , 33 ° 50 ′ E | ||
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| Country | Egypt | ||
| al-Bahr al-ahmar | |||
| ISO 3166-2 | EG-BA | ||
| Residents | 195,675 (2018) | ||
 Aerial view of Hurghada
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Hurghada ( Arabic :الغردقة, Standard Arabic : al-ġurdaqa , in the local dialect : il-ġurdaga , in the Cairo dialect / standard dialect : Pronunciation : [ el ɣæɾˈdæʔæ ]) is the largest Egyptian tourist center on the Red Sea . Hurghada has about 195,000 inhabitants, many of them without legal residence papers, mostly from cities on the Nile .
description
The name is derived from the term for "landing stage". There used to be no port here. Since the 1980s, American , European and Arab investors have developed Hurghada into by far the leading seaside resort on the Red Sea . The largest proportion of tourists come from Germany, Great Britain, Russia and the former Soviet republics. Hurghada has developed into a vacation spot that stretches along the coast. Many extensive tourist facilities and new apartment buildings are based on oriental styles. Hurghada International Airport is located near the city .
The coastal agglomeration of Hurghada, which stretches for a good 30 km, consists of:
- in the north of Al Ahiaa, with many hotels under construction.
- to the south, the original town center ad-Dahar (Downtown), initially an administrative center for the oil fields in the Gulf of Suez, where typical Egyptian life can currently still be observed.
- the tourist area as-Siqala to the south of it (the signposting is mostly consistently used is El Sekalla), with many hotels, restaurants and shops.
- the areas of the all-inclusive and luxury hotels, which adjoin it in a chain-like manner along the coast and extend far to the south.
The high number of tourists exceeds the local population many times over, not only in the main season. Nevertheless, due to the Muslim culture and the resulting rather hesitant issuing of alcohol licenses on the wide beach promenade Sheraton Road in as-Siqala and in the traffic-calmed zone in ad-Dahar, no pronounced nightlife has developed. Hurghada is the first place in Egypt with an alcohol-free hotel.
There are very different hotel complexes in Hurghada and the surrounding area. Above all, water sports for divers , snorkelers , windsurfers , sailors and deep-sea anglers are offered on 20 km of beaches with white sand, which are almost only accessible from hotels through fences. At the south end of the hotel mile there are a few easily accessible coral reefs , but the best spots are off the coast. However, since the end of the last century, scientists and environmentalists have been observing a sharp decline in intact reefs due to the number of dives being violently exceeded each year. Numerous liveaboard tours, which lead to the more distant reefs in the Red Sea, start and end in the yacht port of Hurghada.
Sahl Hasheesh as a planned region with luxury resorts is in the initial development phase and is currently experiencing a standstill. The area is located approx. 20 km south of Hurghada Airport and with five different golf courses as well as the bay and an 11 km long promenade lined with palm trees should become a luxurious holiday resort not only for golfers.
Even further south are Makadi Bay , Soma Bay , Safaga (60 km), the port city of the Ottoman Empire al-Qusair (207 km), Marsa Alam (271 km), and Berenike (400 km). The administrative border with Sudan is reached at asch-Schalatin (490 km), the bilaterally controversial border under international law is 140 km further south, precisely at the 22nd parallel north (see Hala'ib triangle ). The area, especially north of Marsa Alam, is being promoted by a government development program and is intended to replace Hurghada in the next few decades.
In the north of Hurghada, around 22 km away, is the El Gouna holiday area , a completely new holiday resort with countless lagoons. Founded in the 1980s by the Egyptian architect Samih Sawiris , El Gouna has been continuously expanded, and where there was previously only a sandy strip of desert between the sea and coastal mountains, today an artificial small town made up of hotel complexes and apartment complexes has emerged.
climate
Hurghada is climatically characterized by very little rainfall, only in the mild winter months there are individual rainy days. The location on the Red Sea means that the highest values during the day and the lowest values at night are very close to each other, with an average difference of around 5 ° C. In summer the maximum values rise to over 30 ° C, in winter the minimum values hardly fall below 15 ° C.
