Make sure your routine vaccinations are up to date.
Get travel insurance which is essential for medical emergencies.
Check any medications you need are LEGAL in Egypt. Bring copies of any prescriptions for medications.
Email to yourself or store on cloud scans or photographs of your important documents:
passport, including the stamped Visa page, travel insurance, Covid vaccination certificates or PCR test results if these are required for your travel (not currently required for Egypt), medical prescriptions (including eye glasses and contact lens specifications), and both sides of your debit and credit cards.
This makes it easier for you to have copies to arrange replacement, if the originals are lost or damaged. Also email yourself a list of your important phone numbers in case of phone loss or damage.
While you will be with our guide/s for much of the time, there will be times you are on your own. Don’t expect all Egyptians to understand your language. We suggest learning some useful phrases. Even if you have only a few basic phrases, people will appreciate this and make an effort to communicate or help you. Ask our guide to teach you some Arabic words and numbers.
EGYPT, THE COUNTRY
Egyptians call their country Misr. It is a Republic and has 27 administrative regions or governorates.
The Egyptian flag consists of three equal horizontal bands of red, white, and black, with the national emblem centered in the white band (a Golden Eagle of Saladin with a shield on its chest above a scroll bearing the name of the country in Arabic).
These band colors are derived from the Arab Liberation flag; black symbolizes the eras of oppression, underdevelopment and colonialism, red the bloody struggle to overcome this, or glory, and white is for purity or a bright future.
GEOGRAPHY
Egypt is in North Africa, but because of the Sinai Peninsula it is also part of Southwest Asia. Egypt covers approximately 1,001,500 square kilometers (386,660 square miles). Egypt is about the same size as all of Central America, twice the size of Spain, four times the size of the United Kingdom, and the combined size of the USA states of Texas and California.The population of Egypt is about 105 million. The two largest cities are Cairo, population of about 22 million and Alexandria about 5.5 million.
Egypt’s coastlines are the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea, extending more than 2,900 kilometres (1.802 miles). To the West is Libya, to the East are the Gaza Strip and Israel, and to the South, Sudan.
Egypt is predominantly desert, with less than 4% of total land area cultivated and permanently settled. The major areas are the Nile River Valley and Delta, Western and Eastern Deserts, and Sinai Peninsula. The Nile Valley and Delta support most of the population. The deserts include many oases which contribute to agricultural production.
The Eastern desert is more mountainous. The Sinai Peninsula features a mountain range along the Red Sea coast that includes Egypt’s highest mountain, Gabal Katrinah or Gabal Katrine (Mount Catherine), 2,642 meters (8,668 feet) above sea-level. In both deserts, winds create
sand dunes that may reach heights of more than 30 meters (100 feet).
Egypt’s important role in geopolitics stems from its strategic position: as a transcontinental nation, it has a land bridge (the Isthmus of Suez) between Africa and Asia, traversed by a navigable waterway (the Suez Canal) that connects the Mediterranean Sea with the Indian Ocean by way of the Red Sea.
WEATHER
Egypt has a desert climate with hot, dry summers and moderate winters.
Summer temperatures average between 26.7 – 45° C in Upper Egypt, and up to 43° on the Red Sea coast. Winter temperatures average between 13 – 21° C. Wind lowers temperatures near the Mediterranean coast. In Spring the Khamaseen wind blows from the South, bringing sand and dust and sometimes raising the desert temperature to 38°C.
Most rain falls in the Winter months. South of Cairo, rainfall averages only around 2 to 5 mm per year. On the North Coast rainfall can reach 410 mm, with most rain between October and March. Snow sometimes falls in the Sinai mountains and in some of the North Coast cities such as Damietta, with rare falls in Alexandria. Desert nights are cold, dropping below zero in Winter.
Detailed weather forecasts to help plan your packing www.weather.com
