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Home , Mit Ghamr, Talkha, Tanis, Tanta

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Cairo Outskirts & the Delta

Why Go? Desert Environs ...... 148 Typical itineraries rarely take in the area right Saqqara, Memphis & around because little of it can honestly be put in Dahshur ...... 148 the ‘must-see’ category. But with the exception of the an- Al-Fayoum ...... 157 cient site of Saqqara, which lies on the city’s southern Wadi Natrun ...... 163 edge, virtually no tourists visit, and this alone can be The Delta ...... 165 a draw. Thanks to speedy microbuses and good trains through the Delta, it’s easy to get from Cairo’s confi nes to Birqash Camel Market ..165 open green fi elds; ancient sites you’ll have all to yourself; Nile Barrages ...... 166 modern Coptic monasteries with roots 17 centuries deep; ...... 166 and the only-in-Africa action of a live camel market. & ...... 167 Just as important, if not more so, these spots are places ...... 167 to meet Egyptians who will marvel that you made the journey to their overlooked corner of the country. Every destination in this chapter can be visited as an easy day Top Tips trip or a leisurely overnight excursion from the capital. » Microbuses and trains are the best way to travel just outside of Cairo. » See p 92 for recommended When to Go tour guides and drivers for Medinat al Fayoum day trips. °C/°F Te m p Rainfall inches/mm 50/122 2.4/60

2.0/50 Best Reads 40/104 1.6/40 30/86 » The Fayoum: History and 1.2/30

Guide by R Neil Hewison 20/68 0.8/20

» In an Antique Land by 10/50 0.4/10

Amitav Ghosh, about life in a 0/32 0 Delta village J FDNOSAJJMAM » Coptic Monasteries by Gawdat Gabra Dec–Feb The Jun–Aug Sum- Oct The moulid best time to mer heat can be (saints’ festival) visit shadeless paralysing. Cool of al-Sayyed Saqqara and off at Lake Qarun Badawi in Tanta other pyramids. in Al-Fayoum. draws a million people. 147 0 50 km 0 25 miles M E D I T E R R A N E A N Cairo S E A Al-Burg Masif Outskirts & Baltim the Delta Burg Migheizil Burullus Highlights Lake Al-Satamuni 1 Explore the (Ar-Rashid) half-buried ruins of sprawling Saqqara (p148 ) 2 Penetrate the heart of the Red Wadjet () Al-Mahmudiyya Pyramid at Dahshur (p154 ) Kafr al-Sheikh 3 Go sandboarding and fossil-spotting To Mansura Delta Hwy Al-Mahalla in the desert sands (25km) Sais al-Kubra of Wadi al-Hittan CAIRO OUTSKIRTS & THE DELTA & THE OUTSKIRTS CAIRO CAIRO OUTSKIRTS & THE DELTA & THE OUTSKIRTS CAIRO Aga (p159 ) Hosh'Isa 1 Al-Simbillawein 4 Chill out in the funky arts colony of Tanta Tunis (p160 ) 5 Immerse yourself Tala Zifta To Tanis (70km) in the sights, sounds and smells of the Branch a Birqash camel Shibin al-Kom Zagazig market (p165 )

Wadi Damiett Bubastis Natrun Minyet 6 Pile on to a merry al-Qamh boat of day trippers Wadi Deir el- Minuf Baramouse to see the Nile Ros Tukh e Barrages at Qanater Na tta trun (p166 )

Desert B Deir ranch H 7 Take a Anba w 1 Deir Abu y Al-Khanka comfortable train trip Bishoi Makar Deir Qanater 3 to the Delta city of 11 Birqash el-Sourian Heliopolis Nile Barrages Tanta (p 166 ), just to eat some sweets and CAIRO Cairo International enjoy the view Airport Western (Libyan) Pyramids of Giza Ma'adi Desert Harraniyya Abu Sir Memphis Saqqara Helwan Al-Badrashein Dahshur

Al-Hai Bamha Karanis Al-Saff Al-Maharraqa run Dionysias Qa Al-Fayoum 2 Eastern Lake Shakshouk Oasis (Arabian) Sanhur Qasr Qarun Ain Pyramid Desert as-Siliyin of Meidum Tunis Abshaway Medinat Al-Wasta al-Fayoum Pyramid of Hawara Itsa Hawarat Wadi Medinet al-Makta Pyramid of Rayyan Madi Al-Lahun Al-Lahun River To Wadi al-Hittan Nile (30km)