Spot Red Sea - Travel Guide

Living with back pain? Now you can get help in Hurghada!

2011-11-06T06:09:00.000-08:00

Now in the Beauty and Wellness Oasis there is a professionally trained physiotherapist.

Call: 012 2 255 8095 to make your appointment.

The Beauty and Wellness Oasis is owned and managed for the last 11 years by Heidi and is located in the Grand Mall and Siva Hotel. Steffi worked here for 10 months, then came back last week to the salon in Grand Mall. She is a professionally trained physiotherapist specializing in back pain relief.

Steffi first sits with you and takes a history, discusses your injuries, how you are handling them up until now and assesses your pain level. She then does a thorough exam of your injuries, takes you through a pain-free massage and tests your spine to understand the injuries. As well as working out some knots, she also suggests excerices and helps you with a longterm plan to be healthy again.

So, Hurghadians ... make the 1st step to be back pain free, and call Steffi at the Beauty and Wellness Oasis in Grand Mall for your 1st assesment and a road to a healthy back!

Stephanie Herdtfelder is a professional physiotherapist and she works in the Beauty and Wellness Oasis located in Grand Mall Hurghada.

Steffi is qualified in Germany with special courses for back therapy and massage. She will assess your pain, set you on a course for recovery and work with you every week to obtain relief from pain.

Ice Skating Show in Hurghada

2011-08-14T06:01:00.001-07:00

Cool down on a hot summer evening and come watch a European Junior Champion Ice Skater this Thursday, August 18th, 8 pm at Ali Baba Palace Hotel.

Free Entrance to the show. 20% discount if you want to skate after the show.

Click image to view 360 panoramic image of Martina warming up at Ali Baba rink. Image by 360 Images.

Martina Scoccimarro won 2nd place this past winter, Feb 2011 in the European Criterium Figure Skating Competition. Martina is 14 years old, and lives in Milan. She has been skating since she was 7 and visiting Hurghada since she was 2 - she loves coming here and now that there is a rink, she can enjoy both the sea and the ice!

The show will start at 8pm, don't be late as it will only last for about 15 minutes. Martina will perform 3 different songs and then the rink will be open for anyone who wants to skate.

Organized by SpotRedSea.com, 360-Images.com & Ali Baba Hotel.

sponsored by:
Red Sea Bulletin

Ali Baba Hotel, Hurghada
The Ice Skating Rink and Bowling lanes can be found to the left of the reception as you enter the hotel.
For info contact:
Hazem Hosny the hotel entertainment manager on 010 76 72 742.
or
Chris Cyr - Spot Red Sea:
tel: 0125048860
email: news@spotredsea.com
Facebook: spotredsea

Martina Scoccimarro, European Junior Champion Ice Skater warming up for this Thursday, August 18th, 8 pm at Ali Baba Palace Hotel, Hurghada.

Child Abduction Warning

2011-08-14T06:01:00.000-07:00

By Suz Richards-Benson

Citizen Journalist for SpotRedSea.com and a twenty-something woman living the fast paced life of Egypt. Having been here for over 5 years now, she has witnessed a country change internally, and in the process changed herself.

Meet Soraya. This is one of the last photos her mother has received after Soraya's father allegedly kidnapped her on May 10, 2011.

Soraya's mother, Peggy Dierich, tells the story of her daughter's kidnapping and the years that led up to this tumultuous event in her life.

Peggy first met Soraya's father, Mahmood Gaber, online in 2008. Their Internet communications grew into a romance, and Peggy agreed that it was time her and Mahmood meet in person. In 2009, Peggy left Germany and headed for Alexandria, Egypt, where she was to meet Mahmood for the first time and spend two weeks with him.

For many women living in Egypt, particularly those who live in touristic areas such as Hurghada and Sharm el-Sheikh, what transpired next is not an altogether unusual story.

Peggy and Mahmood found themselves caught up in a whirlwind romance, and what was eventually meant to be a two week stay became a one-year period. During this time, Peggy got pregnant.

The details surrounding what happened next are a little hazy, Peggy was quoted as saying that she left because "it was not safe for an unmarried woman to be pregnant in Alexandria," whereas other sources claim the reason she left was that Mahmood was conscripted into the Army. Although the details as to why she left do matter, they are inconsequential to the grand scale of the story at hand here.

After leaving Egypt and returning to her home country Germany, Peggy gave birth to a daughter, Soraya, in January of 2010. Being born to a German parent ensured that Soraya was automatically a German citizen. Initially Mahmood expressed no interest in being a father.

Read more here >>> http://egyptunbound.blogspot.com/2011/08/child-abduction-warning.html

Let's Clean the Red Sea - by Abu Salama and the National Parks

2011-05-23T02:15:00.000-07:00

Calling all divers, snorkelers and anyone who wants to help make the Red Sea more beautiful – join with Abu Salama and the National Parks and LET’S CLEAN THE RED SEA!

The Abu Salama Society & the National Parks of Egypt began Level 2 of their Offshore Area clean up programme on Friday 13 at the Regina Hotel Marina. Meeting at Aquanaut Diving Centre, who provided tanks and weights, a team of 17 divers and 4 snorkellers spent the day cleaning the underwater areas of the marina, lagoon and home reef. Says Ahmed Mustafa of the National Parks, ‘There was a huge amount of garbage collected there, particularly under the boat moorings! We are returning on the 20 May to finish the job before we move on to the next location but WE NEED MORE PEOPLE!. This is a huge job which will take many months of hard work!’

Surprises of the day were the discovery of several young moray eels and a family of clown fish.

Lunch and refreshments were provided for the workers by the Regina Hotel and everyone had a fantastic day!

If you would like to get involved with LET’S CLEAN THE RED SEA or would like more information on the activities of Abu Salama Society please contact Abu Salama:

Tel: 0121727263
Email: info@abusalama.org,
Facebook : Abu Salama Society
Website: www.abusalama.org

Selma Marindin
Abu Salama Society

Sign the petition and save Ras Mohammed National Park

2011-05-18T00:53:00.000-07:00

CDWS press statement:
for immediate release 18 May 2011

CDWS call to stop fishing in the Ras Mohammed National Park
CDWS has called on the Minister of Tourism and Minister of State for the Environment to take immediate action following the South Sinai Governor's decision to give the green light to commercial fishing in one of the most famous marine nature reserves in the world. The decision to allow commercial fishing in the Ras Mohammed National Park has sparked fury among the dive community, particularly as overfishing was cited as one of the factors that led to the unprecedented shark attacks in Sharm el Sheikh last year.

