Hurghada, Egypt

Originally posted on Feb01,2006

Hurghada, Egypt

Today, there was a terrible fatal traffic accident at Hurghada, Egypt, involving a bus full of Hong Kong tourists.

We were there last year. We went into Egypt, and passed by Hurghada on our way to Sinai, as part of the Passion for Jesus experience.

Hurghada is not mentioned in the Bible. It is a small touristy resort town on the western shore of the Red Sea, 400 km south of the Suez Canal (5 hours by car). It is approximately South West across from the tip of the Sinai Peninsular. There is a ferry service from Hurghada to Sharm el-Sheikh, which is tourist town right at the tip of the Sinai. We almost took that ferry route but the schedule did not fit, so we finally took the over-night local bus from Luxor all the way to Sharm el-Sheikh, and then caught another bus to St Catherine Monastery, which was the high-light of our trip. This total journey took us 18 looooong hours and we survived.

We are still preparing and sorting the Sinai photos, so in due time we will share our Sinai experience with all of you.

For all tourists to Egypt, Cairo is the usual arrival/departure point. The sights within the large Islamic metropolitan are quite an eye opener. Then the Luxor-Aswan Nile cruise is definitely a must. Hurghada is something of a detour. You have to go out to the coast of the Red Sea along the lonely desert road.

Hurghada is linked by road to Cairo (6 hours), and to Luxor in the south West (4 hours). Its beaches are ordinary, but it is most famous for the diving and Red Sea marine life. Unfortunately we had no time to dip into the water because we wanted to spend as many days and nights as we could at Sinai desert remembering that Moses was there for 80 years, 40 years by himself and another 40 years with the Israelites.

The recent news tragedy happened on this Hurghada road, apparently due to over-speeding on the highway. It brought an abrupt end for the many happy-going holiday-makers: from the peak of the 5-star enjoyment of life to nothing.

For those families involved, our hearts go out to you. Nothing would remain the same as before.

There has been hourly news in Hong Kong updating the report of the tragedy. Perhaps we can all learn something precious from this incident.

While listening to the heartcries of the families involved, we can see that people are busy planning and hoping that life can be glamorous, and also enjoying just a pleasure of life.

One thing comes out very clearly in the report: there is a fact of life that we do not want to face: all physical life will end one day, sooner or later.

Yes, each one of us has to go through that stage. No matter who you are, regardless of how good you are at your job, how rich you are, how poor you are, how educated you are, how big your family is, we will all retire, get old, succumb to sickness...... etc.

How are you preparing for that day to arrive?

It will perhaps arrive at an inconvenient time for you.Yes, Christians will also die one day. Some Christians are always seeking for healing. Christians also die.

Can we be like the group of martyred missionaries who said (among them was Jim Elliot): “we are ready for heaven”.

Are you ready?