Egypt’s Red Sea is one of the country’s most popular tourist areas thanks to miles of sandy beaches and the underwater glory of coral and fish life that make it one of the world’s top scuba diving destinations. But it’s not all about sun, sand and chilling out. The Eastern Desert straddles this region, dotted with remnants of Egypt’s Roman and early Christian eras. Sun worshipers may be happy enough just with the sea and the coast, but for those wanting to add some culture to their holiday there is much more to discover.
1 St. Anthony’s Monastery
It is said to have been founded by devotees of St. Anthony, the father of monasticism St Anthony’s Monastery is the oldest monastery in the world. It is located just below the cave where Saint Anthony retired to follow an ascetic life of prayer and solitude. Life probably starts as a small selection of humble dwellings, the monastery is nowadays surrounded by a thick layer fortified walls built in the 10th century, when monks were often attacked by Bedouin raiders. Inside, sprawling palm-tree gardens spread between caramel-hued mud buildings where the monastery’s monks still live. However, the real highlights of a visit here are the murals painted in the 6th century Church of St Anthony. The interior is covered in brightly colored and incredibly well-preserved frescoes of Coptic saints known as some of the best examples of Egyptian Coptic Christian artistry.
For those on a religious pilgrimage, St. Anthony’s Cave lies 270 meters up the rock wall above the monastery. Here the saint spent the last 20 years of his life. Today the cave is accessed by a steep staircase that rolls down the cliff with glorious panoramas of the monastery and the desert below.
Location: 254 kilometers north of Hurghada
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2 St. Paul’s Monastery
St. Paul’s Monastery is much smaller than St. Anthony and honors St. Paul the Hermit, who is believed to be the first monk to take on the Hermetic life. The monastery has been functioning since the 6th century when devotees of St. Paul used to gather here on pilgrimages. Within the thick medieval the western wallneat brick buildings give the monastery a sense of serenity. Three churches are the main points of interest for visitors here: St. Paul’s Church is believed to have been built right over the spot where St. Paul led his ascetic life of solitude.
Location: 241 kilometers north of Hurghada
3 Al-Qusayr
Al-Qusayr is a place apart from the resort-centered cities that dominate the Red Sea region. Once an important port city in the medieval period, Al-Quseir has retained its unique coral-block architecture with narrow circles of alleys rimmed by colorful crumbling buildings that defy Mashrabiya (half-timbered) windows and painted doors. A fort is just behind the old town area, but the real joy of a visit here is just winding through the alleys; viewing the creaking, dilapidated architecture; and enjoying the charming feeling that time somehow forgot about this jewel of a place.
Location: 146 kilometers south of Hurghada
4 Hurghada
Hurghada
Egypt’s oldest center, Hurghada became famous for its proximity to the fantastic dive sites just off the coast. What was a small Bedouin colony has long ago grown into a bustling city that stretches along the coast of the Red Sea. While scuba diving is still central to Hurghada’s fame, it is also Egypt’s premier holiday destination, and thousands of European tourists head here to escape the winter by soaking up the sun with cheap one-week and two-week package deals. to soften.
5 El Gouna
El-Gouna
Just north of Hurghada, El-Gouna plays the role of his aging brother’s little zipper sister on the road. El-Gouna is a fully planned modern resort town focusing on luxury resort and holiday villa complexes. There is a golf course, two marinas and a dozen high-end and mid-range hotels fully equipped to offer water sports and sun-soaked relaxation. El-Gouna is also home to Egypt alone open-air cinema (which plays movies for free) and the Cultivationwhich is connected to Alexandria’s Bibliotheca Alexandrina, and offers a multimedia representation of Egyptian history and access to the vast wealth of ancient manuscripts via the Internet.
Location: 30 kilometers north of Hurghada
Official site: www.elgouna.com
6 Samadai Reef
In a region renowned for its diving, Just like that gained its fame for not only having a beautiful coral wall for divers and snorkelers to explore, but also having a pod of spinner dolphins that are often happy to accompany divers and snorkelers in the water. The pod number around 500 and are sighted in the horseshoe reef on about 70% of trips here. Even if they are not yet on their stay, this reef is full of colorful coral and offers excellent fish life.
7 Wadi al-Gimel
Deep in the southern reaches of the Red Sea Eastern desertof Wadi al-Gimel protectorate is a starkly beautiful landscape that hides the remains of Rome’s emerald mines. The most important archaeological site is here Sikait, which was the settlement for the miners who were sent to extract the precious green stone from the arid mountains. A small temple dedicated to the goddess Isis sits carved into the rock face surrounded by the crumbling remains of simple stone houses. In the area is the downfall of nutrus where the real mine was located, while two small settlements remain (named Apollonia in Gelil) are only a few miles away and once acted as trading stations. For those not so interested in history here, the landscapes are phenomenally beautiful and a trip to this arid desert of scattered acacia trees and looming jagged mountains is as rewarding for the views as it is for the archaeological remains.
Location: 336 kilometers south of Hurghada
8 Marsa Alam
Of Marsa Alam area is Egypt’s southernmost destination, stretching into the isolated south of the country. The coast here is dotted with luxurious all-inclusive resorts, interspersed with a separate campsite for those with a more budget. For travelers looking to holiday here, it’s all about peace, tranquility and diving as this is the closest resort to the famous Egyptian city Fury Shoals dive sites, rated by experienced divers as some of the top dives in the world.
Location: 284 kilometers south of Hurghada
9 Mons Porphyrites
This ancient Roman porphyry mine is an easy day out Hurghada and contains remnants of the mining town where the quarry workers lived as they extracted the purple-hued stone from the rugged mountains of the eastern desert. Highly praised by the Romans, porphyry mining here was used for building works throughout the Roman Empire of Rome. Although not much remains of the once bustling mining town, you can still see the miners’ living areashe workshopsand the temples they built in the midst of the scattered ruins.
Location: 60 kilometers northeast of Hurghada
10 Mount Claudian
Mount Claudian is another Roman mine archaeological site, signifying the importance of the Eastern Desert to the Roman Empire. Here miners extracted granite from the mountainside, which was then used throughout the Roman world. The workers here were all prisoners and the harsh conditions they lived in can still be imagined in the ruins of their living quarters. Mons Claudianus also functioned as one vesting guarding the surrounding desert. The ruins, while dilapidated, are quite substantial.
Location: 65 kilometers southeast of Hurghada
11 Barrameya & Wadi Hammamat
A visit to the rock inscriptions of the eastern desert of Egypt gives an idea of the deep and ancient history of this area. This rugged landscape has been criss-crossed by trade routes throughout history. Wadi Hammamatalong the Qift to Quseir route, en Barrameya Both are littered with evidence of this human history and make great Red Sea excursions for travelers in search of the past. The rock walls here have been used as a canvas by passing travelers from the pharaonic era to the early 20th century with everything from hieroglyphs to animal scenes depicted in abundance.
12 The Desert Breath
This bizarre but beautiful art installation was founded in 1997 by the art group DAST Arteam and is a triumph of both engineering and artistry. At nearly 100,000 square meters, the project’s protruding and incised cones form a spiral that suggests the infinity of the desert. As the natural erosion of the desert takes place, the artwork will slowly disintegrate, although it is still clearly visible almost 20 years after the completion of the project. This attraction is best viewed as a whole from above, but ground visits to this strange and wacky sculptural work (easy to decorate) Hurghada of El-Gouna) are also awesome.
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