Sites within the National Park, such as Shark Reef, feature on the world's best dive lists time and again, attracting many millions of visiting divers. Divers say the decision will not only damage the eco system long term but also the tourism industry in the Red Sea resort as a whole.

A petition has been started online by the diving community: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/2/stop-fishing-in-ras-mohammed-national-park

Photo by 360-images.com

The South Sinai Governor Mohamed Abdel Fadeel Shousha is reported to have given the go ahead for fishing by hook and line during the month of June within the national park - the start of the spawning season for emperorfish.
Until now, any method of fishing within the Ras Mohammed National Park at any time of the year has been illegal. Net fishing has been banned throughout the Red Sea, from May to September, specifically to prevent any impact on the spawning season.
CDWS chairman Hesham Gabr has personally written to the Minister of Tourism calling the decision an 'environmental disaster' which would have 'serious economic implications' for the tourism industry.

In response to recommendations by CDWS, the Minister of Tourism has approved an action plan to stop the illegal fishing while providing funds - more than 400,000 Egyptian Pounds - for capacity building, training and poverty alleviation for the Bedouin fishermen and their families. In return, they will refrain from fishing in Ras Mohammed and the latest South Sinai Governorate Decree would be revoked.

Last year, CDWS launched its Capture the Catcher campaign to help stamp out illegal fishing by encouraging water users in the Red Sea to photograph evidence of any incidents. The Red Sea is one of the few places on the planet where shark fishing has been made illegal, with other species receiving protection in a significant number of productive coral reef marine zones. However, there was increasing evidence to suggest fishing activity continued in these areas and CDWS wanted visitors to name and shame the catchers.

International shark experts said illegal fishing was certainly a contributing factor in the shark attacks last year, in which four swimmers were hurt and one killed. At the time, the South Sinai Governor's office said it would work towards fighting illegal fishing activity and issued a decree. Decree Number Four issued in January states that all kinds of fishing activities - for sport fishing and/or tourist trips (Egyptian or foreigners) - are prohibited by law in South Sinai, regardless of location or method of fishing, since it depletes the marine natural resources.

Both the Decree Number Four for the year 2011, issued by the Governor of South Sinai, and a letter from the South Sinai National Park, declare the entire coast of the Gulf of Aqaba as a natural reserve, including the coastline of the cities of Dahab and Nuweiba up to Taba.
CDWS environment department underlined the extent of the damage caused if such fishing activity was not stopped immediately.
It said:
'This heavy fishing pressure in a Marine Protected Area directly effects coral reef sustainability through a wide range of direct and indirect mechanisms. These would in turn affect the diving tourism in Egypt. The most widely reported direct effects are dramatic reductions in abundance and mean population length of fish as well as marked decrease in recruitment and reproductive output. Heavy fishing also causes extensive
physical damage to reef habitats, marked effects upon the coral reef community structure, dramatic changes in food webs and disturbed predator-prey relationships. As simply stated by G. Burgess, shark attack specialist from the Florida Museum of Natural History that the reduction in natural prey abundance for sharks, such as tunas, snappers, emperors, and other large fish, by overfishing may be contributing to an increasingly hungry group of sharks that may be forced to take greater risks and expand their natural prey selection. He also recommended that the enforcement of existing fishers laws should be vigorously implemented to curb the overfishing that is occurring in the area.'

-ends- Editors notes:
*In December 2008 the CDWS, together with SSDM and HEPCA, organised the first-ever conference to discuss the issue of illegal fishing, bringing together the Governor of South Sinai, the Minister of Tourism, the Minister of Agriculture, Egyptian Fisheries Agency, the Deputy Minister of the Environment, the head of South Sinai Parks, Fisherman Association and the Oceanographic Institute. However, there is still no significant changes to the law to deal with illegal fishing.
** Legal considerations - Legalising the illegal fishing activity breaks several national legislations. - Legalising the illegal activity contradicts with several regional and international conventions and agreements that Egypt has ratified.
*** Ras Mohammed National Park is a site included on the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative Lists:
http:// whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/1636/

For further information please contact:
Laura Coppa by email on laura.coppa@cdws.travel or Mary Gleeson on mary.gleeson@cdws.travel

----------------------------------------------------
Further reading:
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/64/12349/Egypt/Politics-/Fishing-in-Ras-Mohamed-National-Park-creates-more-.aspx

http://www.almasryalyoum.com/en/node/438224

HEPCA:
http://us1.campaign-archive2.com/?u=96f527b0a31776324930823d5&id=ee01b42bd3

White Desert Clean up 2011

2011-05-16T03:11:00.000-07:00

All photos except the last 2 were taken by Vanessa.

Every year, Badawiya Expedition, a company created by Saad Ali with his brothers, Bedouins born in Farafra oasis, organizes a Clean up in the White Desert.

White Desert is surely one of the wonder of Egypt, tough it is no as famous as Pyramids, temples and Red Sea underwater, it attracts several tourist every year. It is a magic place where you can feel the contact with the nature and with your inner self.
Since 2002, the White Desert is declared a protected area and is called The White Desert National Park, which has a surface of 3,981 square kilometers. At the first look, it seems to enter in a museum full of different white statues lied on a gold carpet of sand: they are chalk formations (generally called “mushrooms”) remained of the microscopic marine animals deposited there over 80,000 000 years ago, when the region was under water. When they emerged, the deposits were gradually eroded, carved and sculpted for millions years by the wind giving different shapes sometimes resemble mysterious animals, camels, hawks, chickens, sphinxes, human faces and a wide range of other shapes.

