The Red Sea coast runs from
the Gulf of Suez, and the many mountain ranges inspired the mariners of
antiquity to name it the "Sea Mare Rostrum", or the Red Sea.
Main islands along the coast include: Qamar, AI-Fanadir, Abu Ramada, Om
Gaweesh, Small Seoul lands, A1 Zabarged
Archaeological
Sites and Sites to visit
The Red Sea region has a lot
of Pharaonic and Roman antiquities. Pharaonic inscriptions were found in Wadi
Elhaamat and Um El Fawageer, which are located 235 Km south of Hurghada.
Ruins of the temple of Dokhan:
A Greco roman temple which is located 65 Km north of Hurghada
Christian
sites:
The area has two of the oldest and most famous monasteries in Coptic
Egypt:
St. Paul: It goes back to the end of to the 4th century AD
St. Anthony: it is the oldest known monastery in Egypt, where St Anthony
created the first monastic style of life.
Islamic
sites:
-The Shrine of Sheik Hassan El-Ghasal is located 150 Km from Marsa Alam and is
around 800 years old
-The Tower of Sultan Sleem in Al-Qusseir, it is located around 130 KM south of
Hurghada
Cities:
Hurghada: 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. 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
Makadi Bay: A Tourist Resort located 30 km
south of Hurghada dedicated only to hotels, shops and clubs. There are no
settlements with locals. Place features good sandy beach.
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: 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.
