Friday, October 22, 2010

Egyptian cuisine

Egyptian cuisine relies heavily on vegetable dishes. Though food in Alexandria and the coasts of Egypt tends to use a great deal of fish and other seafood, for the most part Egyptian cuisine is based on foods that grow out of the ground, especially the rich soils of Nile valley. Meat has traditionally been very expensive, and a great deal of vegetarian dishes have developed to work around this absence.

Rice is the core of simple and nutritious Egyptian food. The well done rice is soft and little sticky, really delicious! Rice is usually served with pita bread. Anything that’s possible goes inside pita – fries, salad, meat, beans and more. The best bread can be bought from the street bread sellers or is cooked freshly in a open-air baking oven in some restaurants.

What do Egyptians eat?

Molokhia
a soup or sauce made from leaves of Molokhia plant (similar to spinach). Molokhia is served as a separate dish or with rice and chicken or rabbit.

Shawarma
slices of marinated lamb, stuffed into pita bread and served with tahina and salad.


Tahina
delicious sesame seed sauce is eaten with bread, rice, meat and more.

Kofta
a slightly spiced minced meat sausage.

Fatta
a dish of bread and rice served with meat and soup, sometimes molokhia. In traditions it used to be a celebration dish, but now is eaten commonly.

Pigeon
best when grilled and stuffed with vegetables and rice.

Foul and tamiyya
traditional Egyptian breakfast. Cooked fava beans which are served plain or with tomatoes, onion, spices, egg. To a side bite from tamiyya a deep fried mash of chick peas.

Fatir
Egyptian pancake or pizza which can be eaten with minced meat or sweet with nuts, honey, cream and more.

Basbousa
a semolina with syrup is a sweet cake which is sold in every pastry or bakery in Hurghada.

Money & Banks

In 1899 the banknotes 50 piasters and 1,5, 10, 50 and 100 pound were introduced. Few decades later 5,10 and 25 piasters were added. In 2006, 50 piastre and 1 pound coins were introduced, with the equivalent banknotes to be scrapped later. The coins bear the faces of Cleopatra VII and Tutankhamun.
All Egyptian banknotes are bilingual, with Arabic texts and Eastern Arabic numerals on the obverse and English and Hindu Arabic numerals on the reverse. The size of a note is dependent on its value. The design of Egyptian banknotes tend to feature an Islamic building on one side and Ancient Egyptian building on the other. As of 2007, there are 200 LE notes (livre égyptienne, French for Egyptian pound) circulating in Egypt and subsequently 500 LE notes will start circulating.
Please bare in mind that 50 piaster and 50 pound bank notes can be sometimes "accidentally" mixed up by taxi drivers or in the bazars - therefore read carefully if it is written "piaster" or "pound" on the note before accepting the money.
Money exchange is possible in banks, exchange offices, hotel receptions, latter having usually the least favorable rates. Banks are working usually from Sunday to Thursday (9.00-17.00) and are opened for exchange deals also in evening time. Exchange offices are opened from morning till evening, including Fridays (except mid day prayer time) and Saturdays.
The biggest banks operating in Hurghada are CIB, NSGB, HSBC, Barclays, PNB Paribas, Arab African Bank.
Credit or debit cards are usually accepted only in bigger malls, international chain shops, higher categories of hotels and restaurants. ATMs are available throughout the city and easy to use.
Do not exchange big sums of money once as Egyptian pounds can not be easily changed back to US dollars or Euros neither in banks or exchange offices.

