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Most people who think of Egypt think of antiquities, but Egypt offers much more. Certainly it is a prime location to see our great heritage from the ancient world, including Pyramids and wonderful temples, but it is also part of the Holy Land, and tours to Christian and other religious monuments are popular. Yet Egypt also offers nature and desert treks, great scuba diving and even golf, fishing and birding expeditions. One may choose to relax on the wondrous Egypt Red Sea or Sinai coasts, take in the high culture of Cairo, or even leisurely float down the Egyptian Nile on a luxurious river boat.
Egypt could be said to have six different tourist super-sites. Each has its own flavour, and mostly each serves a different purpose. Surprisingly, or perhaps not, most of these tourist areas do not depend on ancient monuments to sustain them. In fact, only Luxor is completely dependent on this trade. These super-sites consist of:
Alexandria: It could in fact be argued that this area extends to Marsa Matruh to the west on the coast. The area has a Mediterranean feel about it, and the attraction is the Mediterranean Sea, and to the people of Cairo, a somewhat cooler climate.
Cairo: Has great hotels, entertainment, restaurants, all manner of monuments from throughout the history of Egypt and it is often the entry point for most people visiting Egypt. It even has bowling allies and several golf courses to choose from.
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.
Aswan and 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.
Not to far apart are El Gouna, Hurghada and Safaga, and these areas contain just about everything a tourist would like to have, with the exception of ancient monuments. They make up for that with every variety of water sports, several golf courses, casinos and more. The Red Sea area has less of an Egyptian feel, but not as European as the Sinai.
Sharm El Sheikh: Sharm and the surrounding area including Sharks Bay is the Sinai super-site, again with most everything any tourist might wish. There are even some wonderful Christian monuments nearby, and the water sports, as at Hurghada, are all inclusive. This is not to say that there are many more tourist destinations, particularly on the Red Sea and in Sinai, and on Egypt's mainland interior, the oases. However, in much of the rest of the mainland interior, travel and destinations are limited. However, the tourist super-sites encompass perhaps ninety-five percent of the ancient monuments and most else there is to do in Egypt.
Food: Egyptian food combines elements of Lebanese, Turkish, Syrian, Greek and French cuisines, modified to suit local conditions and tastes. Dishes tend to be simple and wholesome, made only with fresh ingredients, and therefore vary with the seasons. Nubian cooking, found in southern Egypt, is spicier than food in the north; in Alexandria, Mediterranean influences prevail.
Nightlife: In the main tourist areas such as Cairo and The Red Sea Riviera there are discos that cater for those that want it. Many hotels also offer more traditional Egyptian entertainment
Shopping: Good buys at all the shops and markets are leather, pottery, jewellery. Alabaster Vases and Turquoise are also extremely good buys.
Days out: One of those days should be spent on the west bank of the Nile playing amateur archaeologist at Memphis (one ancient capital), Saqqara and the Pyramids and Sphinx in Giza. Back in town, at least half a day is needed to see the Egyptian Museum which in itself should be one of the wonders of the world. And you will want to get to The Citadel, shop in the bazaars of Khan el Khalili and maybe visit Coptic Cairo.
Why not take river to board the rattletrap ferry to the West Bank where your donkeys will be waiting for a dawn ride to the Valley of the Kings. Enjoy a leisurely cafeteria style breakfast and then explore selected tombs of Egypt's greatest pharaohs. Hop back on the donkeys to ride across the ridge to the Valley of the Queens. After lunch, wander around the area taking in whichever antiquities beckon, the Temple of Queen Hatshepsut, the Ramesseum and Deir Al-Medina are particular favourites. And there still are the Colossi of Memnon and a visit to one of the many alabaster factories and maybe a journey deep into one of the mines. In the evening, the bazaars are pulsating with life and it's a good place to gather up the souvenirs as prices are much lower than in Cairo and the people seem genuinely happy to see you.
In the far south, Aswan is near the monumental High Dam and other interesting sites such as the Unfinished Obelisk, Philae Temple (which was moved in its entirety for a site flooded by the Dam), and the tomb of the Agha Kahn which, although now closed to visitors, provides spectacular views of the Nile and Aswan (and a fun ride on a traditional felucca to get there). And, of course, just about 150 miles south is Abu Simbel, Ramses' monument he created for himself was intended to warn the Nubians that they were entering Egypt, which was also relocated because of the rising waters. In fact, that relocation was a massive cooperative engineering effort by dozens of nations under the guidance of the United Nations, which is still considered one of the largest engineering projects in history.
Most of the Red Sea is accessible from Egypt although one can also dive from Israel, Saudi Arabia, the Sudan, Eritrea and Jordan. All of our experience has been from Egypt because the one dive location in Israel, in Eilat, is too limiting; Saudi Arabia has limited infrastructure and access is pretty much limited to the military; and the Sudan and Eritrea are, just too difficult and cumbersome to get to and all the diving is European camping style in Jeep safaris, to say nothing of the civil wars...
In the north there are two main land based areas. The most well known is, of course, Sharm El Sheikh. Built up since the War, it is a typical European style holiday village and a lot of fun. There is a wide boardwalk running for several miles along the beach, bordered by one hotel complex after another. There have to be a couple of dozen dive shops and more dive boats than are countable scurrying back and forth between Sharm, Ras Mohammed and the Straits of Tiran. |
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Egypt is famous for its many festivals and religious carnivals, also known as mulids or Mawlid.
Folkloric Art Festival, Ismailia
This colourful celebration of folkloric art from Africa, Europe and Asia provides a week-long party in Ismailia and cites itself as the greatest arts festival in the Arab world.
Wafaa Al-Nil Festival, Cairo
The Wafaa Al-Nil Festival, meaning "Fidelity of the Nile", is an annual celebration that remembers the ancient Egyptian veneration of the river Nile.
Moulid of Abu el-Haggag ,Luxor
Held every year, two weeks prior to the beginning of Ramadan, the Moulid of Abu el-Haggag celebrates Luxor's patron sheikh with a two-day street festival.
Aida at Giza , The Pyramids at Giza, Cairo
What could be more spectacular than a production of Verdi's Aida staged in front of the Giza Pyramid, just outside Cairo? Sometimes annual (but not in 2004) the Cairo Opera House gives…
Abu Simbel Festival , Abu Simbel Temple.
Ramses II, in a fit of precision and despotic architectural egotism, carefully angled his temple at Abu Simbel so that the inner sanctum would light up twice a year.
Sinai
North Sinai offers the diver a very different experience to the more developed diving areas further south.
Football
Football is the nations’ sport of choice. Egyptian Soccer clubs El Ahly and El Zamalek are the two most popular teams in the land and enjoy the reputation of long-time regional champions. The great rivalries keep the streets of Egypt energized as people fill the streets when their favourite team wins. The country has been home to the African Cup of Nations, a tournament Egypt has won on six occassions. Egypt won the African Cup Of Nations in February 2008, defeating Cameroon 1-0 in the final in Ghana.
Events
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