I joined the clean up for the second time. Our trip began in Cairo where all the participants met and took the minibus: this year, only 21 people attended. Some of the participants came from Europe (Germany, Czech Republic, Switzerland and UK) especially for this event; some others were Egyptians or foreigners residents in Egypt.
It takes nearly 8 hours and 500 km, passing trough the Black Desert and Bahariya oasis, to arrive at the entrance of the White Desert, located 30 km north of Farafra oasis. There, we let the minibus and we took the 4x4 cars to reach the camp.
In one hour, we arrived to the camp surrounded by some “mushrooms”: small tents were available for the participants, a big white Bedouin tent for those wanted only store their things and then sleep outside. The camp had also portable shower and toilet cabins.

There was as well a central Bedouin tent, made with carpets and wooden structure, where the Bedouins cooked for the group breakfast and dinner; and where we used to seat for the meals and to socialize with the people.
Beside this tent, there was a campfire, a suggestive meeting point to spend the evening chatting or listening to the music played by the Bedouins with the special instruments.
The first night was so windy and cloudy that suddenly sandstorm and rain together came. It was so weird and special… it has been a bit difficult to sleep that night with such wind and rain being alone in my little tent.
The sun rays woke up us quite early and our first day of cleaning started, after a rich Egyptian breakfast with foul, eggs, cheese, tomatoes and bread. With the 4x4 cars, we went to Ain El Maqfi, one of the three main springs of the White Desert, where tourists use to stop enjoying the luxuriant vegetation and the palm trees’ shade. There, some of us cleaned the surrounding area: we found plastic bags, bottles, loads of toilet paper, cans, etc. Some others cleaned the well of the spring and built a new bath to let the water run.

Around 1 pm, the drivers of the 4x4 with our help prepared the lunch, with salad, cucumber, tomatoes tuna and onions. After lunch, we took rest until 3 pm before start again our cleaning job. In the late afternoon, we went back to the camp we were “fighting” to take shower first, taking advantage of the water still hot from the sun taken during the day.
The sunset in the White Desert is amazing… The white rocks change their color to pink and then to purple as the light is changing until they become dark silhouettes…. And if the moon shines they appear like icebergs in the dark. The sky is full of millions of stars and you can lose yourself watching them.
We spent the second and third day cleaning another spring, Ain el Khadra and its surroundings. The well of Ain El Khadra was blocked and the water was not coming up. The Bedouins put all their efforts to make the water run again, while we were collecting the rubbish around and cutting the palm trees to do a pergola in the oasis. The lunch-break has been like the day before, but with the addition of a delicious lentil soup cooked by one of the driver on the fire.
The fourth day, after a short stop to clean the area of Ain El Santa, the third spring, we went to the area of Wadis (Arabic word meaning valley): this is a sandy area with lot of greenery and palm trees around, due to the presence of the water in the surroundings. Here, until 6 years ago, they cultivated watermelons using steel wires. After they stopped the cultivation, the wires have been left there and stayed hidden in the sand, causing the death of several animals that got wounded by them.
Our job there was pulling out the wires and collecting them. It was sometimes difficult to pull them out and it was a great satisfaction when you could do it by yourself.
The fifth day was the hardest we had because it was really hot and because we tried to work hardly being our last day of cleaning. We firstly went again to the Wadis and we collected several wires more. We had a short lunch-break in a little oasis and then we took a long trip by 4x4 cars in the White Desert, passing the part called Old Desert and the part called Western Desert. The panorama was amazing and everybody took several pictures.
The landscape looked so beautiful with the huge white rocks surrounded by the gold sand…
We moved to another area of the desert, near by the main road going to Farafra. And we cleaned that area as well: it easy to find there bottles and plastic thrown by the cars!

We went back to the camp and to finish our day we cleaned the surroundings of the camp.
We spent our last night in the camp, around the fireplace, enjoying the music under the stars light with the company for the last time of the little fox that, during our stay, nearly every night and day was coming to visit us looking for some food. What a cute animal… I loved to see it near our tents waiting for some biscuits or even taking the food from the hands of someone of us. It wasn’t scared of us and I thought this was amazing.

The Clean up trip arrived to its end…and we went back to Cairo.
This year, of course, we collected less rubbish, not only because we were less people. The main reasons are two, one positive and one negative. First, the guides taking tourists to the Desert started educated them to protect the environment and do not leave rubbish around. Second, the right season to visit the Desert is the winter and this year, due to the Revolution, more than 3 months have been without visitors.

The Clean up has been such impressive experience: beautiful places to see, nice people to meet, magic moments, deep feelings… It has been very good to be far from the daily routine for a while, far from the noises of the town, from the technology … A trip in the White Desert is surely a soul’s trip…
I’m already counting the days to next year Clean up!!!!

Photo by 360-images.com

Photo by 360-images.com

The protest against the Dolphinarium Makadi Bay on May 8,2011

2011-05-16T01:47:00.000-07:00

On May 8th, a small group of local Hurghada residents decided to make a peaceful protest outside the entrance to the Dolphinarium in Makadi Bay.

As they arrived they found 40 employees of the Dolphinarium waiting for them. The employees blocked the entrance, temporarily closed the Dolphinarium and treated the protesters in a rude way.

Read the full account by Cici here:

On arrival at the Dolphinarium a group of about 40 employees expected us, all of them were standing in one line front of the Dolphinarium. The entrances were blocked and on that day the responsible person closed the the dolphinarium.

Unfortunately, due to the short duration of this appointment is not present many participants, but it was enough and was a good start.

We have also received some treatments in different ways.
First tried a German young woman to bring us from our protest in which they threatened us so that we never, throughout our lives, were expected to visit this Dolphinarium (including parking), even not for therapy. I wondered whether I needed therapy or possibly the animals in the Dolphinarium?. I thanked her and when she realized that this probably had no effect on our planned protest, she said that this only one demonstration is permitted. Welcome to democracy! And this by a German!

She also told us that we had false information, because it would not be the fault of the Dolphinarium, that the first dolphin died already after very short time, this dolphin has died because of the high stress in the airport.

Undeterred, we went to our location on the edge of the road. On the way there we were attacked in the form of pushing, shoving, insults and threat of shock (an inflated bodybuilder hit an Egyptian diver). In order to bring an Egyptian from the concept, one needs only to call his mother a bitch. That was not the only one.
The Europeans then heard [very rude words], etc.
The level was very low!

We were tried to shield by a shuttle van from the transfer company Royal Dreams. An employee of the Dolphinarium took his car and drove to our small protest group.

