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"Samirag Travel", the most enlightening guide to Egypt on the World Wide Web, has given the proper guidance and information provided by this site. Visiting Egypt can turn out to be one of those lifetime dreams that you can never give up. We have defined Egypt through many perspectives. |
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Getting Here
Air
Egypt is reachable by all means.
The direct flight to Egypt's international airports are linked to Europe, New York, the Middle East, and most of Africa and most of East Nations.
Cairo International Airport (CAI) is the main international hub for Egypt, SHARM EL SHEIKH (SSH), ALEXANDRIA BURG AL ARAB (HBE), ALEXANDRIA AL NOZHA (ALY). Most of the flights to Egypt are to Cairo International Airport. The charters from Europe head directly to the other smaller airports.
Sea
Egypt has a variety of ports on Alexandria and Port Said, and The ferries linking Egypt with Saudi Arabia and Jordon crossing the Red Sea of Neweiba. From southern borders which is common among the middle and southern African countries.
Land
Through North Africa Nations crossing by Libya or The Middle East countries crossing by Israel
Land travel to Egypt can be achieved from all countries in North Africa through Libya or from the Middle East countries through Israel. Sudan is also a common land entry point for most of the middle and southern African countries.
Visas
It is much easier and cheaper to get your entry Visas in Egypt upon your arrival than getting them in the Egyptian consulate in your country. A tourist visa costs something like USD 30 and is valid for at least one month to three months. If you plan to stay more than that, you can be given an extension to your visa at the Mogammaa. It is the huge building in Tahrir Square. |
Geography
Herodtus said: Egypt is the gift of the Nile
The narrow strip which borders the banks of the Nile River lives on it almost 98% of the Egyptian population
The rest of the country is pretty much of a desert and some oasis somewhere, especially the western desert. Egypt is situated on the northwestern corner of Africa with a long coastline on the Meditaerranean Sea to the North and the Red Sea to the East.
The Nile flows from the bowels of Africa in the south to the North cutting into Sudan up to Egypt and the Mediterranean. Nile splits into two branched of Damietta and Rosetta, a main reason of the fertile soil of the Nile Delta. The Nile fundamentally divides Egypt into two unequal sections, the bigger called Western Desert and the other called the Eastern Desert.
Egypt is bordered to the West, beyond the Western Desert, by Libya and to the east lies Sinai, the peninsula at the top left hand corner of Egypt. Sinai is bounded on the North by the Mediterranean and no the west by the Gulf of Suez and to the east by the Gaza Strip, Israel and the Gulf of Aqaba. It has sone beautiful treasure of the underwater creatures. Apart from the mountains of Sinai, the land of Egypt is relatively flat and sandy.
Mt. Catherine is the highest point of Egypt, measuring 2650 meters above sea level. The Qattara Depression is the lowest, measuring 133 meters below sea level. Egypt covers an area of 998,000 square kilometers, of which 96% is native desert. With a few oases here and there, most of the farmland of Egypt is limited to the Nile Valley and Delta, which have rich fertile soils. The majority of the remaining land is totally covered by infertile rocky or sandy soils that are unsuitable for agriculture. |
Climate
The Land Of The Sun
Hot, sunny and dry are the suitable words for the Egypt’s climate in the desert. The summer time from May to October with a temperature of 44’C. Winter is generally cool ranging between 13’C and 21’C, but at night it get colder and drops to 5’C. Wide variations can occur sometimes as hot as 46’C during the day time and then drop to 5’C at night.
The rain is concentrated of about 300 mm per year in the Mediterranean coast. During April and May, hot winds and sandstorms of Khmaseen blow frequently turning Egypt into one orange dusty cloud. By going south the temperatures tend to increase, making Aswan the hottest spot in Egypt. We would suggest that you plan your trip to Egypt in between October and April when the weather is beautiful unless you do not mind the heat of the summer.
Egypt’s weather is superb as compare to other parts of the world.
As compared to other parts of the world the climate in Egypt is considered superb. |
Demography
Human Structure
Egypt’s most big problem is over population with 82 million people. Next after Nigeria in Africa, first in the Arab world. Despite some credit to be given to Family Organization Program (FOP), the annual growth rate has dropped from 6% to 2.2%
96% of the population lives on 4% of the land, the Nile Valley and the Delta, this shows how centralized Egypt is. With 20 millions live in Cairo and 6 million people in Alexandria and the rest are scattered all over the along the Nile Valley. The increase in GNP is straightaway consumed by the increase in population.
The government is trying, fruitless, to deal with exploding population, in terms of facilities such as schools, infrastructure and accommodation. The past decade has also witnessed trenchant attempts of decentralization, new cities to be built around Cairo, highways from and to the capital.
