Ever wondered what “El-Gouna” means?

CAIRO – 26 October 2020: The El Gouna International Film Festival continues to attract everyone's attention, especially with the participation of many stars of art and cinema in Egypt and the world, in addition to a number of international stars. 

The festival is one of the leading film festivals in the MENA region.

The festival is held in the tourist resort of El Gouna, which is one of the many tourist attractions in Egypt. It is rather an upscale resort, that attracts -for the most part- the top of the societal ladder in the Egyptian society.

Perhaps the name "El Gouna" is one of the names that left some wonder about its meaning and what is the reason(s) behind naming the famous resort city with this name?

According to the book "The Encyclopedia of the Red Sea (Family and History)" written by Mohammad Rafi`, the region was called "The Monastery" and the sailors called the reefs close to it (the people of the monastery). 

According to what was mentioned in the Arabic dictionaries, the meaning of the name "Gouna" refers to the dazzling sun, and also means the leather case in the form of a circle in which the perfumer preserves the scents from the fragrant perfumes.

So as you may have already noticed, El Gouna has several meanings, including the blackness that is mixed with red and light. The sun is said to be a “Gouna” meaning white or brightness, and the ship docked in El Gouna, meaning it anchored in the Gulf.

The Arabic dictionary of names' meanings mentioned that the name Gouna is a feminine scientific name meaning the charcoal or the painted khubia, just as El Gouna is called upon the sun at sunset, because it blackens at that time after being bright and beaming with light.

Does the name make more sense now?