As I said, for a 1st Protest was the huge uproar, yelling and threatening dolphinarium-employees and -partners.

Read more>>
http://www.marineconnection.org/news/general/captivity_Makadi_Bay_dolphin_death.htm

Happy preschool is NOT Happy!

2011-05-12T13:05:00.000-07:00

In HEPCA's April Newsletter they call Happy Preschool the disappointment of the month for their school visit to the dolphinarium. The owner of Happy Preschool had the following to say:

"Hepca is entitled to their opinion like any other private entity. But to single us out among other schools present at the same event, shows the haphazard direction one would take to drive their “political” message to the masses. Being an individual of sound reasoning and critical thinking, I do not choose to “boycott” or "not boycott" a particular organization simply because another entity suggests it. Through our own research, we have discovered that the dolphinarium we visited meets “international standards” in the care and welfare of the sea mammals; such as the size and depth of the pool, the diet, and credentials of the vet and trainers. We were assured that the dolphins were not “captured and slaughtered” in this particular location. They were born to captives and transferred from another “dolphinarium”. This was enough to satisfy our parents, who visit zoos, aquariums, circuses and other places where animals are held “captive”. As educators we should offer the “pros” and “cons” and leave the final decision to the parents.

To insinuate that Happy’s is not at the forefront of educating our students on the environment is another matter. One of our parents created a very nice animation on pollution and how it affects the Red Sea. From our understanding it was offered to Hepca to distribute to students and schools in the Hurghada area, which was rejected. We have shown this animation to our students to give them a better understanding of how poor habits can affect the sea life in Hurghada and around the world. We also visited the Blue Moons Animal center, where our students learned how to care for domesticated animals. Our school also voluntarily picked up rubbish around the city of Hurghada, areas that Hepca’s employees obviously “missed” as they have taken on the responsibility of waste collection. This was done in coordination with other social organizations along with Hepca themselves. And last but not least, several of the students that attended the recently sponsored “Kids Go Green” are also from Happy’s.

While we may agree to disagree on whether visiting animals in “captivity” has positive or negative effects on the environment. To suggest that we are not at the forefront of educating our students on the environment is another matter all together. While Hepca proposes using paper bags instead of plastic ones, to protect sea life. We go a step further and suggest using “recycled” bags, to protect our trees as well!

Happy’s Administration"

Ref: http://us1.campaign-archive1.com/?u=96f527b0a31776324930823d5&id=749b53b2f7&e=272f0d2d34

Citizen Journalist; Mohamed Tomoum

2011-05-02T10:32:00.000-07:00

Mohamed has lived in Hurghada almost his entire life and is a strong advocator for a new Egypt and a clean environment.

What is this poster? We asked someone to translate for us...

2011-05-02T10:07:00.001-07:00

We passed 2 posters on our way around town in Hurghada, 1 in front of Zabargad Mall and the other in Mohamady Hwaidak Square. It translates to say:

(ONE of us...For Egyptian presidency)
His name is Hamdein Sabahy .
The appointment will be on Wednesday 4 May, 2011, in zabargad mall in front la perla hotel 8:00 pm
"Hurghada's support after 25 January"

Thanks Mohamed, for the translation.

Demonstration May 2nd in afternoon in Hurghada

2011-05-02T09:43:00.000-07:00

Our photographer; Ivan, passed by the parking area in front of Abu Ashara close to Sheraton Road to see why there were masses of people standing around. It appears, some people are demonstrating against illegal workers. They want all people who are working here, to have legal visa's and permission to work.

Translation of the banner the demonstrators are holding:
"Tourist police+Passport control+labor office+The illegal worker are all one hand .. "

According to our Citizen Journalist; Mohamed Tomoum:
"but as u can see they are making fun because they are saying that, the illegal worker are all one hand so it means that they are making fun of our [Egyptian] government"

Birth Announcement: Welcome Amina

2011-05-02T09:30:00.000-07:00

Born exactly on her expected date, Amina Ahmed Abaza met her mother Yasmine and father Ahmed on 26th of April 2011. Delvered by Dr. Akef at the Nile Hospital, she came into the world weighing 3.4 kg.

Parents are happy and resting and getting to know Amina :) Mabrouk!

Tennis Olympics & Mini Tennis Tournament May 20, 2011

2011-05-02T03:55:00.000-07:00

Tennis Olympics & Mini Tennis Tournament. @ Hurghada Marriott on 20th May, 2011 starting at 16:00.
Williams Tennis Service is hosting their annual Tennis Olympics & Mini Tennis Tournament. Become a sponsor and support local sports!

Contact us to have your company seen court side on a banner as well as via our online media sponsors. Your company will be seen by over 25, 000 viewers online, as well as by the entire audience at the tournament.

Hurghada, 18 April 2011
Tennis Olympics & Mini Tennis Tournament 20th May 2011 16:00 – 19:00

Dear prospective sponsor,

Kids Play Tennis is pure fun for kids, but we’re offering it to help children start healthy habits early, develop physical skills and personal confidence, to attract young players and their parents to a lifetime sport they can play together and to keep families active.

Each year at the end of the tennis season for Kids Play Tennis we organize Tennis Olympics. This year we are planning Tennis Olympics and as mini tennis tournament for the closing of this season.

As we would like to make it a joyful day for all kids and provide each kid with a trophy or a medal we are looking for companies to contribute to make this possible. Please consider a gold (L.E.1,000) or silver (L.E.500) sponsorship of the Kids Play Tennis, Tennis Olympics and mini tennis tournament.

As a gold medal sponsor of this Kids Play Tennis event, your company will be entitled to place a banner on the court (size 1 by 2m). As a silver medal sponsor your company’s name and/or logo will be advertised on the event on-court banner. All sponsors will have links to your companies websites or Facebook pages from within our media sponsors SpotRedSea.com website and e-newsletter circulation. Seen by over 8000 people per month and read by over 20,000 subscribers. Your company will receive special recognition at the closing awards ceremony of Kids Play Tennis.

If you are interested in sponsoring this event please contact us by calling one of the numbers listed below. To be able to prepare for the event the deadline for sponsoring is 10th May 2011.