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Climate table Hurghada
Source: Weather Hurghada , climate data Hurghada ,
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Attractions
The Coptic Church of St. Schinuda Father of the Hermits in the district of ad-Dahar (7 km north of Hurghada) was built in 1922 in the British style. It is on the four-lane Sulaiman Mazhar Road. It was named after the holy Atripe , the "father of the hermits ". The church was demolished at the end of 2008 and replaced by a new building that has now been completed. An information center is attached to the church.
The Dahar district is also known as the old town of Hurghada. One experiences a lively oriental bazaar with typical souvenir shops and historical buildings.
The St. Anthony Monastery was founded in 356 over the cave of St. Anthony . According to tradition, the St. Paul monastery stands at the point where the hermit Paul retired during the time of the Roman persecution of Christians.
The small aquarium is located near the hospital in the northern district of ad-Dahar. It is home to various types of fish from the region. In addition to the live aquatic animals, you can also admire stuffed specimens.
The new Marina (Marina) was opened on 6 June 2008 and is located in the district Sekalla (height Mosque at the Sheraton Road). On 120,000 m², 100 shops from the gastronomy, clothing and food sectors offer their goods and services. The ships and speedboats to Sharm el-Sheikh also leave from the port.
Excursions by bus to the sights in the Nile Valley ( Luxor / Karnak ) and to Cairo are offered by all hotels and a number of local travel agencies.
The Arabian Desert extends west of Hurghada . On day trips you have the opportunity to walk on sand dunes and visit Bedouin villages . A camel ride is usually also on the program.
Environmental damage
In the battle for the best spots, investors put jetties and entire hotel complexes on the reefs. More than 2 km² of land on Hurghada's coast was recovered by filling up sand. Not only did the sea fauna and flora suffocate ; Due to increased sedimentation and changed current patterns, a large part of the adjacent coral reefs also perished.
The reefs off Hurghada have been severely damaged by the anchor of the diving tourist boats, the high number of dives carried out with often poorly trained scuba divers, the stirring up of sand, the breaking off of the corals as souvenirs and the lack of environmental awareness of the local population. They are badly damaged or even destroyed for a long time. The scientifically calculated tolerance limit of approx. 6000 dives per year and dive site, beyond which damage to the reefs and the underwater world increases exponentially, was reached in Hurghada already at the beginning of the 21st century in part within a month. In addition, a lot of litter is thrown directly into the sea from boats or jetties. The seabed under the jetties and moorings is often covered with garbage, which poses a risk to animals and people.
Sports
The last billiards tournament of the carom tournament series of the three- cushion World Cup season has been held in Hurghada since 2004 . In this tournament, the world's best players compete in the three-cushion discipline . Since then, Egypt has traditionally ended the season with the selection of the overall winner for the year. Hurghada was the venue 13 times until 2018, el-Guna in 2016 and 2017 and Sharm el -Sheikh in 2019 .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Egypt: Governments & Cities - Population Statistics, Maps, Charts, Weather and Web Information. Retrieved May 20, 2020 .
- ^ Egypt: First alcohol-free hotel opened in Hurghada ; Die Welt, April 30, 2013
- ↑ a b c d Invasion of Ignorants GEENPEACE MAGAZINE 1/02, p. 30 ff, 2005 PDF file, accessed January 4, 2016
- ↑ Linus Geschke: In the middle of blue. (PDF in ZIP archive) The Brothers between then and now. In: Scuba divers. Association of German Sports Divers e. V. - VDST and Publikom Z Verlagsgesellschaft GmbH, 2010, pp. 6–9 , accessed on January 21, 2014 .
- ↑ Study on the condition of the reefs in El Quadim Bay, El Quseir, Egypt ( Memento of the original from January 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Carried out by Reef Check e. V. October 2005 PDF file, Retrieved April 1, 2016.
