Egypt was known throughout its history as a destination for tourists and travelers since it was visited by "Herodotus" during the ancient time, when he got surprised because of the vast difference between Egypt and his homeland. Egypt maintained this image throughout the middle and modern history. However, the discovery of the Pharaohs antiquities long time ago has added a special charm to Egypt beside, its unique religious and cultural monuments. On the other hand, Egypt enjoys a geographical location, moderate climate during the whole year-round, its smooth vast coastlines, and beaches with its unique treasures of coral reefs, which invest Egypt with advantages that guarantee for it a competitive edge.

Egypt enjoys various fields of tourism; the most important are archeological or cultural tourism as one of the oldest types of tourism in Egypt, where the ancient civilizations are visible to the naked eye, an incarnation of the nations that constructed these civilizations since the dawn of history. Despite the multiple types of tourism, and Egypt's cultural tourism remains the unrepeated, unique and non-competitive component of tourism as Egypt possesses one third of the world's known monuments.

Besides cultural and archaeological tourism, many tourism patterns has come into existence and has addressed broader segments of tourists across the world, including recreational tourism, beaches tourism, religious tourism, therapeutic tourism, eco-tourism, sports tourism, golf tourism, safari tourism, desert tourism, yacht tourism, and maritime tourism in addition to festivals tourism, and cultural events and finally conferences and exhibitions tourism.

In addition to these types of tourism, "Diving Centers Tourism" represents a tourist activity that attracts large number of tourists. Sharm El Sheikh is one of the largest diving centers in the world because of its potential environment and unique diversified nature which leads Sharm El Sheikh to be one of the major centers for attracting domestic and international tourism, in addition to being a resort for armatures fishing, tourism and diving.

Geography/Topography

Egypt is located in the north-eastern corner of Africa and south-western Asia. It is divided into four major parts:

1. The Nile Valley & Delta: Extends from north of the valley to the Mediterranean Sea and is divided into Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt: extending from Wadi Halfa to the south of Cairo and from North Cairo to the Mediterranean Sea. The River Nile in the north is divided into two branches, Dumyat and Rashid which embrace the highly fertile agricultural lands of the Delta.
2. The Western Desert: Extends from the Nile Valley in the East to the Libyan borders in the west, and from the Mediterranean in the north to Egypt's Southern borders.
3. The Eastern Desert: Extends from the Nile Valley in the West to the Red Sea, Suez Gulf, and Suez Canal in the East, and from Lake Manzala on the Mediterranean in the North to Egypt's southern borders with Sudan in the south. The Eastern Desert is marked with the Eastern Mountains that extend along the Red Sea with peaks that rise to about 3000 feet above sea level.
4. The Sinai Peninsula: Sinai is shaped like a triangle with its base at the Mediterranean in the North and its tip in the South at Ras Mohammed, the Gulf of Aqaba to the East and the Gulf of Suez and Suez Canal to the west.

Climate

Egypt lies in the dry equatorial region except its northern areas located within the moderate warm region with a climate similar to that of the Mediterranean region. It is warm and dry in the summer and moderate with limited rainfall increasing at the coast in winter.

Museums

Capital

Cairo: 18M Inhabitants

Distances/population

From:    Cairo
To:        Alexandria: 225km/4.0M Inhabitants
             Luxor: 721km/0.5M Inhabitants
             Aswan: 1202km/1.2M Inhabitants
             Sharm El Sheikh: 520km/0.2M Inhabitants
             Hurghada: 529km/0.3M Inhabitants

Languages

Arabic is the formal language. English, the first foreign language, along with French, are used in business activities. Russian, Italian, German, Spanish and other foreign languages are spoken in tourism-related areas.

Currency & Banking

Egyptian Pound is divided into 100 piaster. Exchange facility is available to all ports of entry, banks, hotels, bureau de change. Major credit cards are widely accepted and traveler cheques may be cashed at all banks (open: Sunday – Thursday: 08h30 – 14h00, some till 17h00)

Passports & Visas

A valid passport is necessary. Visas are not required for passport holders of countries with which a bilateral agreement exists

Flights & Airports

Egypt Air, the national carrier, recently joined “Star Alliance”, therefore majority of international airlines operate scheduled flights to major airports, e.g. Cairo International Airport, Sharm El Sheikh International Airport, Hurghada International Airport…etc. A variety of charter flights operate from Europe directly to major cities, e.g. Luxor, Aswan, Alexandria, Marsa Alam, Marsa Matrouh.

Local Time

GMT + 2 (daylight saving from May till October)

Electricity

220v, 13amp-3 pin plug (Italian standard) are used

Special Events

• The Cairo International Book Fair
• Hurghada International Championship for Fishing
• Hurghada International Squash Championship
• Cairo International Festival for Children Cinema
• Sinai International Bowling Championship – Sharm El Sheikh
• Reading for All Festival
• Egyptian Theatre National Festival
• Summer Festival of the Opera House
• Alexandria Arab Book Fair
• Alexandria Film Festival
• Cairo International Festival for Experimental Theatre
• International Documentary and Short Films Festival
• Arab Music Conference and Festival
• Cairo International Cinema Festival
• The Arab Theatre Festival

Public Transportation

Service taxis for up to 4 people (7 people in some cities) provide transportation within cities. Transportation can also be provided between cities. Taxi service is available 24/7

Infrastructure

Egypt benefits from an excellent infrastructure, modern roads, and hi-ways allowing easy travel between all major cities as well as a group of bridges that connect the cities internally and with each other. Additionally, advanced telecommunication system is a standard.

Shopping

All the bounty of the East can be found. Particularly good buys are spices, perfumes, gold, silver, carpets, brass and copperware, leatherwork, glass, ceramics.

Local Markets

• Khan El Khalili: for perfumes, gold, silver, carpets, brass and copperware, leatherwork, glass, ceramics
• Wekalet al-Balah: for fabrics, including Egyptian cotton, the Tentmakers Bazaar for appliqué-work
• Mohammed Ali Street for musical instruments
• Open 24/7