Situated on the northwestern tip of Africa, Egypt incorporates the Sinai Peninsula, the only land bridge between the continent of Africa and the rest of the Eastern Hemisphere. In this bustling, colorful, loud, and busy nation are the roots to one of the most ancient civilizations to exist on Earth. There is something for everyone here, whether you’re interested in the Great Pyramids, the crowded markets, the historic Nile River, the fantastic cuisine, or the nation’s vast number of museums. Egypt at its simplest is a study in contrasts: ancient and modern, desert and oasis, crowds and isolation. These pairings make Egypt a compelling travel destination, worthy of any traveler’s top ten list.
What to Do in Egypt
1. The Pyramids and the Sphinx: Even if you’ve seen them before, we suggest that you see them again: the pyramids and the Sphinx, both located in the town of Giza, are among the most iconic structures in the history of the world. Some travel agencies offer tickets to a laser show that takes place on the horizon between the pyramids and Cairo, but we recommend that you plan your visit mostly for during the day.
2. Luxor: Ancient Greeks and Romans themselves flocked to the city of Luxor to see the monuments on the East Bank. Karnak Temple is one of the most beautifully excavated ancient sites we have ever seen, and Luxor Temple comes in a close second. Comprising one of the largest open-air museums in the world, this ancient conglomeration of temples, stelae, obelisks, and hieroglyphs makes for a stunning figurative trip back to ancient Egypt.
3. Valley of the Kings: Located on Luxor’s West Bank, this archaeological site has been under excavation for almost two centuries, but it was the discovery of the tomb of King Tutankhamun in 1922 that made headlines around the world. If other tombs were raided and looted before they were discovered in modern times, King Tut’s tomb, virtually untouched since his death, in 1323 B.C.E., serves as a pristine example of ancient burial ceremonies. Though all artifacts have been moved to the Egyptian Museum in nearby Cairo, the Valley of the Kings is a must visit.
4. Egyptian Museum in Cairo: This museum has a mimd-boggling accumulation of artifacts from Egyptian antiquity. The sheer volume of pieces, not to mention their physical scale, is astounding. Any tour guide worth his salt will lead you on a tour of the highlights; otherwise, it would take days to see every one of the spectacular items. Featuring collections arranged in chronological order, the museum includes some of King Tut’s treasures, pre-dynasty monuments, artifacts of the Middle and Modern kingdoms, Greek and Roman antiquities, coins and papyri, and sarcophagi.
5. Alexandria: Less than three hours from Cairo by minibus, Alexandria is home to summer beach lovers, many of whom are escapees from Cairo’s intense summer heat. Walk on the beach and enjoy sites like the Kom al-Shoqafa catacombs, Muhammad Ali’s ancient palace, and the Royal Library of Alexandria, once the largest library in the world.
6. Egypt’s Bazaars: Your trip to Egypt won’t be complete until you spend an afternoon touring an endless maze of stalls and alleyways in a city bazaar. Bazaars in Egypt are usually divided into Muslim and Christian markets and keep separate schedules accordingly. Confronting an array of home goods, clothes, jewelry, fruits, vegetables, souvenirs, fabrics, musical instruments, and more, you must negotiate the price before accepting a merchant’s initial offer; it’s customary to haggle in this region.
7. Abu Simbel: Originally carved out of a mountainside, the temples at Abu Simbel were constructed by King Ramses II near the city of Aswan. When a proposed dam construction threatened to flood the temple, UNESCO engineers developed a project to cut the entire site into giant blocks and move it to higher ground in 1964. Today’s reconstruction of the site allows visitors to bear witness to not only an amazing feat of antiquity but an impressive modern achievement as well.
8. Sailing in Aswan: Observe the Blue Nile’s lush green banks against the backdrop of a desert landscape while sailing on a felucca, a type of sailboat used in Egypt since antiquity. A guide can help arrange a group or private ride, which usually lasts between 30 and 45 minutes. This is a great time to pick up some handmade keepsakes.
9. Temple of Horus at Edfu: Situated on the Nile between Luxor and Aswan, this temple permits a dramatic peek into the ancient rituals of Egyptian religion, especially if you visit at night. Preserved hieroglyphs adorn every surface of the temple. Guides reenact certain ceremonies for the sake of visitors. Witnessing ancient Egyptian rituals while standing in a room previously reserved for only the highest of priests is an unforgettable experience.