Nightlife

While having a holiday in Hurghada you can be sure that every night is a happening! Our clubs and bars are packed all the week. Hurghada offers relaxing cocktail venues, chill-out lounges, pubs, live music and several dance floors. You can spend time in worldwide famous Ministry of Sound, Head Kandi, Hard Rock café or Little Buddha nightclub.
Usually the night clubs require an entry fee (80-150 LE) or offer special promotions like Ladies night. As well most of the hotels have their own night club or evening programs, details available at your hotel reception.
Ministry of Sounds Papas Beach
One of the biggest and popular nightclub is situated near Marina and Sakkala center. Its beach location makes it wonderful for summer nights to have a drink and dance away with local or international DJs. It is a gathering place for locals and tourists. Program and music styles vary from day to day. Don’t miss the famous White sensation parties.
Head Kandi Beach Bar
Recently opened Beach bar is located in New Hurghada Marina. Pool parties day time and chick nightclub at night. This lounge bar offers good house music, fabulous drinks, food menu and somewhat higher glass crowd. Famous Head Kandi Live and Full Moon party always attract the crowds.
Little Buddha night club
In the beginning of Village road is a part of famous Little Buddha chain from Paris. Offering classy fresh sushi plates and good dance floor with lounge music and visiting DJs from all over the world. Place is somewhat more elegant and sophisticated from rest of Hurghada night club and regulars respect this image. Famous are Little Buddha Ladies nights and Feast parties.
Calypso
Located in Hadaba it’s a famous party place for serious dancing and fun. Freshly renovated atmosphere and commercial music is popular among tourists and locals alike. Legendary Russian shows and dance girls are part of the evening program.
Hard Rock café
No need to explain the concept of Hard Rock café! Typical good food and mood rock pub is situated at the end of Village Road. Restaurant and dance floor offer good combination for you and friends to rock your night away.
Havana club
If your hotel is in the South side of Hurghada or you do not mind 20 minutes drive from the center Havana club is busiest night club on this side of the town. Weekends with regular, internationally renowned DJs. Go for the famous foam parties and dance the night away.
Rancho
Close to Marriott resort between Sakkala and Village Road is a newly opened pub in town with tasty food and friendly saloon- like atmosphere. Rancho creates a warm buzz of celebrating people with great week nights such as Latin Fever Mondays and Live Fridays. Perfect summer sit-out for warm nights.
Star Bar
The favorite get-together for local business community to exchange experience over a glass of fine whisky or wine. Delicious mezzas are popular evening snacks and Marina location is perfect to start up the night before heading to dance clubs.
Papas Bar
Famous for its meters of beers, weekly live rock band and pool competition is a nice hang out in fresh air. If young crowd, Karaoke or Football is your thing, then Papas can easily turn to be your second home. Located in front of Head Kandi Beach bar, in New Marina.
Dutch bar
Small underground location makes this venue almost a secret one. Very popular among locals who like karaoke, live music, salsa-like dance floor and friendly cosy atmosphere. Place is known for its late night or early morning parties. Dutch bar is located near the entrance of Princessa hotel at the end of Village Road.