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Culture
7000 Year's Culture
The cornerstone of Egyptian culture is family and religion. The religion whatever it is Islamic or Christian is the bond between friend and family members and strangers as well.
You walk in the streets and discover that Egypt is one of the few nations where strangers greet each other.
The dedicated values and principles of the Egyptian’s religion control their life.
In rural areas, inhabitants still live the same traditional life of their ancestors. The villagers, known as Fallahin. The villagers, more commonly known as the "Fallahin", depend completely on agriculture and live in very humble mud-brick houses. These mud-brick houses normally consist of just one large room which holds the whole family. In t his patriarchal community, decision making invariably falls to the head of the family, namely the husband. Male supremacy is also an inherent part of the community and young girla are given very little freedom in comparison to their brothers.
Family bond are very strong, and neighbors are usually treated as family. Sexual affairs between unmarried couples are strictly forbidden and a taboo, and are looked down upon as being immoral, as well as a great religious offense. For Muslims, drinking alcohol, gambling, or eating pork are also strongly forbidden.
This traditional system of Egyptian values managed to find its way into the urban societies, but with a few variations here and there, urban communities tend to lead a more modern, globalized and westernized lifestyle. As you move up to high class, this westernization seems to be increasing, and of course with McDonalds just around the block, the younger generations have completely adopted the "American" way of life, creating a immense gap between parents and their offspring, more "open-minded" children.
The two largest cities are Cairo and Alexandria, and because of the extreme centralization in Egypt, both cities are the heart of the country and everything revolves around them. Urban migration has been too common in Egypt for the past 20 years, stretching Cairo’s population beyond all limits. In general, Egyptians are renowned for their kindness, patience, and extreme sense of humor. They are extremely patriotic, and any offense to their nation, culture, religion or values will not be tolerated at all. On the other hand, you’ll notice that Egyptians are extremely helpful, friendly, and always smiley. Many Egyptians speak English as a second language, (some speak French), and so communicating with them should not be a problem. Egyptian men love to flirt, to smoke "Sheesha", and most of all they love soccer. The two most popular soccer teams are "Ahly" and "Zamalek", mention them and you are bound to strike a conversation.
Watching soccer is probably the number one form of male recreation in the country, along with going to the coffee shop to have some "Sheesha", play backgammon (tawla), and drink tea with mint. To socialize with the men, it's usually about politics, women, or soccer. With women, it's usually just gossip or cooking. Most of Egyptian women are housewives, with the husband providing all the income. You’ll find working women only among the upper class and the younger generations. As far religion is concerned, most men and women are considered religious, with just a few extremists here and there. You may recognize the extremists by their long unshaved beard and very short hair and their callus on the forehead, which is a spot of dead skin on their foreheads from excessive praying. People are quite conservative when it comes to dress code. Usually they do not wear short in the summer, even it is really hot Only on the beach in summer resorts, swimming pools.
The normal dress for rural men is the long white robes, garment, known as Galabiya. Hejab is a piece of cloth used to cover the head. Most of Egyptian women are veiled and wearing long sleeves.
Nevertheless with the increasing Americanization and westernization, many have discarded the veil, and dress as European women on the conservative side. As with the younger generations, they just follow the latest "American" fashion trends: Levis, hot and tight pants, tight shorts, tight skirts, bikinis etc...
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Religion
The Blessed Land
As stated in the constitution that Islam is the main source of the laws. Muslims make up to 90% of the population, most of them under the Sunni Islamic sector. The rest of the Egyptian community are Coptic Christian, the biggest minority in the Middle East, and then few Roman Catholics, Armenians and very small Jewish community consisting of less than one hundred members. Generally a peaceful bond between Muslims and Copts is enjoyed by both sides. Intermarriage is forbidden by both sides.
Being a Muslim does not entail much. All the underlying principles of Islam are presented in the Qor'an, which is their Sacred Book. Islam in Egypt is not only a religion, but it is also a way of life. It controls most social and family activities and bonds. It is the foundation for most traditions, and is a major force that has shaped both government and law.
If you visit Egypt during the Holy month of Ramadan, you can probably sense the Muslim spirit the most. When visiting the Mosques of Cairo, you will be required to take your shoes off, in respect to the Holy setting. We ask you to cooperate with such traditions and to respect the Islamic religion at all times while in Egypt. And to cover your shoulders and your hair as well.
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Arts
Mother Of Arts
The roots of arts in Egypt go back to the ancient times. Many masterpieces and artifacts still intact and in a good shape. Influence by the different colonist cultures is obvious in the multitude of ideas. Egypt and its art belong to an Arabic Islamic tradition in general.