10. Siwa Oasis: In the western desert near the Libyan border is Egypt’s most remote oasis town. Siwans speak their own language and have an identifiable style of jewelry and crafts, influenced by the Berbers. The natural beauty of this area is what drew us in: travelers can relax in the hot springs and eat local snacks, such as the town’s famed olives.
When to Go
Egypt has two seasons: a mild winter, from November to April, and a hot summer, from May to October. More often than not, days are warm or hot and nights are cool and breezy. The only major differences between winter and summer are the daytime high temperatures and the changes in wind flow. Summers in the desert undergo wide variations between day temperatures and night ones: average minimums are 57 degrees Fahrenheit (14 degrees Celcius,) and high temps can climb to over 104 degrees Fahrenheit (40 degrees Celcius.) The lower temperatures in Alexandria have made the city a popular summer resort. Egypt receives very little rainfall annually, so the best time of year to visit is either in September through November or February through April, for taking advantage of the mild air.
Getting In and Around
Visas: A passport and a visa are required for entering Egypt, and you can obtain a renewable 30-day tourist visa on your arrival at any Egyptian airport.
Transportation: Driving is the most common form of travel within the country. Egypt’s transportation system is well developed, almost 80 percent of the road network being paved. Cairo’s subway line was completed in 1987 and was the first subway system on the continent of Africa. The Western Desert Highway, a high-speed toll road, connects Cairo and Alexandria, and although you can take the non-toll Delta Road, it will invariably be busier and the traffic slower.
The state-owned Egyptian Railways, founded in 1852, manages the 3,104 miles (4,995 km) of railways in the country, and there are more than 2,175 miles (3,500 km) of navigable canals that link all parts of the country by steamer service, in addition to the Nile. One of the best ways we’ve traveled in the country is by arriving in Cairo, taking a flight to Aswan, and sailing up the Nile to Luxor, stopping at historic sites along the way. It is a great way to experience Egypt.
Mobile Phones: It’s possible to rent a SIM card during you stay in Africa, in case you have a GSM phone and your local cellular provider doesn’t provide service to Egypt. They are readily available in any cellular store in major cities. To dial outside your city code, dial 0 plus the city code plus the phone number.
Museums in Egypt
The Egyptian National Museum contains unique exhibits from prehistoric times to the 3rd century and also has a notable Department of Antiquities. There are many specialized museums in Egypt, including the Coptic Museum, devoted to the history of the Christian Coptics. The Museum of Islamic Art displays arts from the different Islamic eras that Egypt passed through including the Fatimid, Turkish and Persian periods. The Greco-Roman Museum’s collection covers the period from the 3rd century BC to the 7th century AD, and it is a record of civilization in the process of change as religions merged and society evolved.
The Agricultural Museum was founded to record the history of agriculture from prehistoric to modern times. The State Museum of Modern Art, Islamic Archaeological Museum, Railway Museum and Cotton Museum are also located in Cairo. Several former royal palaces have been transformed into museums, including the Al-Gawhara Palace in Cairo, Ras at-Tin Palace in Alexandria, and Al-Montazah Palace in Montazah-Alexandria.
The Kasr El Manial Museum narrates the history of medicine in the Arab Machreq. The Luxor Museum houses, among other treasures, grave goods from the tomb of Tutankhamen. The Nubia Museum in Answa (http://www.numibia.net/nubia/intro.htm) preserves the monuments of Egyptian Nubia. Further, the Royal Jewelry Museum in Alexandria was once the palace of Fatma Al-Zahra and houses major jewelry pieces and acquisitions of the Mohammad Ali dynasty. The Grand Eygytian Museum (aka the Giza Museum) is scheduled to be built by 2013.