Excursions & Fun

It is not accidental that Egypt has been one of the most popular tourist destination in world since 19th century. There must be something interesting to see and experience! And luckily for you almost all of it is accessible from Hurghada as well.
In addition to local Islamic culture there are three main categories of sightseeing worth to visit- these are amazing historical sights, relaxing desert and colorful Red Sea. The resort offers also fun entertainment like aqua parks, go-cart, golf, bowling and more.
Before you buy, make sure that you will not be cheated, as not all the offers are supported bt required licenses and insurances. The prize level can therefore vary a lot, but be aware that the saving does not come on safety account.
Cairo
Cairo is not only the capital of Egypt but also a centre of Arab world as well as the biggest city in the continent of Africa. Chaotic, crowded, dusty, hot and extremely noisy, Al-Qahira might leave you with a sort of culture shock at first. Try to blend in, however, and you will find yourself chatting with a jolly spice seller on the bazaar, wandering around in the narrow cooling streets of Coptic neighborhood or witnessing the holy Friday prayer in and outside of the spectacular mosques of the metropolis of Islam.
Guided daily excursions usually take you to the main touristic attractions: Cairo Museum, pyramids and the Sphinx. While all of those are definitely worth checking out for, a bus ride from perfume shop to the pyramids and then to the lunch will hardly give you an impression of real Cairo atmosphere.
Try to get a glimpse of famous Khan El-Khalili open market, where the selection of gold, textile, water pipes, spices and souvenirs is wide and exciting. If you have more time in your hands, make the trip of 2 days. The best places to see include Al-Azhar mosque, the most important one in Islamic world, together with neighboring Al-Azhar park - a favorite hang-out site of local families during off-days. Don’t miss the Citadel of Saladdin, the Hanging Church in Old Cairo, the breathtaking view from Cairo Tower, the islands of Zamalek and Gezira, the modern district of Heliopolis and a felucca ride on River Nile.
Luxor
One of the most-visited sites in Egypt, Luxor, was the Thebes of the ancient Egyptians - the capital of Egypt during the Middle and New Kingdoms. Today the city, divided in two by river Nile, is famous for its well-preserved temples and the nearby Valley of the Kings.
It is a wise choice to choose one of the many tour operators and their guided excursions to visit an ancient capital. Most daily excursions include Valley of the Kings, the Temple of Hatchepsut and Karnak Temple in their programs.
The mortuary temple of Egypt’s only female ruler, Queen Hatshepsut, is a masterpiece of design that has been built into a natural amphitheatre in the cliffs. Even more crowded is the royal necropolis, Valley of the Kings. Tutankhamun's tomb is one everyone wants to visit just to witness the area that contained the treasure now partly on show at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. Many other tombs, however, are even more impressive. Don’t miss the burial ground of Thutmose III in a narrow cut in the bedrock cliffs, high above the floor of the Valley of the Kings. The tomb of Ramesses III holds one of the most beautiful decorations.
By no doubt the most astonishing place to see lies at the northern end of town. Karnak complex of temples is built over a span of about 1,500 years. It is famous for its main Hypostyle Hall with 134 massive columns. Wandering around amidst the imposing ancient ruins, picturing the life between these walls once upon a time, is guaranteed to leave you breathless.
Diving
The Red Sea has some of the best diving in the world and scuba diving is an absolute must-try when vacationing in Hurghada. With around 1200 species of fish and 150 species of coral, plus an average yearly temperature of 20° C, Red Sea is a pleasant place to jump in.
There are plenty of diving centers in all over Hurghada, most of them situated on hotels beaches. Diving courses for all levels are on offer, including specialty courses where internationally recognized licenses are awarded. Beginners become acquainted with the diving equipment either in the hotel pool or head straight to a daily dive trip on a boat. Everybody, kids and adults of all ages, can explore the fascinating underwater world, hand in hand with an experienced instructor. No prior skills are required.
Numerous white boats leave the dock every morning in the direction of the most interesting diving areas that are mostly situated at distances of 50-90 minutes sailing. Two guided underwater diving expeditions are usually programmed during the outing, with a break between for lunch on board.
In addition to stunning coral reefs, a chance of spotting lionfish, scorpion fish, parrotfish, rays, barracudas, seahorses, turtles and even dolphins is rather high.
For advanced divers, night diving, drift diving, wreck diving (e.g The Thistlegorm from the 1940ies, The Salem Express sunk only in 1991), diving safaris and options for underwater photography are available.
Recommended diving centers: http://www.iliosdiveclub.de and http://www.euro-divers.com/
Snorkeling
Another way to get acquainted with the extraordinary underwater life of Red Sea is to observe it from the surface – snorkeling. A mask, a snorkel and a good pair of fins help you to get about and have a good look on what’s going on below. For less experienced or in case of worse sea conditions, a suit and floating vest are useful as well.
Snorkelers can either hop onto a diving boat and splash around in open sea, take a daily trip to one of the small sandy islands not far from the coast (Mahmya, Giftun, Paradise Island) or get soaked right on the hotel beach. The farther you go, naturally, the more diverse marine life you see.
Snorkeling equipment is available for rent and for sale on spot.
Recommended snorkleling trips: http://www.aquamarinecruise.com/  http://www.iliosdiveclub.de and Utopia Island
Safari
Desert safari is an easy way to get a glimpse of Sahara. Most safaris are carried out with jeeps that seat 6-8 persons. Want to get your own hands dirty? Try quads (ATV) for either one or two drivers. An exciting one-hour drive through the Eastern Desert brings you to a traditional Bedouin Camp where you have the opportunity to ride a camel, witness an authentic nomadic lifestyle and gaze upon a spectacular desert sunset. Later on, sitting on embroidered cushions and traditional Arabic carpets in Bedouin tents, a barbeque dinner is served. In some places the dinner is upgraded with oriental show and folkloric songs.
Horseback Riding
Most tourists arriving to Hurghada are interested in not more than a few-hour horse tour in the desert. The magnificent sandy scenery lies just minutes away from busy centre and offers great views in an open space. Desert tours include sunrise/sunset trips and suit to all levels. In most stables the selection starts from Arabian stallions and ends with ponies or even camels, donkeys. Rides are accompanied with experienced grooms.
Recommended Horse or Camel safari: Sea Horse Club
Aqua parks
Hurghada offers 2 big aquatic parks - Titanic and Sindbad aqua parks. Here you will find assortment of water rides and slides, pools, sun bed areas and snack bars. Hurghada's aqua parks are suitable for infants and adults with different categories of slides and pools. Pools are heated in the winter period.
Full day, half day and discount tickets are available with tour operators or at the gate.
Glass bottom boats
Last but not least, there is a possibility to observe the underwater world without getting wet at all. Several times a day, glass bottom boats leave from Hurghada on a few-hour trips. Larger, submarine-like boats also hold a sun deck and restrooms on board. Orca boat provides lunch and oriental shows as part of the program as well. For more information, see your travel agent, hotels beach or Hurghada’s New Marina.
Oriental night
Don’t feed bad if lazy beach holiday has changed your perfect figure, because real bellydancer in Egypt must have something to shake. You will find a dancer in every bigger hotel or night club, but not all of the girls performing are Egyptian origin. If you want to join the stage, learn beforehand the basic moves from beach animators or belly dance classes available in the city.
Not only women have show talent in Arab world and actually you will find more local men than women on dance floors. One must-see thing in Egypt is Tanoura show - boys as young as 4 years old up to grown up men wearing colorful skirts and spinning elegantly for several minutes.
Egyptian nights include also cobra shows, horse shows and dancing fountains. Choose your favorite and buy a ticket!

