Egypt Destination Guide
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Egypt Destination Guide Contents Contents 2 Quick Facts 3 About Egypt 4 Events & Nightlife 5 Top Destinations 7 Tours & Activities 9 Food & Dining Out 11 Shopping 13 Best Time To Visit 14 Travel Tips 15 Quick Facts Flying Time: 4 hours 45 minutes Currency: Egyptian Pound Language: Arabic - English widely spoken Time Zone: GMT+2 Visit For: Great Beaches, Scuba Diving, Culture, Arts, Architecture, Trekking, Spa, Beautiful Scenery, Festivals 3 About Egypt From iconic pyramids that rise from ancient sands and bustling medieval bazaars full of colour, to the endless desert dotted with oases of palm trees, busy cities and modern coastal holiday resorts offering some of the best diving in the world, Egypt is a living museum and a land packed with amazing attractions. Egypt is famously the land of the pharaohs. There’s Tutankhamun, the young boy who became a pharaoh of the 18th dynasty, and whose solid gold death mask is one of the most famous ancient artefacts ever found. Or Nefertiti, the wife of Pharaoh Akhenaton, who is believed to have ruled in her own right and whose beauty is the stuff of legend. Both have given unparalleled romance to the country’s history. Most of the country’s astonishing monuments that can be visited today were built during the time of the pharaohs. The Pyramids of Giza (the sole survivors of the Seven Ancient Wonders of the World), the mighty Sphinx with its body of a lion and a human head, the lotus- columned temples of Luxor and Karnak, the nearby Valley of the Kings and the Valley of the Queens, and Hatshepsut’s temple, the Deir el Bahri, have thrilled visitors to Egypt for centuries. Further south along the Nile, past Aswan, are the temples of Abu Simbel. Built to honour the pharaoh Ramses II and his wife Nefertari, the temples are adorned with statues some 20m (66ft) high carved with unbelievable detail into the sheer rock face and gaze out over a huge stretch of water, the Nasser Lake. The temples are an incredible sight. Here, visitors can enjoy one of the spectacular sound-and-light shows that are staged at many of Egypt’s treasures nightly. Egypt’s natural assets are equally as potent. The Nile Delta, with its intricate network of rivers that fan out just north of Cairo to reach its rocky Mediterranean coastline around Alexandria, is lush and green. In stark contrast is the sparsely populated desert with wind-polished rock formations and oases. Splitting the desert in two from the Nile Delta to Egypt’s southernmost border is the spine-like Nile River, which has provided water for the country’s population and its agriculture for millennia. The iron-clad mountains of the Sinai and the gleaming underwater landscapes of the Red Sea, complete the country’s diverse landscape. Egypt is a land of contrasts, ancient and modern, green and barren. Beneath the surface throbs a pulsing Arab state that celebrates its heritage while embracing contemporary life, but recent turmoils, namely the Arab Spring, and another military coup have galvanised a spirit of revolution throughout the nation. Whether the country will ultimately flourish or fade under this ongoing struggle for power remains to be seen. The country is best understood not so much for its great monuments, splendid though they are, but through its people. Observing the call to prayer at sunset or bartering for a bargain in Cairo’s ancient Khan al-Khalili bazaar, taking tea and talking with one of its garrulous residents in a random coffeehouse or simply stopping awhile in a rural village, silent but for the chatter of hooves on tarmac, will give a glimpse of a country full of character, colour and fortitude. 4 Events & Nightlife See the list of exciting Events taking place in Egypt, as well as the varied Nightlife on offer Events Abu Simbel Sun Festival From: 22-02-2015 To: 22-02-2015 Ticket prices vary. One of the most spectacular events in Egypt, the Abu Simbel Festival celebrates the precision with which Ramses II designed the largest temple so that the sun's rays light up the inner sanctum of the temple on the anniversary of his birthday and the day he took the throne. It happens just twice a year in February and October Venue Name: Abu Simbel Temples Sinai Liberation Day From: 25-04-2015 To: 25-04-2015 Free. Special events are organised throughout the Sinai Peninsula in celebration of the day when Israeli forces withdrew from the region in 1982. Venue Name: Throughout Sinai peninsula. Sharm El Sheikh International Women Tennis Tournament From: 11-09-2015 To: 17-10-2015 Free to spectate. Bringing together 150 international women tennis players from 25 countries, including