Encyclopedia of the Nations
The Egyptian National Museum (Egypt)
Telephone: +20 (0)2 25 78 24 52
Telephone: +20 (0)2 25 79 69 48
Fax: +20 (0)2 57 96 97
The Coptic Museum (Egypt)
Telephone: +20 (0)2 23 63 97 42
Telephone: +20 (0)2 23 62 87 66
Agricultural Museum (Egypt)
Telephone: +20 (0)2 37 61 67 85
Telephone: +20 (0)2 37 61 68 74
Telephone: +20 (0)2 33 37 29 33
The Luxor Museum (Egypt)
Telephone: +20 (0)95 238 02 69
Telephone (Mobile): +20 (0)10 670 36 38
The Nubia Museum (Egypt)
Telephone: +20 (0)97 231 92 22
Telephone: +20 (0)97 231 91 11
The Royal Jewel Museum (Egypt)
Telephone: +20 (0)3 582 83 48
The Railway Museum (Egypt)
Telephone: +20 (0)2 25 76 37 93
Museum of Islamic Art (Egypt)
Hours: 9 a m to 4 p m except Fridays 9.30 a m till 11 30 a m and 1.30 p m until 4 p m
For information : +23901520.
Kasr El Manial Museum – Manial Palace in Cairo (Egypt)
Telephone: 02/2368749
The Grand Egyptian Museum (Egypt)
Telephone: (202) 386 59 17 – 386 59 11 –
Fax: 386 58 71
E-mail: gem1@idsc.gov.eg
The Cotton Museum (Egypt)
Telephone: 360-8682
Museum of Egyptian Modern Art (Egypt)
Telephone: 736 6667
Telephone: 27366667, 27366665
The Museum of Islamic Art (Egypt)
Telephone: 390 9930
Safety and Security
Concerned about your safety as you plan travel to Egypt? We at Africa.com, together with our friends, family and colleagues, travel extensively throughout the continent. Here are the resources we consult when thinking of our safety in Egypt:
• UK Government Egypt Travel Advice Guidance
Africa.com comment: Very timely and frequently updated. Perspective assumes that you ARE going to travel to Egypt, and seeks to give you good guidance so that you understand the risks and are well informed.
• Mo Ibrahim Personal Safety & Rule of Law Score for Egypt
Africa.com comment: An annual ranking of the 54 African countries based on their relative personal security as determined by a highly qualified staff of an African foundation, funded by a successful African philanthropist. See where Egypt ranks relative to the other 54 nations in Africa.
• U.S. State Department Travel Advisory on Egypt
Africa.com comment: Can sometimes be considered as overly conservative and discourage travel altogether to destinations that many reasonable people find acceptably secure. On the other hand, they have the resources of the CIA to inform them, so they know things that the rest of us don’t know. See what they have to say about Egypt.
Local Advice
1. Egypt is divided into 29 governorates. If you look closely at a map, you can see that some of them, like the New Valley in the Sahara, are relatively large, while the governorates immediately surrounding the Nile, like Aswan, Luxor, and Qena, are very small. That accounts for the difference in population in the desert and in the fertile Nile region.
2. One Egyptian pound (E£), the nation’s currency, equals 100 piastres. All notes are written in Arabic and English, and the smaller the note, the smaller the monetary denomination. It can be a challenge to find a merchant willing to break the larger denominations from the currency exchange office, and you’ll need smaller denominations of piastres for the practice of baksheesh, as described below. Try to obtain smaller notes at the time of your exchange.
3. The Egyptian tradition of baksheesh is extremely common in the area and is more or less comparable to the Western practice of tipping. Baksheesh in Egypt encompasses a wider range, however, and is expected as a thank you for any service rendered, even if that service was not technically requested. Want to see a closed tomb? Twenty-five piastres. Want to turn on a light in a museum display case? Only 50 piastres. This constant exchange of baksheesh can be surprising for a first-timer, but it’s the norm all over the country.
4. Egypt uses the electric plug type called C, so make sure you pack a plug adapter before you leave. You’ll also need a transformer that can convert streams into 220 volts.
5. Religion plays an important part in Egypt’s history and modern culture, and Egypt’s constitution requires all legislation to conform implicitly with Islamic law. Today almost 90 percent of the population practices Sunni Islam, and the call to prayer can be heard five times a day from the mosque minarets that dot the country’s horizon. It is not uncommon for the small population of Christian followers to get a small, voluntary tattoo on their hand indicating their faith.
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