When to go

Egypt has two main seasons - soft winter from November till April and hot summer from May till October. It is easy to figure out why tourist head here all around the year - the sea tempretature does not get much lower than 20°C and sky over Hurghada is 90% of the days full of sunshine.
The best climate is still considered to be the time between two seasons- from April till July and September till November. The mid day temperature in June-July is affordable only for beach holidays, cause thermometers can show up to 45°C in shade.
Winter season is more suitable for sightseeing and wind surfing, but sun seekers catch the desired color even so. Winter evenings can still be surprisingly chilly and a light jacket should be packed along.
When travelling in high season (September-May) or local holiday time it is almost impossible to find a hotel room without prior booking. See our Hurghada hotels page for online reservations.

Around Hurghada

El Gouna
Titled as Venice of Africa, El Gouna was a project of few private villas located on the seashore approximately 20 km from Hurghada airport to North. By now it has grown to be a private city with hotels, private marina, airport, school, hospital and entertainment facilities. El Gouna, with its 10 000 residents, is favorite weekend escape for high class Egyptians and wealthy Europeans. El Gouna is famous for its golf courses and kite surfing, but corals lovers have to travel far from the sandy coasts.

Sahl Hasheesh
It is the new rising 5 star resort 20 km from Hurghada southwards. The area is described best by quiet, natural and clean environment already with few ultra five stars resorts opened and many yet to come. The coast of Sahl Hasheesh is considered one of the most beautiful, not yet polluted region nearby Hurghada city and therefore also an attraction for high street real estate developers.