Thank you very much for considering this opportunity.

Sincerely,
Williams Tennis Service
Tel. : +20 182 29 02 06 or +22 183 43 24 20

Workers demonstration in Hurghada... almost

2011-05-02T02:36:00.000-07:00

Ahmed Adly
Having practically grown up in Hurghada, Ahmed moved here from Australia 20 years ago. He is a Dive Professional, and is a keen and interested resident of Hurghada!

Citizen Journalist Ahmed Adly reporting from Kafficho Coffee in Hurghada on Sunday May 1st, 2011:
"I managed to get a prime seat for the demonstration." So far there are about 10 people standing around in the middle of the parking area in front of Abu Ashara and Kafficho Coffee.
"I would say there are far more police here, so far, than workers, I guess the workers thought it would be "too much work" to have to stand there and demonstrate :)"

After about 20 minutes of waiting, I decided to move tables, as it became boring.
The issue, it seems, is that the worker's union would like to have a minimum wage of 1200LE, as well as other demands.

It appears that the demonstration in Cairo was more successful, as usual, in Hurghada, the people are calm... maybe it is the sea air...
Read more here: http://www.almasryalyoum.com/en/node/420064

"Let's make Hurghada a better place"

2011-05-01T07:53:00.000-07:00

By Tarek El Gammal, Citizen Journalist
Otherwise known as Tako, living in Hurghada since 2010. Originally from Cairo. Owner of Hurghada's 1st all Natural Food Store; Nature's Gift.

Hey everyone
I'd like to thank you all for your willingness to take part in making Hurghada a better place.
Our goal is to have a whole community like yourselves, if we achieve this ... we will definitely live in a better world.

The following is a quick overview of the main points of our first meeting which took place on April 20th 2011

What this group is about:
* What unites us is a common belief "I can change the world I live in, to become a better place"
* We all know that criticism, judgment, and pessimism will never lead to positive change
* The only way for change is optimism, acceptance, love, and compassion
* Change starts by changing one's self
* We decided to move to this town, hence we have to respect the culture of the people living here
* There is no point in trying to change Hurghada to become like our own home town, because it will never be and that is what makes it special
* Find peaceful and effective solutions for the issues that are affecting Hurghada negatively

Our Guide lines
* This group has no leader, it's a group of people driven a common belief
* This group receives no funding from anyone, and doesn't give any financial support
* No idea is a better idea, so please respect other members ideas and opinions and try to add to them instead of bringing them down
* We are not here to judge, complain or criticize .... we are here to accept, understand the find a peaceful solution
* reaching our goals should never cause any harm or misery to someone else
* This is not a political group and will not be one
* And finally if you don't feel comfortable with the groups values please don't join us, and just find a group that you can peacefully fit in

Quick summary of the meeting's outcome
* We all agreed that there is a lot of room for positive, and creative improvement to the situations in Hurghada
* We need to understand the root or the cause of the issue to be able to deal with it in the right manner
* "Harassment" was the issue we agreed to start working on at this point of time
* We will develop a questionnaire to help us understand the cause of this problem ( I will work on this ... as no one else volunteered and if anyone is ready to help me, please let me know)
* Each member of the group will receive the questionnaire, so they can start gathering information from the selected target group
* We will collect the data, analyze it, and start working on solutions during our next meeting (Date to be decided)
* The only reason for you to join this group is the feeling that we can make Hurghada a better place .... if you don't believe in this or have any other intentions, then participating in the group will be a waste of your time and the groups time; so let's try to avoid that.

I'd like to thank you all again for your time, and your positive input during our last meeting

Regards,
Tarek El-Gammal
For more information contact Tarek el-Gammal on 0100786565.

Photo credits:
http://www.thedailynewsegypt.com/women-only-taxis-hit-cairo-streets.html
http://newshopper.sulekha.com/egypt-defending-against-harassment_photo_664045.htm
http://taylorempireairways.com/tag/humanities/

A great day was had by all …

2011-05-01T04:15:00.000-07:00

I Dive, DNA Experience and TEC Deep organised their Dive for Earth Cleanup on 26 April at Makadi Bay on the Egyptian Red Sea coast.
A group of enthusiastic divers set off from the beach to make another unforgettable day for all involved. There was a large amount of rubbish collected, including some unusual items.
We are hoping these events will bring greater awareness to the local community and visitors, too, that it is of prime importance to sustain the precious coral reef ecosystems for the future. We will be planning more events throughout the year so watch this space …
Volunteers were presented with Certificates of Participation for their efforts and AWARE Specialty Certifications were awarded for those who followed a full programme including a detailed theory presentation.

Jessica McGarty
DNA Experience
Hurghada - Red Sea - EGYPT
Email: info@dna-experience.com
Web: www.dna-experience.com

Divino apertivo and live music with Holly & Steve

2011-04-27T06:41:00.001-07:00

This Saturday meet friends and enjoy an "apertivo Italian style" while enjoying live music!
Get the "Holly & Steve Experience: 1st hand in Divino Wine Bar & Restaurant.

Great food, great drinks, great music... great time @ Divino!

Join their group on facebook.

Steigenberger al dau dive club managed by ILIOS - Clean Up

2011-04-25T07:00:00.000-07:00

22. April 2011
Earth day

It was American students in Washington who started the earth day on the 22nd of April 1970. Since than more and more countries and organizations are participating every year in this event.
On the 25th anniversary in 1995 it were already 150 countries of the world joining.

Our environment and especially the Red Sea are an important aspect in Hurghada. This fore we celebrated the earth day 2011 together with our staff guests and everybody who wanted to join. It was a great success, 23 guests and 10 Staff members (Instructors & boats crew) cleaned up together on Magawish Island.

On our daily diving yachts we always tell our clients instead of being angry about garbage under water it is better to bring it to the surface and throw it in the dustbin. However for sure we used the opportunity of the earth day 2011to collect and clean up with all of our guests on Magawish island during our daily boat trip. They managed to collect 20 big garbage bags full of plastic bottles and different kind of waste! Well done, big thanks to everybody! They cleaned up the surrounding under water and on the island.

Together we are strong! If we all do something small for our world, together we might be able to change something big as well.

