# El Mina Mosque, Hurghada > El Mina Mosque is Hurghada's best-known mosque, opened in 2012 beside the fishing harbour, with two white minarets of about 40 metres and a crown of domes. Entry is free: non-Muslims may go in between prayers in modest clothing, roughly 9am–5pm (unofficial). Thirty minutes is enough, and Hurghada Marina is 400 metres away. Web page: https://yesgo.io/egypt/hurghada/el-mina-mosque - City: [Hurghada](https://yesgo.io/egypt/hurghada), Egypt - YesGo score: 45/100 (Yes, if nearby) - Time on site: 30 min - Opening hours: Daily between the five prayers; unofficially about 9:00–17:00 for visitors; limited on Friday midday and during Ramadan - With kids: Fine with kids - Entry: Free, no ticket - Visiting hours: Between prayers, unofficially about 9:00–17:00 - Closed to visitors: During prayers, Friday midday, often during Ramadan and Eid - Dress code: Shoulders and knees covered; long trousers for men, headscarf for women - Cover-ups: Robes in a room left of the entrance; a token fee is sometimes asked - Shoes: Off at the door - Address: El Shohada Street, El Mina district, by the fishing harbour - To Hurghada Marina: 400 m south, a 5-minute walk along the shore - From Village Road hotels: Taxi, Uber or Careem, 15–25 minutes - Time needed: 30 minutes; 2–3 hours with the fish market and marina - Coordinates: 27.22961, 33.84286 - Facts checked: 03.11.2026 ## Key facts - **Free** — entry for visitors outside prayer times (source: Unofficial: Tonkosti, Nasha Planeta and easyvoyage travel guides) - **2012** — the year it opened, after more than five years of building (source: Al-Ahram (20 January 2012 and 23 August 2015); Arabic Wikipedia) - **≈ 40 m** — height of each of the two minarets (source: Unofficial: Tonkosti, Nasha Planeta and easyvoyage travel guides) - **8,000 m²** — site area, right on the seafront (source: Al-Ahram, 2015; Youm7, 2021; Tonkosti guide) - **≈ 7,000** — worshippers it holds (one 2015 article says 10,000) (source: Youm7, 2019 and 2021; Tonkosti guide) - **400 m** — to Hurghada Marina, a 5-minute walk south (source: YesGo calculation from Wikidata and OpenStreetMap coordinates) - **≈ 80 m** — to the fish market across the road (source: OpenStreetMap) - **2019** — an Islamic cultural centre opened for foreign visitors, answering questions in several languages (source: Youm7, 2019 and 2021; Tonkosti guide) - **1968** — the year the first, smaller mosque was built on this spot (source: Tonkosti guide; Nasha Planeta) - **≈ 10 km** — by road from Hurghada airport (7 km in a straight line) (source: YesGo calculation: OpenStreetMap, OSRM router) - **Harbour** — is what “El Mina” means; the Arabic name is Masjid al-Mina al-Kabir, the Great Harbour Mosque (source: Al-Ahram; Arabic Wikipedia) > **Visitors wait outside during prayers** El Mina is a working mosque. Five times a day the call to prayer goes out and visitors are asked to wait outside for 15–20 minutes. Prayer times shift daily with the sun, so ask at your hotel reception. Avoid Friday around midday, when the main weekly prayer fills the hall and the square, and expect to see only the outside during Ramadan and Eid. ## Can tourists go inside El Mina Mosque? Yes. Visitors of any faith can go in every day outside the five prayers, and there is no ticket. The mosque publishes no visitor timetable; guides give roughly 9am to 5pm, and the building itself stays open for worship from dawn until late. Treat those hours as unofficial — the guard at the door has the final word. Shoes come off at the entrance and go on the racks or mat. Men and women pray in separate halls. Inside you can walk quietly across the carpets and look at the chandeliers and the Arabic calligraphy on the walls. Photographing the interior is usually fine, but not during prayers and never close-ups of people praying; if unsure, ask a caretaker. Mornings are the calmest. Since 2019 the mosque has also had an Islamic cultural centre for foreigners, where volunteers answer questions about Islam in several languages and hand out free leaflets — nobody will push you into it. > **El Mina Mosque dress code** Men: long trousers and sleeved tops, no shorts or vests. Women: shoulders, arms and legs covered at least below the knee (ankle length is safer) plus a headscarf. If you're not dressed for it, robes are handed out in a room to the left of the entrance; a token fee of about a dollar or euro is sometimes asked (unofficial). Skip beachwear even for photos in the courtyard. ## Is El Mina Mosque worth visiting? Yes, if you're already near the marina or the fish market. El Mina is the town's signature building — white marble, two minarets of about 40 metres and more than twenty domes, right on the shore by the fishing harbour. It is not ancient: the current mosque opened in 2012, replacing a small 1968 mosque on the same spot. Half an hour here is the easiest glimpse of everyday Egypt beyond the resort strip. It is also big. The site covers about 8,000 m² and the mosque holds around 7,000 