Makadi Bay and Soma Bay
Those are areas of fine resorts surrounded by the beautiful coast of Red Sea and desert mountains. Area between Safaga and Hurghada approximately 30 km from Hurghada airport to south, with green hotel territories is suitable for family vacations or tourists seeking for relaxation out of the real world.

Safaga
Besides tourism, Red Sea area is also famous for its natural resources. Especially the town of Safaga, around 60 km from Hurghada - a port city for ferries from Saudi Arabia and important mining region for natural gas, oil, gold and many other minerals

About Hurghada

Over the last ten years the citizens of Hurghada have seen an amazing development. From desert sand has risen a town with more than 200 hotels, booming shopping promenades and vibrant nightlife. With ever growing number of tourist and perfect climate, this Red Sea Riviera has no off season. Hurghada has a special community where local habits and culture is presented next to resort lifestyle and behavior.
But the biggest beauty of Hurghada starts where coast ends – blue Red Sea is the reason why your dreams will stay with us. If it takes place in or on the water you can do it here: windsurfing, sailing, deep-sea fishing, swimming, but 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.

Tourism in Hurghada
The first hotel built in the region was Sheraton hotel on Felfela road. The main development period in tourism industry started in the 1990s and is still under process. The total number of hotels has reached today 200, including modest 2 stars accommodations and huge luxury properties on the other side.
The number of tourist arrived to Red Sea in year 2008 reaches almost 2 million. More what busiest season is considered to be from September till November and March till May. Hurghada is the biggest resort in Red Sea and cheaper than the main competitor Sharm el Sheikh on Sinai.

People of Hurghada
Today the official population of Hurghada is more than 180 000, with mainly hiring in tourism sector, but also in industries like mining, fishing, construction. Many foreigners who have visited Hurghada over past years never left. Mostly working in diving, guiding, real estate and nightlife business remarkable communities of Russians, Germans, Eastern Europeans, British have developed. A part of the population growth also comes from women who have married local men and now raising the new multicultural generations of the city.
The city of Hurghada is divided into three areas- Sheraton Road, El Dahar and the Promenade.

Sheraton Road (El Sakala)
Sheraton road or El Sakala center is the main tourist street in town. It is the busiest street in town with numerous bazaars, coffee shops, supermarkets, pharmacies, banks, restaurants and night clubs. You will find many hotels on the sea side of Sakala. Across the street are situated apartments for locals and foreigners living here (especially Hadaba). Sakala square is located in the one end of the main street. Here you will find many fish restaurants and local eateries. From the beginning of Sakala in a walking distance you will find an El Arousa square – a bride or mermaid standing in the middle of the road. The street to the sea side will lead you to Hurghada Marina – the new city promenade by the marina with luxury yachts and apartments surrounded by old fisherman households. Opened in 2008, one will find in Marina many shops (incl. some high street brands), fabulous bars, fine dining restaurants, nightclubs or just nice walking area for warm summer nights.

The Promenade (Village Road)
The second famous touristic area is called Village road (El Memsha in Arabic). More than 5 km long promenade with wide and clean walking area, mainly 4 stars hotels, famous nightclubs, restaurants with international cuisine, some mall-type shopping centers and uncountable number of shops. For a first acquaintance with Hurghada, Village road is more peaceful and less harassment for tourist than one will experience in Sakala area, but therfore as well reflects much less local culture and lifestyle than any other parts of the town. Famous spots in Village road include Esplanada Mall, Kottas mall, Duty free shop, Little Buddha nightclub and Hard Rock café.

El Dahar
And then there is left El Dahar. Dahar is home for most of the locals living in the area, but as well for number of hotels, city council, aquarium, library, biggest mosques and food market. In Dahar one will find touristic and not so touristic areas, although until now, most of the areas are safe enough to sneak around and discover the other face of Hurghada. If interested in shopping, Dahar offers you streets full of bazaars and good bargains.