The original name of the city, "Hurghada", comes from a desert area known as "Dishat Hurghada". Another opinion suggests that the name originates from a plant called "Ghardaq", also known as "Wolfberry" or "Seaside Turquoise", a plant that has grown naturally since ancient times. Fishermen from the Gehina, Rashayda, and Ma’aza tribes used to fish in the area between the Hijaz and the Red Sea coast, meeting at a large Ghardaq tree located at what is now Hurghada’s seaport. Over time, the name evolved into Hurghada.
Hurghada is located on the western coast of the Red Sea at 33°48′ E longitude and 27°15′ N latitude. Administratively, it belongs to the Red Sea Governorate and serves as its capital. It is bordered to the north by Ras Ghareb, 143 km away, and to the south by Safaga, 61 km away. To the east, it overlooks the Red Sea coast, and to the west, the Red Sea Mountains. Its beaches stretch along 40 km of the Red Sea coastline, and the total area of the city is 460.5 km², making it the fourth largest city in the governorate after Ras Ghareb, Safaga, and El Quseir. The urban area extends along the coastal road parallel to the Red Sea for about 23 km, while its inland extension does not exceed 3.6 km. The old city of Hurghada (El-Dahar) lies in a longitudinal strip between two limestone plateaus, one to the east between the old city and the coast, and the other to the west. Therefore, Hurghada is situated on a coastal plain whose width varies from 8 to 35 km in different areas. This results in diverse urban patterns: the informal and grid-like fabric is concentrated in the city core, characterized by mostly low- and medium-quality dense buildings, narrow and winding streets ranging from 3 to 6 meters wide. In contrast, organized grid and linear layouts dominate the newer urban extensions.