worshippers, with thousands more praying on the square outside at Eid. Building took more than five years and was funded by the governorate, the Ministry of Endowments and local donations. Don't make a special trip from a far-off hotel just for the mosque. Combine it with the market and the marina, and if you take a guided Hurghada city tour, El Mina is almost always on it. ## What to see at El Mina Mosque - **The twin minarets** — about 40 metres each; the best angle is from the square in front or the fishing quay across the road. - **The marble façade** — carved stone and arches in the spirit of Cairo's Mamluk and Ottoman mosques. - **The domes** — more than twenty of them, together forming the skyline everyone recognises as Hurghada. - **The prayer hall** — deep carpets, large chandeliers and calligraphy running along the walls. - **The evening lights** — after dark the mosque is floodlit; the best night shot is from the north end of the marina. - **The fishing harbour** opposite — wooden boats, nets and the morning catch being unloaded. - **The cultural centre** — ask a question about Islam and pick up a leaflet in your language. ## How to get to El Mina Mosque 1. From the hotels on Village Road or Sheraton Road, book an Uber or Careem or take a taxi — 15–25 minutes. Ask for “El Mina Mosque”; every driver knows it. Street taxis have no meter, so agree the fare first. 2. On a budget, flag a white city minibus heading along the coast towards Sakkala and the port. There are no marked stops: tell the driver “El Mina” and pay in small Egyptian pound notes. 3. From Hurghada Marina, walk 400 m north along the seafront — about 5 minutes to the square in front of the mosque. 4. From Hurghada airport (HRG) there's no direct public transport: a taxi or Uber covers the 10 km in 15–25 minutes. Drop your bags at the hotel first. 5. Enter from the square on the sea side. Women without a scarf should head to the robe room left of the entrance. 6. To get back, order a car in the app from the square: taxis wait by the port, but you'll have to agree the fare. ## Opening hours, Fridays and paying There are no official visitor hours. The roughly 9am–5pm window comes from travel guides; outside it you can still see the façade and the square for free, and in the evening the floodlit minarets are worth a short stop. During Ramadan and the two Eid holidays visitors are often kept out, and Friday midday belongs to worshippers. **Paying.** Entry is free, so money only matters for the ride and perhaps a robe. Visa and Mastercard work in hotels, larger shops and many restaurants around the marina, but taxis, minibuses and the robe room run on cash — carry small Egyptian pound notes. Uber in Hurghada often ends up as cash too, so keep some notes even if you plan to pay by card. ## Before you go: checklist Tick off what's ready — your ticks are saved in this browser. - [ ] Today's prayer times from the hotel - [ ] Long trousers or a skirt below the knee, shoulders covered - [ ] A headscarf (women) - [ ] Shoes that slip off easily - [ ] Small Egyptian pound notes for the taxi and a robe - [ ] Not Friday midday, not Ramadan ## El Mina Mosque, the fish market or the marina? | | El Mina Mosque | Fish market | Hurghada Marina | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | What it is | Working mosque | Market by the fishing harbour | Yacht harbour with cafés | | From the mosque | — | ≈ 80 m, across the road | 400 m, 5-minute walk | | Entry | Free, between prayers | Free | Free, through security gates | | Best time | Morning inside, evening for the lights | Morning, for the fresh catch | Evening, an hour before sunset | | Time needed | 30 minutes | 20 minutes, an hour with lunch | 1 hour, 2 with dinner | All three are within a short walk of each other: the market and the mosque interior in the morning, the marina and the lit minarets in the evening. ## Places of worship in Hurghada: compare Every Hurghada place of worship YesGo has rated. - [El Mina Mosque](https://yesgo.io/egypt/hurghada/el-mina-mosque) — YesGo score 45/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 30 min · Free, between prayers - [El Dahar Old Town](https://yesgo.io/egypt/hurghada/el-dahar-old-town) — YesGo score 39/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h 30 min · Free ## Half a day in old Hurghada: bazaar, mosque, market and marina The lanes and bazaar of El Dahar, then El Mina Mosque, the fish market across the road and an evening by the yachts. Add them to your route — YesGo fits in the timing and walks. 