One bag at a time…

	bye bye plastic bags

And Man created the plastic bag and the tin and aluminum can and the cellophane wrapper and the paper plate, and this was good because Man could then take his automobile and buy all his food in one place and He could save that which was good to eat in the refrigerator and throw away that which had no further use. And soon the earth was covered with plastic bags and aluminum cans and paper plates and disposable bottles and there was nowhere to sit down or walk, and Man shook his head and cried: "Look at this Godawful mess." Art Buchwald, 1970

Phase One of the “One bag at the time” campaign is a fact! Local shops, restaurants and supermarkets are no longer allowed to supply free plastic shopping carrier bags to their customers. Instead, people will be given the opportunity to purchase a re-usable bag. The Egyptian Resorts Company generously provided HEPCA with 20.000 cloth bags to be distributed in the Hurghada down town area as an alternative.

The Red Sea Governor has granted a two month grace period to allow businesses to deal with the transition. After this period there will be severe penalties for anyone still handing out free plastic bags.

This is a huge achievement for both HEPCA and the Red Sea Governerate and we are convinced that reducing the amount of plastic circulating will dramatically improve the face of Hurghada. And… make sure you too do not leave home without bringing your own reusable shopping bag.

Contact HEPCA:
Tel: +20 65 344 5035
Email: info@hepca.com

Kempinski Hotel Soma Bay

	Soma Bay

The 325-key Kempinski Hotel Soma Bay has opened along Egypt's Red Sea Riviera. The Moorish-styled seafront resort boasts 400 m of private sandy beach and a variety of leisure facilities.

The Kempinski complex is a haven for scuba divers, water sport enthusiasts and kite-surfers. The aqua-park landscape has multilevel swimming pools and a lazy river, a 2,000-sq.-m spa and health club, and a championship golf course with breathtaking views of the Red Sea.

Designed and furnished with Oriental style and a touch of Western elegance, all guestrooms and suites are equipped with flat-screen satellite TV, individually adjustable air conditioning and marble-tiled bathrooms.

The restaurants and bars at the hotel offer a variety of F&B options. The main buffet-style restaurant, The View, boasts a large terrace overlooking the Red Sea. The Lobby bar and lounge, a beach bar, a pool bar and a water-pipe corner complete the F&B offerings.

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Bird watching in El Gouna

	Cream-coloured Coursor, Golf Course of El Gouna

This resort is situated 20Km north of Hurghada. It has a golf course which attracts many birds (pipits, larks, wheatears, hoopoes). There is also a tidal creek which has many waders. The best place for waders is behind the Abidos Marina, south of El Gouna. I've called this place "mangrove lake" due to presence of mangrove here. A good place to look for the migration of raptors seems to be the "oasis", a place with trees along the mountains. I have been there only once but it is probably worth to check it carefully.

On the whole, El Gouna has shown a great potential and is easy to bird (you can go freely along the shoreline and cross all the hotels). You can bird by foot the golf course and the tidal creek. If you don't have a car, you will need a bike to go to the oasis (it is a few Km from the resort).

We stayed at the Mövenpick Hotel whose beautiful gardens attract many birds. A sand bank in front of the hotel is excellent for terns and gulls. In the south part of the hotel, near the shoreline it is a rocky, sandy place where we had the surprise to see three beautiful rock trushs.

	Happy Easter

12 April was Western Easter Sunday. 19 April was the Coptic Easter and most Coptic businesses were closed. 20 April is Sham al-Nessim. A celebration of the arrival of spring.

Most people go to the countryside or a park for a picnic. Most businesses are closed.

Western and Eastern Churches use the same rules to compute the date of Easter/Pascha. The rules involve a fixed date - March 21st. The discrepancy occurs due to the fact that Western Churches use Gregorian Calendar for this date and Eastern Churches use Julian Calendar for it.

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Loction: Down Town, Next to Arena Inn Hotel
When: Sunday & Tuesday @ 7:00pm, Thursday @ 7:00pm & 9:00 pm
Entry: free

Week 1 ( 05th - 09th of April )	Week 2 ( 12th - 16th of April )
Week 3 ( 19th - 23rd of April )	Week 4 ( 26th - 30th of April )

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