Japan, Italy, Russia and the Ukraine, this tournament promises a series of top games. Venue Name: Sports Stadium, Sharm El Sheikh. The Pharaons International Cross Country Rally From: 27-09-2015 To: 17-10-2015 Free to spectate. A week-long endurance race that starts at the Pyramids of Giza and takes a circular route on the sands around Cairo, this event attracts motorcyclists and drivers from around the world. For visitors it is a spectacular sight. Venue Name: Pyramids of Giza 5 Cross Egypt Challenge From: 01-10-2015 To: 30-10-2015 Free to spectate. A nine-day endurance scooter event will follow a 2400 km (1500 miles) route from Cairo to Alexandria, and then south to the Western Desert oases of Siwa, Bahareya, Farafra, Dekhla and Kharga before arriving in Luxor. Venue Name: Tahrir Square, Cairo Eid El Adha From: 15-10-2015 To: 19-10-2015 Free. A four-day festival, Eid El Adha is known as the 'Great Festival' and is one of the most important religious events in the Muslim calendar. Marked by the end of pilgrimage to Mecca, it is a time when families gather to pray and feast. Towns throughout Egypt hold festivals. Venue Name: Throughout Egypt. Nightlife As the sun sets, people start spilling onto the streets, congregating in coffee shops and restaurants. Go to any waterfront - along the Nile in Cairo and Luxor, or the seafronts in Alexandria and Sharm el Sheikh - and you'll find the corniche humming with the chatter of friends cruising arm in arm to catch the breeze. Street vendors selling kebabs, chai-sellers shouldering giant urns and trinket merchants with the latest colourful imports vie for the attentions of passers-by. This is the place to meet the locals, gauge the national mood and share in the jubilations of a local football success. A huge draw for visitors – both domestic and foreign – are the sound and light shows held in spectacular fashion in many of the country's archaeological sites. Here, you can come face- to-face with the spot-lit Sphinx at Giza or watching the entire Temple of Karnak unfold to music at Luxor. The best of these shows is held at the Temple of Ramses II in Abu Simbel. Commentary is often in different languages every evening so check it’s the right one for you. Sophisticated nightclubs, bars and restaurants can be found in Cairo, Alexandria and most large towns. The nightlife in Luxor and Aswan often includes barbecues along the Nile or dinner cruises. A new rule requires discos, bars and restaurants to close by midnight at the latest. Only those establishments with a tourism licence may open after that time. 6 Top Destinations Abu Simbel temples Dedicated to the Pharaoh Ramses II (1304-1237 BC), and his beloved queen Nefertari, the two temples at Abu Simbel stand on the shores looking out over Lake Nasser. They were discovered covered in sand by the Swiss explorer Burckhardt in 1813, and later moved as part of an UNESCO- funded project when the Aswan Dam was built and the waters of the lake rose significantly. Opening Times: Daily 0600-1700 (dependent on season). Admission Fees: Adult tickets from E£70. Disabled Access: No Karnak Temple (Ipet-Isut) Karnak Temple is a vast complex consisting of three main temples, several smaller enclosed temples, and a number of outer temples. The most spectacular of these is the Temple of Amun (Amun’s Precinct). This is entered via the Avenue of the Sphinxes that once connected Karnak and Luxor Temples, and led through the ancient city of Thebes, the capital of Egypt during the period of the Middle and New Kingdoms. The whole complex was built over a period of 1300 years and includes several of the finest examples of ancient Egyptian design and architecture. Among them are the Hypostyle Hall, considered one of the world’s great architectural achievements with around 130 enormous carved columns covering an area of 6000 sq metres (64,586 sq ft), and the Obelisk of Thutmose I, a 22m (71ft) monument, the only one of four original obelisks that is still standing. Disabled Access: No Deir el Bahri Hatshepsut's Temple is the mortuary temple of Queen Hatshepsut. Located on the West Bank in Luxor, this spectacular temple was built by the Queen's architect, Senenmut, in honour of the only woman ever to reign over Egypt as Pharaoh. Set against towering cliffs in the Theban Hills, this unique temple attracts bus loads of tourists every day to see one of the most impressive sites in the Necropolis. The temple, with its many monumental ramps, fine terraces, elegant columns and hieroglyphic paintings, also tells the story of Hatshepsut's journey to the Land of Punt (which is believed to be modern-day Somalia) to bring back treasures such as ebony, ivory, gold, perfumes and myrrh trees.