Safaga, also known as Port Safaga (Egyptian Arabic: سفاجا Safāga, IPA: [sæˈfæːɡæ]), is a port city in Egypt, on the coast of the Red Sea, located 53 km (33 mi) south of Hurghada. The city is also a tourist area that consists of several bungalows and rest houses. Having numerous phosphate mines, it is regarded as the phosphates export center. A paved road of 164 km (102 mi) connects Safaga to Qena of Upper Egypt.

History

The town was founded between 282 BC and 268 BC, by Satyrus (Ancient Greek: Σάτυρος). It was called Philotera (Ancient Greek: Φιλωτέρα) in honor of the deceased sister of the Pharaoh Ptolemy II Philadelphus. Stephanus of Byzantium write that it was also called Philoterida (Ancient Greek: Φιλωτερίδα).

Safaga City is considered one of the most important therapeutic tourist centres, as special medical researches have proved the potential of attracting international tourism to Safaga.

Safaga was a merchant port for many years. The town has a small tourism industry, specialising in scuba diving. It was the host of the 1993 Red Sea World Windsurfing Championships.

Climate

Köppen-Geiger climate classification system classifies its climate as hot desert (BWh), as the rest of Egypt.

The highest record temperature was 46 °C (115 °F) on July 30, 2002, while the lowest record temperature was 0 °C (32 °F) on February 2, 1993.

Climate data for Safaga
MonthJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecYear
Record high °C (°F)33 (91)34 (93)38 (100)42 (108)43 (109)46 (115)46 (115)44 (111)43 (109)43 (109)35 (95)34 (93)46 (115)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)21.9 (71.4)22.7 (72.9)26.1 (79.0)28.1 (82.6)31.7 (89.1)33.8 (92.8)34 (93)34.4 (93.9)32.3 (90.1)30.2 (86.4)27 (81)23.4 (74.1)28.8 (83.9)
Daily mean °C (°F)16.3 (61.3)16.8 (62.2)20.4 (68.7)22.5 (72.5)26.2 (79.2)28.6 (83.5)29 (84)29.6 (85.3)27.6 (81.7)25.2 (77.4)21.6 (70.9)17.9 (64.2)23.5 (74.2)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)10.7 (51.3)11 (52)14.8 (58.6)16.9 (62.4)20.7 (69.3)23.5 (74.3)24.1 (75.4)24.9 (76.8)22.9 (73.2)20.3 (68.5)16.3 (61.3)12.4 (54.3)18.2 (64.8)
Record low °C (°F)1 (34)0 (32)1 (34)8 (46)10 (50)12 (54)15 (59)13 (55)12 (54)11 (52)6 (43)3 (37)0 (32)
Average precipitation mm (inches)0 (0)0 (0)0 (0)0 (0)0 (0)0 (0)0 (0)0 (0)0 (0)1 (0.0)1 (0.0)0 (0)2 (0)
Average rainy days0000100000001
Mean daily sunshine hours910101011121312111010911
Source 1: Climate-Data.org (altitude: 18m), Weather2Travel for rainy days and sunshine
Source 2: Voodoo Skies for record temperatures
Safaga mean sea temperature
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
23 °C (73 °F)22 °C (72 °F)22 °C (72 °F)23 °C (73 °F)25 °C (77 °F)26 °C (79 °F)28 °C (82 °F)29 °C (84 °F)28 °C (82 °F)27 °C (81 °F)26 °C (79 °F)24 °C (75 °F)

Port

Safaga port is also a gateway for Duba port to some hajj pilgrims or travelers to Mecca, by ferries.

See also