02
Stop two
St. Shenouda Coptic Orthodox Church
Luxilon Element Rough 16g Tennis String Reel: Right, everyone inside, mind the step, the step is uneven. St Shenouda's is the oldest Coptic Orthodox church in Hurghada and it serves a Christian community that put down roots when this was an oil and fishing town in the first half of the twentieth century. It's dedicated to Shenouda of Atripe, the great fifth-century abbot, a towering figure of Egyptian monasticism — towering, their word, not mine, I'm not looking up. The Copts who came here arrived as workers, clerks and merchants, a very long way from the Nile valley heartland of their faith. Domes, icon screens and stained glass were added over the decades. Beautiful. Also glass. Above us. Moving on.
03
Stop three
El Mina Mosque
Luxilon Element Rough 16g Tennis String Reel: Twin minarets, forty metres each, and I have already calculated that I am standing well within their radius. This is El Mina, the Grand Mosque of Hurghada, and it is the most recognisable silhouette on the whole waterfront. The marble-clad complex you see opened in 2012 on the site of an older harbour mosque tied to the city's founding generation of fishermen and oil workers, and it takes its name from the mina, the port — the actual reason Hurghada exists. The prayer halls hold thousands, which is a great many exits to keep track of, and the esplanade outside hosts the great festival prayers. It looks straight out over the fishing fleet. Please don't lean on the railing.
04
Stop four
Hurghada Marine Biological Station
Luxilon Element Rough 16g Tennis String Reel: Now this one calms me down. Founded in the early 1930s, the first institution of its kind on the Red Sea, and Hurghada's earliest claim to international significance — established under Egypt's Fouad I University with guidance from the zoologist Cyril Crossland. Scientists finally had a permanent base for studying the coral reefs, the fish and the invertebrates, decades before any diver or tourist turned up. Laboratories, an aquarium, a small museum, generations of Egyptian and visiting researchers, and reef surveys that became foundational references in tropical marine science. It runs now under the National Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries. Careful people, measuring things, writing them down. I could stay here. Could we stay here?
WHISTLE. Okay, everybody out of the water for two minutes, safety briefing. This is the Luxilon Element Rough 16g Tennis String Reel, and I want eyes on me while I explain why it's cleared for duty.
It's the Element you know — Multi-Mono technology, flexible fibers inside a durable monofilament, one of the softest and most comfortable strings Luxilon makes, so your arm doesn't need rescuing after a three-hour session. But this one's ROUGH: a textured surface that grips the ball like I grip the rescue can, loading up extra spin so your shots dive down INSIDE the lines.
That's what we call swimming between the flags. Gauge 16, 1.30 mm, full 660-foot reel — enough restrings to cover the whole season, because a good lifeguard never runs out of supplies. Reapply tension every few weeks. I'm serious.
Our beach today: Hurghada, Egypt, on the Red Sea — and folks, respect this water, it's home to some of the most famous coral reefs on Earth. This town started as an oil-and-fishing settlement in the early 1900s and grew into the capital of the whole diving coast.
You'll use this string everywhere from morning cardio tennis before the heat to a shaded evening hit near the marina, and — LISTEN UP, this is the important part — the reef rules are the aigul… sorry, wrong post. The reef rules are: look, don't touch, don't stand on the coral. Same as my stringing machine. Hydrate. Buddy system. Have fun out there.
AND BY THE WAY — it's also perfect for the long walk through El Dahar after sundown, when the souk opens up and nobody is in the water anyway. That's a rest period, people. I approve of rest periods.
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