 Egypt is gaining popularity as a travel destination. People find more reasons to visit the country over others. Egypt offers a glimpse of human history combined with its rich cultural diversities. The incredible historic monuments and sights overwhelmed us.
When?
Peak travel season in Egypt runs from mid October to May, and this is the best time to visit. From May until October, the temperatures are fairly high, especially in Luxor and the southern parts of the country, yet summer offers a time to see Egypt in relative. peace and quite
How to Reach
?
There are a variety of good options for getting to Egypt, with good connections between Cairo and many cities. Egypt's national air carrier is Egypt Air, and Air Sinai also has good connections in Egypt. Most travellers come into Egypt through Cairo.
Visa
Persons interested in applying for visa to visit Egypt are required to fill out an Application Form, giving all the information and documents asked for in the application. The application must be supported by the applicant's passport.
Currency
Egypt currency is pound, popularly known as Egyptian Pound. One Egyptian Pound is divided into 100 piastres. Piastre is originally a silver coin of U.S. dollar size that served as the major currency of French Indochina and in the Ottoman Empire. Coins are also parts of Egyptian currency. However only 5, 10, 20 and 25 piastres coins are considered as the legal coin currency. 1 US Dollar is equivalent to approximately 3.4 Egyptian Pounds. The old Egyptian banknotes look different from the new ones but they are in circulation and are useful.
Things To Do in
Egypt
Cairo
Cairo lies along the River Nile stretching up to 40 km from north to south. The citizens of Cairo proudly call their city as the 'Mother of All Cities'. Cairo or Al Qahirah is not only the capital of Egypt but also the largest city in the Middle East and Africa. Cairo lies in the strategic routes leading to the three continents of Asia, Africa and Europe. At Cairo, River Nile gets divided into two distributaries, Rosetta and Damietta. The 2000-year-old city is a melting pot of Islamic, Christian Coptic and Jewish cultures, which are flourishing even up to this day.
Khan El-Khalili
The Khan El-Khalili is one of the most interesting bazaars, not only in Egypt, but also in the whole Middle East. It was named after Prince Jaharkas Al-Khalili, who was one of the powerful Mamluke Princes in the 14th century. It is famous for its unusual, typically oriental souvenirs, and handmade crafts. The Medieval atmospheres of this traditional market, together with the labyrinth layout of the streets, gives visitors o lot of pleasure and a glimpse into what medieval markets once were like. Cafes, restaurants, shops, and large number of vendors and buyers constitute a dynamic panorama of the place.The Khan El-Khalili Bazaar is place where art and commerce come together to give a unique and remarkable, harmonious experience.
Great Pyramids
The Great Pyramid of Giza is the main part of a complex setting of buildings that included two mortuary temples in honor of Khufu (one close to the pyramid and one near the Nile), three smaller pyramids for Khufu's wives, an even smaller "satellite" pyramid, a raised causeway connecting the two temples, and small Mastaba tombs surrounding the pyramid for nobles. One of the small pyramids contains the tomb of queen Hetepheres (discovered in 1925), sister and wife of Snefru and the mother of Khufu.
Lord of the Sphinx
The word "sphinx", which means 'strangler', was first given by the Greeks to a fabulous creature This had the head of a man and the body of a lion Of Egypt, there are numerous sphinxes, usually with the Head of a king wearing his headdress and the Body of a lion, the head and face of the Sphinx certainly reflect a style that belongs to Egypt's old kingdom and to the 4th dynasty in particular.
The Egyptian Museum
Your Egyptologist will escort you on a fascinating Tour of 7,000 years of this famous museum houses the world’s largest collection of ancient Egyptian artifacts (more than 145,000 items on display) featuring the famous Tutankhamen collection with its beautiful gold death mask and sarcophagus and the royal.
Citadel (Alabaster Mosque)
The massive Citadel complex dominates the city skyline. Built on a limestone spur by Salah al-Din (Saladin) in the 12th century, most of its features are associated with Mohammed Ali, the early 19th century leader who freed Egypt of the Mameluke yoke. The Citadel offers fantastic panoramic views of Islamic Cairo in a castle setting rich in history.
Awsan
The surrounding area. Aswan is probably the least of the super-site tourist areas, but has great hotels, along with the huge Lake Nasser just to the south.
High Dam
Located near Aswan, the world famous High Dam was an engineering miracle when it was built in the 960s. It contains 18 times the material used in the Great Pyramid of Cheops. The Dam is 11,811 feet long, 3215 feet thick at the base and 364 feet tall.
Philae Temple
Philae dedicated to Goddess Isis and constructed on the beautiful island of Philae. Philae the modern day name is Greek but the ancient Egyptians called the island P-aaleq which amongst other definitions has the dual meaning of "end" and "creation".
Kom Ombo temple
The temple of Kom Ombo is unique in one respect: it is dedicated to two gods, and the entire temple holds two perfectly symmetrical sections. The sanctuary to the left is dedicated to the falcon-headed sky god Harwer (also written Haroeris), or Horus the elder and his family.
Edfu temple
Edfu was the 2nd Nome of Upper Egypt and the centre of the cult of a triad of Gods, which consisted of Horus of Behdet, Hathor, and their son, Hor-Sama-Tawy. Edfu was known as “Apollo polis Magna” because the Greeks identified Horus with their God Apollo, the work of construction began during the reign of Ptolemy III (about 237 BC) and was finished during the reign of Ptolemy IV. Sail to Esna
Luxor
Luxor, and the surrounding area. Luxor is a living museum with vast numbers of ancient Egyptian monuments. It is also highly oriented to tourists, and might be thought of in the same regard as a theme park, where the attractions just happen to be real monuments.
Valley of the Kings
The first king of the New Kingdom, Ahmose of the 18th Dynasty, built a pyramid-like structure at Abydos, which may or may not have been his original tomb the Valley, known as Biban el-Muluk, "doorway or gateway of the kings," or, the Wadyein, meaning "the two valleys," is actually composed of two separate branches. The main eastern branch, called TA set aat, or "The Great Place," is where most of the royal tombs are located, and in the larger, The Valley is hidden from sight, behind the cliffs, which form the backdrop to the temple complex of Deir
el-Bahari.
Hatshepsut Temple
The mortuary temple of Queen Hatshepsut, the Queen’s architect, Senenmut, designed it and set it at the head of a valley overshadowed by the Peak of the Thebes, the "Lover of Silence," where lived the goddess who presided over the necropolis. His daughter became pharaoh, her father Tutmose I circulated the legend that the God Amon became father of Hatshepsut and therefore she is half a God she was married twice unfortunately and her second husband and stepbrother Tutmose III hated her so much that he had all pictures and inscriptions of her destroyed after she died.
Colossi of Memnon
These two, gigantic figures of Amenhotep III were originally situated in front of his Mortuary temple which was destroyed for unknown reasons! The two colossi are made of sandstone, which during ancient times was brought from Gabal El Silselah. Each colossus, including the pedestal and the crown, is about 21m tall and represents King Amenhotep III seating on his throne, wearing the Nimes, or royal headdress, with the divine cobra protecting his forehead.
Karnak temple
This great Temple of Amon Ra was known during the Middle Kingdom period as Ipt-Swt, which means the Selected Spot. It was also called Pr-Imn, which means the House of Amon. The entrance you will find a ram-headed avenue of Sphinxes, which was built to protect the Temple. There are 20 rams on each side, as you cross this pylon, it takes you into an Open court, whose dimensions are100m long by 80m wide, built during the 22nd Dynasty, and containing rows of bud papyrus columns.
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