1. [El Dahar Old Town](https://yesgo.io/egypt/hurghada/el-dahar-old-town) — YesGo score 39/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h 30 min · Free 2. [El Mina Mosque](https://yesgo.io/egypt/hurghada/el-mina-mosque) — YesGo score 45/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 30 min · Free, between prayers 3. [Hurghada Fish Market](https://yesgo.io/egypt/hurghada/hurghada-fish-market) — YesGo score 44/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 45 min · Free entry; seafood sold by weight 4. [Hurghada Marina](https://yesgo.io/egypt/hurghada/hurghada-marina) — YesGo score 43/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h · Free ## Not to be confused with This page is about El Mina Mosque at Hurghada's harbour. There's a Great Mosque of El Mina in Tripoli, Lebanon, and Sharm el-Sheikh has its own big mosques, Al Mustafa and Al Sahaba. Hurghada has other mosques with minarets too, but only one “Great Harbour Mosque”. ## Tips - Go inside in the morning when it's quiet, then come back after dark for ten minutes to see the floodlights — best from the north end of [Hurghada Marina](https://yesgo.io/egypt/hurghada/hurghada-marina). - Bring your own scarf and light long trousers — more comfortable in the heat than a borrowed robe. - Don't walk in front of people praying or photograph them close up. - Pair the visit with the [fish market](https://yesgo.io/egypt/hurghada/hurghada-fish-market) across the road: buy your fish and have it grilled for lunch. - Taking a Hurghada city tour? El Mina is nearly always included, so there's no need for a separate trip. - Start the afternoon in [El Dahar](https://yesgo.io/egypt/hurghada/el-dahar-old-town) and walk down to the harbour for the call to prayer at sunset. ## Questions ### Can non-Muslims enter El Mina Mosque? Yes, every day outside prayer times, and entry is free. Cover shoulders and knees, women need a headscarf, and shoes come off at the door. Friday midday and Ramadan are often off-limits. ### What is the dress code for El Mina Mosque? Men need long trousers and sleeves. Women need covered arms and legs below the knee and a headscarf. Robes are available left of the entrance, sometimes for a token fee. ### Is there an entrance fee for El Mina Mosque? No. You only pay for transport and, possibly, a borrowed robe. ### What are El Mina Mosque's opening hours? There's no official visitor timetable. Guides give roughly 9am–5pm between prayers; prayer times change daily, so check at your hotel. ### How do I get to El Mina Mosque in Hurghada? By Uber, Careem or taxi — 15–25 minutes from Village Road hotels; ask for “El Mina Mosque”. It's a 5-minute walk from Hurghada Marina. ### Where is El Mina Mosque? On El Shohada Street by the fishing harbour in the El Mina district, across the road from the fish market and 400 m north of Hurghada Marina. ### Is El Mina Mosque worth visiting? Yes, as part of a visit to the harbour and marina: it's Hurghada's landmark building. A special trip from a distant hotel just for the mosque is less worthwhile. ### When was El Mina Mosque built? The current mosque took more than five years to build and opened in 2012, replacing a small mosque from 1968. ### Can I take photos inside El Mina Mosque? Usually yes, outside prayer times and without close-ups of worshippers. The façade and the floodlit minarets at night are the classic shots. ## How we checked The mosque has no website or visitor timetable, so free entry, visiting hours (about 9:00–17:00), dress rules, robes and Ramadan closures come from the Tonkosti, Nasha Planeta and easyvoyage guides and are marked “verifying”. The opening year is 2012: in January 2012 the governor announced the opening for Red Sea Governorate Day (Al-Ahram), and Arabic Wikipedia agrees; Youm7 in 2021 gave 2006, most likely the start of construction, so we say it took more than five years to build. Sources disagree on the area — 8,000 m² (Al-Ahram 2015, Youm7, Tonkosti) or 4,000 m² (Al-Ahram 2012) — and we use 8,000; on capacity — about 7,000 (Youm7, Tonkosti) or 10,000 (Al-Ahram 2015) — we use 7,000 and mention the other figure; and on domes — 20, 25 or 35 — so we say “more than twenty”. The building cost (20 or 25 million pounds) is left out. The 40 m minaret height appears only in travel guides and is treated as unofficial, as is the token robe fee. The address is from OpenStreetMap; distances to the marina, market and airport are calculated from Wikidata and OpenStreetMap coordinates with the OSRM router. Taxi and minibus times are unofficial. ## Sources - Al-Ahram, 20 January 2012 — the Red Sea governor on the mosque's opening, area and cost - Al-Ahram, 23 August 2015 — “The Great El Mina Mosque in Hurghada”: area, capacity, minarets, domes, cultural centre, building time - Youm7, 2019 and 5 March 2021 — tourist visits, robes for women, cultural centre, capacity - Arabic Wikipedia: “Al-Mina Mosque (Hurghada)” - Wikidata Q29513945 — coordinates - OpenStreetMap — address (El Shohada Street, El Mina), fish market and marina locations - Tonkosti travel guide: El Mina Mosque in Hurghada — visiting rules, dress, robes, address - Nasha Planeta: El Mina Mosque in Hurghada — entry, prayers, robes, minarets - easyvoyage.co.uk: “Discover Hurghada's great mosque: El Mina” — hours, dress, Ramadan, shoes - Uber — Hurghada city page - OSRM router — road distance from the airport --- This is the Markdown version of a YesGo page for AI assistants. Quote the web page link above, not this file.