Egypt essential travel tips

Name

 

Egypt full name is The Arab Republic of Egypt; Cairo is the capital and one of the first million inhabited cities in Africa and Arab World; It is also the industrial and commercial center of Egypt.

 

Location & –geographical related  notes:

 

Egypt is the Land of contrasts: it  reflects shining light and deep shadow, holds grassy soil and arid sand.

The Arab republic of Egypt occupies the north eastern corner of Africa as part of great Sahara desert; its northern boarder marked by the Mediterranean Sea, it is limited on the south by the republic of Sudan ( 1,273 km border), on the west by the Libyan border (1,115 km), and on the east by Holly land (266 Km). & Gaza strip (11 Km). then on the south of Sinai Peninsula there is Aqaba Gulf, and the Red sea ending with Halaib-Shalatin area border . A northern Africa & Arab vast desert plateau interrupted by Nile valley and delta, between Asia and Africa, such a unique geographical position made Egypt a hub of world trade, with the shortest sea link between Indian Ocean and Mediterranean Sea and cultural exchange counter. Today, world wide shipping transits the gates of the Suez Canal.

 

 

- Geographic coordinates:     27 00 N, 30 00 E

- Area; total: 1,001,450 sq km; Land: 995,450 sq km; water: 6,000 sq km

- Land Use: arable land: 3.25%, permanent crops: 0.67%, sterile desert & other: 96.15% (2008 EST.)

- Lowest point: Qattara Depression-133 M

- Highest point: Mount Catherine 2,629 M

- Maritime claims: Territorial sea: 12 NM, Contiguous zone: 24 NM, Continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation, Exclusive economic zone: 200 NM.

 

Time

GMT + 2 hours

Summer time (GMT + 3 hours) observed from late April until end of September.

 

Currency: (Customs & converter)

 

Egyptian Pounds (EGP) el-Gineih el-Mi?ri, sign: E£; which stands for livre égyptienne, It is divided into 100 piasters (quersh in Arabic). American Express, Master Card, Visa, all Euro cards, JCB even the Chinese Union Pay areaccepted by  AL-Ahly bank machines, all of these have become  become widely accepted in various hotels and shops. Same areas you can find ATMs Machines. As for foreign currency exchange, it is available in banks and certain foreign exchange firms  . If you run out of money during your tour, you can get money wired to you from abroad through plenty of Western Union branches, which takes only  few minutes to get any sum of money sent you from abroad.

Recommended that you don't change US$ & £ or Euro until you arrive in Egypt – as conversion rate is far better in Egypt, Egyptian Pound = 100 Piasters .

 

$1(US)= approximately 5.452 Egyptian Pounds (2010-01-07)

£1(UK)= about 8.9 Egyptian pounds

1 Euro about 8.10  Egyptian pounds

 

Click this link;               Currency Converter for 164 Currencies  

Or check the web site;    http://www.oanda.com/currency/converter/

 

Population

 

According to May 2008 EST ,nearly 78.7 million

Life expectancy at birth: 71.85 years (Female: 74.52 years & Male: 69.4 years)

Egypt Ethnic Groups: (Egyptians, Bedouins, and Berbers) about 99% Eastern Hamitic (or);

Nubian, Greek, Armenian, or even other (European) (1%)

For sure the most prominent Semites today are Arabs and Jews. Egyptian is one of Arabcountries & one of the nations who still speak Semitic languages (Arabic); this group includes Arabs, Aramaeans, and Jews, whose ancestry can be traced back to Shem, Noah's eldest son. At the same time, ancient Egyptian mostly gathered with North-African Berber, Cushitic, Beja, and the Chadic all were part of the Hamitic group. These facts leave visitors to Egypt witha question that is still not answered so far finally How did civilization arise in Egypt? Let us examine the facts that are being shunted aside, facts derived from research done before political considerations brought down a cultural curtain.

 

Languages

Arabic (official), with the Egyptian-Arabic dialect, in business English predominatesand French disseminated to a lesser extent, while Italian and German widely understood in Red sea coasts cities.

 

Banking Hours;

Sun-Thurs 08:30-14:00 (Friday & Saturday off) 

 

Tipping
the word "baksheesh" often is heard in Egypt. You are expected to pay tips during your Egypt Tour.

The amount depends on how much efforts have done to earn your satisfaction

 

Electricity (Egypt 220V-50 Hz-C / F)

 

The mystery of electricity is how to get benefits from your favorite devices. How do you keep iPhone, Vaio laptop, and Nikon happy, To the traveler who confuses an adapter (which gets the plug right) and a converter (which adjusts voltages). To prevent Oops, we recommend that you bring your electronic devices outlet convertor Type C Euro-plug 2-pin with you for your peace of mind; however it is not expensive to buy it from Egypt. Remember Egypt use CEE 7/16 (Europlug 2.5 A/250 V unearthed what ever used in most hotels or Nile cruise outlet).

 

A lot of hotels provide free high-speed Internet access and  you will find Wi-Fi hotspots in the main towns.

Pack an Internet connection kit that contains a spare phone cord, an extra Ethernet network cable, a phone adapter and a surge protector.

And prepare for differences in electricity. You may need an adapter to accommodate type "C" plugs in Egypt. Check the voltage capacity of transformer block on your laptop. If it cannot handle 220 to 230V, buy a new transformer.

 

Phone Codes
Egypt Country Code: (+2)
Codes for major Cities:
Cairo: 02; Alexandria: 03; Luxor: 095; Aswan: 097; Sharm El Sheikh: 062; Hurghada & El Gouna: 065

 

National Day;

 23rd of July. (Eid-EL SAWRA) It commemorates the Anniversary of the 1952 Revolution.

Independence 28February 1922 (from UK)

 

Public Holidays:

- Sinai Liberation day                    25 Apr.

- Labour Day                               1May

- Evacuation Day (Eid El Galaa)      18 June

- Revolution Day                          23 Jul.

- Flooding of the Nile                    15 Aug

* Coptic New Year

- Coptic Christmas Day          

- Armed Forces Day                      6 Oct.

- Egyptian Naval Day                    21 Oct

- Suez & National Liberation Day     24Oct

- Suez Victory Day                       23DEC 

- Mother's Day                             21 March

- Sinai Liberation Day                    25 April

*Coptic Easter                             5 to 29 April

*Sham El Nesseem

 

(Hegry Year for MuslimEgypt tours

s)

* Day of Arafa& Eid El Adha

* Islamic New Year

* Ashoorah Day

* Prophet Muhammad's Birthday (PBUH)

* Eid El Fitr