Martina Aziz
Marketing Manager

STEIGENBERGER AL DAU DIVE CLUB managed by ILIOS
Yussif Afifi Road
Hurghada . Red Sea . Egypt
E-Mail: ilios@steigenbergeraldau.com
Internet: www.steigenbergeraldauresort.com * www.iliosdiveclub.de

Hassan's night out on the town!

2011-04-25T06:48:00.000-07:00

Rage against the machine! Woohoo!

Hassan's review of the Love Festival, coming soon.

T. Energy Group presents Hurghada Love House Festival
April 24, 2011
Front of Al Mashrabiya Beach Resort - Village Road - Hurghada

Featuring live bands from 20:00 - 23:00
Chaos Band and 13Daze.

Starting 23:00 - 03:00
Mr. Pink
MC Stephen Davis
Tanja La Croix
Guest DJ K.Mika

No summer "Time" for Egypt?

2011-04-25T06:42:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday, April 20, 2011, the Egyptian Cabinet of Ministers issued a decree to abolish daylight saving time (DST) for good. The country was originally scheduled to switch to DST on April 29. Egyptians will not have to stress about yearly time changes anymore. The decision follows a poll conducted by the Egyptian government in which 79% of the participants expressed their wish to stop using DST in the North African country. A somewhat erratic time schedule may have contributed to the increasing dismay. In 2010, clocks were adjusted four times to accommodate the observation of Ramadan.

Could the Red Sea adopt "Island time" as they do in the Maldives? Express your opinion, by voting here!

Hotels in Maldives follow their own daylight saving time schedule that lasts all year as they adjust their clocks to save daylight making their local times different than the actual local time in Maldives.
The nation of Maldives does not observe daylight saving time (DST) so many hotels and resorts have changed their clocks in hopes to save more daylight for their staff and guests.
Many island resorts have adopted their own daylight saving time schedule that moves their local time an hour, a half an hour, and even some and hour and a half ahead of the local time in Male, the capital of Maldives.
The Four Seasons moved their clocks one hour ahead making their time UTC+6, while the Rihiveli Beach Resort is one and a half hour ahead of the local time making their time UTC+6.5. So when traveling through the many island resorts of the Maldives, be sure to check with your hotel the current local time that they follow.

Why Observe DST?
Many countries observe DST, and many do not. The reason many countries implement DST is in hopes to make better use of the daylight in the evenings, as well as some believe that it could be linked to reducing the amount of road accidents and injuries. The extra hour of daylight in the evening is said to give children more social time with friends and family and can even boost the tourism industry because it increases the amount of outdoor activies.

Image by 360-Images.com

Ride for Egypt - A motorbike trip to remember!

2011-04-25T04:32:00.000-07:00

By Vanessa Buila C.
Citizen Journalist and living in Egypt since 2001 and Hurghada since 2006. Currently working for IANTD Egypt.

Interview with... Gabriela and Jörg Reinemann

How did you get the idea to come to Egypt by motorbike?
Jörg: I’ve a dreamt of coming to Africa by motorbike for the past 35 years. But first, we didn’t have money, later we had children to think about. Originally we thought we would go to Morocco/Tunisia. But then, when our daughter Adriana married Ahmed and came to live in Egypt, we thought: “Why not ride our bikes to Hurghada and visit them?”

When did you leave Germany?
Jörg: We left our town Helmstadt (near Hannover, in the Low Saxony) on 9th of April, 2011 and we took 14 days to arrive in Egypt.

Which countries did you pass through?
Jörg: We passed through Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Serbia, Bulgaria, Turkey, Syria and Jordan.
We arrived in Aqaba and we took the boat to Nuweiba, Sinai. Our first plan was to ride as far as Sharm El Sheikh and then take the ferry boat to Hurghada. But, we discovered that first of all, the ferry doesn’t transport cars or bikes, and secondly that the service was temporarily suspended; so we changed our plan.
We drove through Sinai and reached Suez Canal and then the Red Sea road to Hurghada.
Actually, we thought that we have been lucky that there was no ferry from Sharm because this way we got the chance to go to Suez too!

We started to plan our trip 1 year ago, thinking that we would visit many tourist places, but then we realized that this could take too much time. So we decided that adding culture will be in our next trip. Our plans also changed due to the particular political situation of some of the countries that we had to pass through.

How was the situation in Syria?
Jörg: In Syria, everything was ok. We didn’t see demonstrations and we didn’t have problems.

How many km did you drive in total and what was your average/day?
Jörg: We took exactly 5752 KM from Germany to Hurghada. I think average we drove was 450 km per day. The first day only 250 km… Then, for example in Istanbul it was raining too much and we did only 150 km that day; but next day we did 730 km.
A motorbike is not like car, it’s dangerous and we prefer not to drive in the dark.

Well, you’ve been brave…
Jörg: Yes… and you know the most beautiful thing is that my wife just got her bike license only 5 months ago! I’m very proud of her. It’s different for me, I've been riding for the past 30 years. My bike is my best friend…

Gabriela: Well, I come after his bike…she’s the 1st, I’m the 2nd! I’m glad that I did this trip… I really enjoyed it.

Jörg: Can I tell you something important for us? … We gave named our trip: “Ride for Egypt”. We want to show everyone that, after the Revolution you can come in Egypt without any problems. We wanted to do our part to promote the "New Egypt" and share this message.

That’s great… So you love Egypt… Have you been here before?
Jörg: Yes… We love travelling and we love Egypt… I’ve been here more than 60 times. This is the first time by bike, but probably not the last :)

Gabriela: I’ve been here around 34 times… I love this country… and my son-in-law Ahmed used to say that the reception of our house is an Egyptian museum because it’s full of papyrus, statues, etc… As well, he tells me that I have a “pharaoh’s soul”…that I was an Egyptian in my past life… It’s funny, isn’t it?

Where did you sleep during your trip?
Jörg: We were sleeping in hotels. We camped once in Turkey, in Azur, in a place managed by a Dutch guy living now in Turkey. Many people enroute to Africa stop there, we met a family with 3 kids going to Jordan with a 4x4 Jeep.
We had a problem in Port Sokhna: it was Easter Friday, so we couldn’t find a room available and we had to sleep in the grass in front of a hotel!

