Safaga

26.73333333333333.933333333333Koordinaten: 26 ° 44 'N, 33 ° 56 ' E

Safaga (Arabic سفاجا Safādschā, Egyptian- Arabic Safaga ) is an Egyptian port on the Red Sea and is 60 km from Hurghada in a southerly direction away.

The city stretches along a desert area between sea and mountains. The city's name perhaps comes from the Arabic Safa Dascha what " come dusty winds " means.

History of the port

Here is one of the oldest ports of the Red Sea. It has already been established under the Egyptian Pharaoh Sahura as a basis for trade and exploration on the Red Sea. With the conquest of Egypt in 1882, the British realized the strategic importance of Safaga, which was reinforced by the discovery of substantial phosphate mines in the nearby mountains. The importance rose from 1911 through the extensive ( extensive ) degradation due to massive investments of Italian businessmen.

During the Second World War the port was used by the Allies. A relic from this period is a wreck that was sunk in 1944 by German air raids. With 25 to 34 m depth of the harbor, larger vessels call. Today, he is the main base for the Egyptian Navy for patrolling in the southeast of the country. He also serves as a starting point for pilgrimages ( hajj ) to Saudi Arabia ( Mecca ), the export of aluminum and import of wheat. Accordingly, the city is dominated by an envelope and industrial complex and has except for a few outlying resorts where tourists to offer no particular attractions.

Tourism

If you continue to drive on the ring road around the city proper is thus arrives at the meeting place for the tourists prescribed convoys in the Nile Valley.

The black sand beaches have natural radioactive isotopes of uranium, thorium and potassium. The tourist magazine Red Sea Bulletin writes, " .. in harmless Concentrations .. " (10/11 2005, p 71) and recommends the salt and mineral-rich sand against psoriasis ( psoriasis), bronchitis, rheumatism, and various allergies. It is reported that even the pharaonic Queen Hatshepsut has gathered annually to cures.

In and around the city there are some luxury facilities such as Soma Bay, Makadi Bay, kalawy Bay and al - Quseir, which are visited by scuba divers, surfers, golfers and bathers. Off the coast are several coral reefs - as Hurghada - and the wreck of the Salem Express, which are approached by several diving centers.

Archeology

The harbor of the ancient kingdom of the Pharaohs is already 4000 years old. Researchers at the Universities of Boston and Naples, found in 2006 on the Red Sea south of the Egyptian city of Safaga in five caves remains of ropes and planks that were used for the loading of the boats; also remains of a box marked with the wonders of Punt is not completely preserved the name of Amenemhat III. , which evaluates the Supreme Council of Antiquities in Cairo as further evidence that the Egyptians had operated at the time of the Pharaohs and maritime trade with Punt.

The new research results from 2006 confirm that the ancient Egyptians already 700 years earlier than previously thought built ships, namely oceangoing vessels for the Red Sea, not for use on the Nile. Some parts were manufactured because of its good durability of the resin-rich cedar of Lebanon. Some researchers want to identify with the ancient port Safaga Myos Hormos.