Literature
Arts in literature, music, cinema, or visual arts continue to flourish and expand, reaching new horizon and ideas. The Egyptian writers are well known all over the Arab world. Literature is believed to be shaped by the writings of Yehhia Haki, Yousef Idris, Taha Hussien, Gamal Al-Ghitani, Sekina Fouad and the Nobel Prize Laureate Naguib Mahfouz. For an entire understanding of Egyptian culture, we recommend his Cairo ‘trilogy’. His books are translated to all the major languages and could be found in every book store and library.
Music
Anywhere you go, music is there. From a taxi, coffee shop or someone singing in the streets. Umm Kalthum, a voice you will hear, the most celebrated female singer in the Arab World. 1975, she died at the age of 73, her funeral was one of the largest in history. Her voice is for everyone from humble café owners to businessmen. You will never regret buying some of music, if you did not get the chance to listen to her voice.
She is not the only music legend but there s Abdel Halim Hafez, male counterpart. His music is everywhere in Cairo. Hafez, died at the age of 48. The new rhythm if Amr Diab, Muhammed Mounir, and more represent the pop side if the music of Egypt.
Visual Arts
Ahmed Sabry and Hamed Abdallah presented the real past Egyptian Painting through their works. Sculpture kingdom, Mahmoud Mokhtar resides on top of the list. Unfortunately these artists are gone, but their work remains in the Museum of Modern Egyptian Art, with works of other contemporary Egyptian artists.
Here in Egypt, the painters and sculptors can be categorized into; those who have little to offer but conventional, representational and academic work. And a more recent circle of contemporary artists who are willing to explore and play with new medium and style.
Downtown Cairo is full of private galleries like Mashrabeya, Karim Francis, Town House, Cairo-Berlin for the more intriguing exhibitions.
Adel Al Siwi, George Al Bahgoury, Hassan Soliman, and Mohamed Abla.
Cinema
Egypt is considered the leader of the Film Industry in the Arab World. Most famous ones are Omar El Sherif, who reached the international level in films as Dr. Zhivago. Egypt’s leading comedian Adel Emam, Nour El Sherif and Mahmoud Abdel Aziz.
Youssef Chahine, the most celebrated director, was recently received an award at Cannes Film Festival for ‘The Destiny’. Dr. Khairy Beshara, talented director, focuses on contemporary Egyptian issues. Egypt reputation as the leader of Arabic Film is shacking with the low quality and young comedians have taken a large step back in terms of seriousness.
Dance
The belly dance of Egypt is overshadowing the whole Contemporary Dance scene. Egypt, the belly dancing capital of the world. The local oriental Egyptians music is serving as ideal rhythm. Some dancers, who out-number actors, artists and musicians, become popular and go on to become movie stars.
Most popular ones are Dina, Fify and Lucy. Belly dancing can be caught at any five-star hotels, at Haram Street know for its night-clubs. Even Egypt is a good place for catching belly dancing lessons. Sufi dance, is in a Muslim mystical order, for worshipping purpose, spinning around wearing colored clothes.
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Economy
The Egyptian Economy depends on Oil & gas, Suez Canal, Tourism and remittances from Egyptians working abroad.
The resources are not coping with the endless increase of population. Even before the 1952 revolution, Egypt’s economy considered a feudalist one depending on farming and nearly no industry.
By the construction of Aswan High Dam, and under Gamal Abd El Nasser’s socialist regime; the majority of large industries were nationalized. Anwar El-Sadat implemented his “Open Door Policy” with a free market and vast trade with Europe and the United States.
A gradual economic reform was adopted by Hosni Mubarak and his tendency towards privatization, trying to introduce a new flourishing private-sector with the Egyptian Stock Exchange in downtown. The Pound is the Egyptian currency. It comes in half-pound notes and coins, one-pound notes and coins, five-pound notes, ten-pound notes, twenty-pound notes, fifty-pound notes. one hundred-pound notes, and two hundred-pound notes.
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Language
Egypts official language is Arabic, however, the Arabic spoken in Egypt, known as colloquial Arabic, differs from that of Classical Arabic, which is the lingua franca within the Arab world.
The colloquial Arabic that you'll hear in the streets has a completely different dialect, as well as an altered, more-simple vocabulary, from the written Classical Arabic. Although the Cairn dialect of colloquial Arabic is the one most commonly used in Egypt, regional areas have their own dialects, which differ in sound.
The Bedouins, who are the nomads of the western desert and Sinai, speak their own different dialect. Berber, on the other hand, is the language spoken by the people that inhabit some of the villages of the eastern desert.
As a second language, many Egyptians speak English as well as French, so communication should not be a problem. Maps and street signs are usually written in both Arabic and English. |
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