How and when you will go back to Germany?
Jörg: We will leave Hurghada on the 3rd of May and ride to Cairo. We will then visit Alexandria, because we haven't seen it yet. On the 8th of May we will take the boat to Italy and then we will ride until Helmstadt.

You passed through many places… Which one did you like most?
Gabriela: I had the dream to go to Petra and I’m glad that we were able to do it. It’s an incredible place and I really loved it.
Jörg: Yes, Petra… I think… Syria was also a very interesting place to pass through. A lot of animals were crossing the streets: sheep, mouton, dogs following my wife’s bike… But we have to go back home and watch to all the pictures and videos we took…to really choose the places we preferred.

Were your family and friends worried for your trip?
Gabriela: No… I was posting in facebook nearly everyday information about our location. When we didn’t have an internet connection, I was sent texts to my family. Ahmed and Adriana felt secure about our trip because they know that my husband is very mechanical. He has a garage full of all the necessary tools and he is able to fix the bikes by himself.

Did you face any mechanical problems during the trip?
Jörg: The first day, only 109 km from home, we stopped for our first coffee break and Gabriela’s bike didn’t start anymore. It was Saturday. A Hertz club car helped and took us to a Kawasaki garage. The mechanic said that he would never go anywhere with such a bike… The bike needed a new tank and I had to drive 45 km to find it in another Kawasaki garage. I found the tank, although it was red, but we had to look hard to find the cover. Finally, the bike was fixed and around 3pm we were ready to ride again.
Then, in Aleppo the traffic was horrible; the asphalt was slippery and my wife fell down.
I fixed the bike, but after only 10 minutes, she fell again and the handlebar was not in the right position. A guy we had met took us to a Harley Davidson shop to repair the bike. The man from the shop told us that he could repair the bike, but he had to take it with him for 2 hours. We trusted him. After 2 hours he came back and he didn’t even want us to pay anything for his services.

So… you met nice and helpful people during your trip…
Jörg: Yes. We met a lot of nice people: in most of the petrol stations we got coffee or drinks for free… except in Egypt – even if today I got 1 bike washed for free.
In Turkey we met the friendliest people ever.
Let me tell you a funny story… In Syria, it was too windy and we stopped by the side of the street. 1 guy arrived with his bike and he asked (in very good English) if we had problems and we needed any help? He had a sheet between his legs and we were curious to know what it was inside. He moved the sheet and inside there was a falcon. He said the falcon wanted to drive the motorbike! Curious!!
In Jordan… everything was too expensive…We spent 350 Euros in only one day for customs and passage…
After Petra, we went to Aqaba. We thought of buying the ticket for the ferry to the harbor, but we discovered that we had to go in a shop in the town. As well, we discovered that the ferry would be at midnight and being only 3 pm we had long time to wait. We met a truck’s driver and he invited us for coffees, food, cigarettes… We spent a nice time with him…

So did you enjoy your trip?
Gabriela: Yes, I really enjoyed this trip and I’d like to do it again, but after I’ve changed my bike. It is 8 years old and not in perfect condition. My husband would like a Bmw, but I don’t like it.

Do you have any future trips planned?
Jörg: Maybe next year we plan to go to Morocco through France and Spain. When our daughter married Ahmed in Germany we met a Moroccan man named Farid at the wedding party. He invited us to visit his family in Marrakesh and to stay in his parents’ house… Maybe this is what we will do next year.

Anything else you would like to say?
Jörg: We are happy that we have done it and now we need to calm down from the trip. We are still in the adventure and only when we will be back home, going through pictures, videos, business cards, memories and feelings, will we have the entire vision of our trip.

Vanessa & friends help clean Abu Monkar Island!

2011-04-24T01:47:00.000-07:00

By Vanessa Buila C.
Citizen Journalist and living in Egypt since 2001 and Hurghada since 2006. Currently working for IANTD Egypt.

On April 22nd HEPCA organized a clean up of Abu Monkhar Island, in front of the New Hurghada Marina to celebrate Earth Day. We arrived at 9:30 ready to clean!
Unfortunately, some things have not changed after the revolution…we had to wait a couple of hours for permissions to be sorted out between Navy and the Coast Guard. On the positive side, during the time we waited, more volunteers arrived.

In the end, 58 adults and 6 children made it to the island to clean up. There was a mix of men, women, Egyptian and foreign and even some tourists (although they left early!).

We managed to clean for more than 2 hours, but we couldn’t cover the entire Island. We collected many bags of various rubbish such as glasses, plastic bags, and plastic bottles. The coastal areas were full of rubbish, and many pieces had blown in amongst the greenery, which was very tricky to extract. There were many pieces of glass on the beachside and we wondered how this could be; do visitors toss their bottles onto the beach from the side of their boats?
Around 3pm, the water taxis started to take people back to the Marina. All the rubbish was left in one place and HEPCA’s boat came to collect it all.

All in all, even with the slow start to the day, the clean up was a great success… and a wonderful way to celebrate and help our Mother Earth.
It was great to see people of different nationalities working together with the same goal. Although it was only a small drop in the big ocean of what our environment needs, it is at least a small step in the right direction. Hopefully, the 1st of many small steps, which we all will make together to save the beauty and nature of the Red Sea.

The Steigenberger Al Dau Beach Hotel - HolidayCheck Award 2011

2011-04-10T01:15:00.000-07:00

PRESS INFORMATION
A brilliant year 2010 and a great start 2011: The Steigenberger Al Dau Beach Hotel has been recognized with 5 desirable industry awards indicating highest quality and outstanding guest satisfaction.

Hurghada, 09/04/2011. Users of the popular HolidayCheck website, through their continuously highly scored reviews during 2010, have ranked the Steigenberger Al Dau Beach Hotel on Egypt's Red Sea coast one of the world’s best hotels, and THE number 1 address in Egypt as rated by couples, resulting to the prestigious “HolidayCheck Award 2011”.

The HolidayCheck Award honors the top hotels based on the reviews guests are posting on the HolidayCheck website. Only 99 of all hotels in the world have been awarded with this "real tourist audience award" which is equally valued by the travel industry and the travelers themselves.
In addition, our Algotherm Red Sea Thalasso & Spa has recently received the “World Luxury Spa Award™” in the category: Best Luxury Resort Spa 2011 in Egypt. This award recognizes finest quality and high standards of the Steigenberger Al Dau Algotherm Red Sea Thalasso & Spa.

