Even though Hurghada is situated on the western banks of the Nile River, you won’t find stunning tombs, pyramids, or other ancient Egyptian artifacts. In fact, Hurghada was not even in existence during the time of the pharaohs. The history of Hurghada begins in 1908. A small group of fishermen built six huts that were only used as a stopover when they were travelling from Saudi Arabia into Egypt. While in Hurghada, they met with caravans of traders from Egypt who wanted to buy dried fish and related goods.
Interestingly enough, both traders and buyers used a single tree standing in the desert to locate Hurghada. Unfortunately, this tree was cut down prior to the 1950’s in order to make way for a holiday home for the last king of Egypt. While this tree no longer stands, it still lives on in the arabic name for Hurghada, “Al-Gharkad”.
At some point in the 1930’s, oil was discovered in this area. Nevertheless, it appears there was not enough interest in the oil to warrant increased investment in the area. As a result, Hurghada remained a small fishing village until the 1980’s. During this time, the local population rarely exceeded 20,000 people. This, in turn, created a situation where the nearby coral reefs and pristine beaches remained untouched and undamaged by the industrial developments.
There is no question that Hurghada has grown faster than many other tourist areas. Within 30 years, hundreds of hotels, tourist attractions and water sport businesses have opened up in order to serve the needs of American, European, Russian, and Middle Eastern vacationers. While Hurghada may not have acted as a meeting place for the entire world centuries ago, it most certainly holds that distinction today. In fact, this former tiny fishing village acts as home and entertainment venue for over 1 millions tourists each year, and the native population has expanded to over 80,000 permanent residents.
When compared to the nearby cities of Luxor and Cairo, many think that Hurghada has very little in the way of historical interest. Nevertheless, this once tiny town provides a slice of life that is fascinating for its very simplicity. That said, if you are looking to sample the ancient relics of Egypt, you can easily get to Luxor from Hurghada, and enjoy all of the museums and monuments in that area.