Going snorkeling among the coral reefs of the Red Sea

After visiting a lot of ancient temples, tombs, and other monuments, we eventually left Luxor and travelled to Hurghada.

For some time, the road followed the fertile Nile River Valley north, before crossing the barren, but spectacular Eastern Desert.

scenery in the Nile River Valley

scenery in the Nile River Valley

scenery in the Nile River Valley

scenery in the Nile River Valley

scenery in the Nile River Valley

scenery in the Nile River Valley

scenery in the Nile River Valley

street scene

crossing the Eastern Desert

crossing the Eastern Desert

crossing the Eastern Desert

crossing the Eastern Desert

crossing the Eastern Desert

crossing the Eastern Desert

crossing the Eastern Desert

After around four hours, we reached Egypt’s major tourist trap along the coast of the Red Sea: Hurghada. The city formed as a small fishing village in the early 20th century, but developed into a mass tourism destination from the 1980s onwards. Today, the coastline is dotted with huge hotels and lost most of its charm. I expected the worst before coming here and was then rather pleasantly surprised by the city centre with its lively markets and beautiful mosque!

While we spent some time relaxing in the hotel and doing nothing, we also went for two snorkeling and diving trips around the nearby Giftun Islands. The coral reefs around Hurghada have suffered from the impact of mass tourism, but I was still impressed by the beauty of the corals and the abundance of fishes!

After a few days in Hurghada, it was finally time to leave Egypt. Since our plane was going to leave from Cairo, we could visit the monasteries of St. Paul and St. Anthony on the way to the airport.