Furthermore, Egypt’s outstanding hotel has been honoured by the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism for the “Award of Excellence” and the “LuxairTours Award 2010”. Also Expedia® travellers have voted the Steigenberger Al Dau Beach Hotel on Egypt's Red Sea among the world’s best hotels on last year’s “Expedia Insiders’ Select™” list.

“Delivering our guests an excellent service and setting new standards is a top priority at the Steigenberger Al Dau Beach Hotel,” said Lars Geweyer, Resort General Manager. “2010 has been a tremendously successful year for the Steigenberger Al Dau Beach Hotel. We are proud that our efforts have been acknowledged and awarded, and look forward to extending our highest level of service to even more guests.”

The Steigenberger Al Dau Beach Hotel is a 5-star deluxe beach resort, located on Egypt's Red Sea coast in Hurghada, belonging to well-renowned German Steigenberger Hotel Group. The property, which has been in operation over four years, has already established itself firmly as the address in the region. For more information, visit www.steigenbergeraldaubeach.com.

Egypt Offers Airlines Incentives To Boost Travel, Tourism

2011-03-31T06:50:00.000-07:00

By Kaveri Niththyananthan

Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
* MARCH 31, 2011, 7:27 A.M. ET

LONDON (Dow Jones)--Egypt is offering airlines incentives to fly to the tourism-dependent North African country as it seeks to stimulate demand and stop carriers from slashing capacity.

EasyJet PLC (EZJ.LN) and tour operator TUI Travel PLC (TT.LN) confirmed the incentive, which is offered in the form of a reduction in levy charged to airlines that is worth about $5 per passenger, or as payments to carriers for unfilled seats to discourage them from cutting numbers of flights to Egypt or deploying smaller aircraft that carry fewer passengers.

The offer started at the beginning of March and is open-ended, meaning the Egyptian government could pay incentives that run to more than $100 million over the course of the year. About 15 million tourists visited Egypt in 2010, according to the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism.

No one at the ministry could be reached immediately for comment.

Egypt earlier this year was rocked by civil unrest and saw its government overthrown. The upheaval led some governments around the world to advise against all but essential travel to Egypt and forced airlines and tour operators to reduce flights or cancel operations altogether. Russia still advises against travel to Egypt or Tunisia.

"We think the incentives being offered by the Egyptian government, hoteliers and tourist boards are very positive," said a TUI Travel spokeswoman, adding that it was working with these parties to encourage customers to return.

TUI Travel has slashed some prices for holidays to Egypt. For example, it is offering a seven-night holiday to Sharm El Sheik from GBP499 per person, a saving of GBP395 from previously advertised prices.

Still, Egypt faces an uphill struggle to win over holidaymakers. While some airlines have restored capacity following the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak and his autocratic regime, capacity remains below peak levels.

TUI Travel previously carried about one million passengers a year to Egypt, but capacity cuts mean that figure likely will be closer to 700,000 customers this year. Like other tour operators, it has shifted holiday offerings to alternative destinations to mitigate costs and reduced demand.

"Following the political events in Egypt and Tunisia our experience has been that customers continue to want to go on holiday with us, albeit to alternative destinations," TUI Travel Chief Executive Peter Long said. "The flexibility we have in our business model has allowed us to actively re-shape our programs across all our source markets to satisfy this demand and we have moved significant capacity to a number of other destinations including Spain, Greece and Turkey."

TUI Travel, Europe's largest tour operator, expects the impact of unrest in North Africa in its fiscal second quarter to be in line with previous guidance of between GBP25 million and GBP30 million.

A spokesman at Deutsche Lufthansa AG (LHA.XE) couldn't immediately confirm its position on incentives offered by Egypt, but said it "wouldn't decline" such an offer. Lufthansa's passengers to Egypt were primarily business travellers who may transfer through Munich or Frankfurt rather than tourists.

Air France-KLM (AF.FR) didn't immediately comment. British Midland International said it wasn't receiving incentives. A spokesman for British Airways, a unit of International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (IAG.LN, IAG.MC), said, "We do not discuss commercially sensitive information."

Before the unrest, some airlines were looking to increase capacity to the region. EasyJet, for instance, had hoped to expand its service to Egypt in November by flying to Cairo after it was granted three frequencies by the U.K. Department for Transport under extended bilateral agreements. It still is awaiting landing slots from Egyptian authorities but the delay has proved beneficial because of the falloff in demand.

U.S. carrier Delta Air Lines Inc. (DAL), which flies to seven destinations in Egypt, is restarting flights May 19 from New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport and will fly four times a week, compared with five weekly flights previously, a spokeswoman said.

Delta was forced to suspend flights from Egypt Feb. 4 when demand dropped off and it became increasingly difficult to operate because of curfews and restrictions to daytime-only flights.

German airline Air Berlin PLC (AB1.XE), which charters flights for tour operators such as Express Travel International and Neckermann, said it was seeing bookings return for April from passengers flying from Germany, Austria and Switzerland. It used to operate 60 flights a week, but stopped operations in February. That has slowly increased to 18 flights a week from the beginning of March and will rise to 45 flights a week in July, one-third less than it had planned.

Germany's second-largest airline won't benefit from Egyptian subsidies because of its business model. Any subsidy would go to the tour operators.

Its chief executive, Joachim Hunold, has approached the German government to help earmark restructuring aid by lifting aviation tax for both Egypt and Tunisia travel.

-By Kaveri Niththyananthan, Dow Jones Newswires; 4420 7842 9299; kaveri.niththyananthan@dowjones.com
link back: http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20110331-706673.html

HEPCA Members Night Jan 10 2011

2011-01-16T02:20:00.000-08:00

For those of you who couldn't attend the last HEPCA Members & Supporters Evening, on January 10, 2011
It took place at Papa's bar in Hurghada Marina.
The HEPCA team continue to share their vision and stance on the many pressing issues with the community.

Spot Red Sea only managed to catch some of the meeting, the following talks about how to report violations: