Egypt What to Expect

Don't stick to the tourist areas, it's better if you wonder back off the main drag and into the local haunts. You'll get a few weird looks and the kids will probably follow you for a while but well worth the effort to see how everyone lives and get some real Egyptian food!

When we were in Aswan, we have the fortunate luck to be able to go to the Nubian Village just a little north of town. It was an interesting contrast to that of the Arab countrymen. Hosni Mobarak actually made it mandatory for the Nubian school children to go to school, so it was neat to see them headed off with their spongebob squarepants backpacks...

Elephantine Island is the largest island in the Aswan area. It was the original centre of life here, with settlement dating back to 3000BC. We spent a couple of hours here, visiting one of the colourful Nubian villages. We walked around the village streets and had the chance to interact with some of the very friendly local children. We also got the chance to visit the home of a well respected resident who owns a fleet of feluccas. The photos do not do this place justice. It was really interesting to walk the maze of very narrow streets and learn a little bit about the Nubian way of life.

Hotel Beach Albatros is a 5* located 5 km south of the airport. It belongs to the group Pickalbatros. It is an excellent hotel with all the facilities to make holidays with children enjoyable. Food is excellent and staff is polite and kind. Rooms are confortable and roomm service such as cleaning is inpeccable!. To go downtown, use the white Peugeot chauffeurs outside the hotel. One way to downtown is 25 Egyptian pounds (2008)

Cairo, Egypt, the Triumphant City, known officially as al-Qāhirah is one of the world's largest urban areas and offers many sites to see. It is the administrative capital of Egypt and, close by, is almost every Egypt Pyramid, such as the Great Pyramids of Giza on the very edge of the city. But there are also ancient temples, tombs, Christian churches, magnificent Muslim monuments, and of course, the Egyptian Antiquities Museum all either within or nearby the city.
Cairo, Egypt is an amazing city full of life and movement, and it is that way almost 24 hours every day, with the noisy honking of horns, children playing in the streets and merchants selling their wears and services. And here, the Egyptians are most at home in this powerful, modern and ancient city

Cairo, Egypt provides great culture, including art galleries and music halls, such as the Cairo Opera House, as well it should, being one of the largest cities in the world. It also provides some of the grandest accommodations and restaurants in the world, such as the Four Seasons and the Cairo Marriott.

Cairo offers an incredible selection of shopping, leisure and nightlife activities. Shopping ranges from the famous Khan el-Khalili souk, (or bazaar) largely unchanged since the 14th century, to modern air-conditioned centers displaying the latest fashions. All the bounty of the East can be here. Particularly good buys are spices, perfumes, gold, silver, carpets, brass and copperware, leatherwork, glass, ceramics and mashrabiya. Try some of the famous street markets, like Wekala al-Balaq, for fabrics, including Egyptian cotton, the Tentmakers Bazaar for appliqué-work, Mohammed Ali Street for musical instruments and, although you probably won't want to buy, the Camel Market makes a fascinating trip. This is, and has been for over a thousand years, truly a shopper's paradise.

If you want more information please go to

http://www.cairotourist.com

Culturally, Egypt is a Muslin country. Even in Cairo, a woman ought to have a male companion walking by her side when on the street. She should have shoulders and upper arms covered, closed neck top, skirt below the knees. Pants are ok, but ought to be loose. Modesty is the key word. WEAR A WEDDING BAND, even if you are not married. Avoid being harassed and being an "ugly American" by dressing properly, speaking deferentially, and making sure to engage in small talk before going into the business at hand. Please don't complain when you are not allowed into places or do activities because of your female gender. Do not insist on your "rights" or be aggressive. Ask for assistance. The men are protective of women and eager to help. It is a different culture, and their customs ought to be respected.
That doesn't mean you can't negotiate for a good price, but always very politely.
Do not go out at night alone.
Book your tour before arriving in Egypt.

Sharm El Sheikh is a fantastic and interesting place, with lovely hotels and lots of places to eat.

The locals will hassle you a lot to buy things from their shops so you need to hone your bargaining (or ignoring) skills before you go! Pretending you don't understand English helps when you're walking down the street. However, your problem will more likely be that you can't resist buying the local souveneirs. They are lovely and reasonably priced.

Sharm El Sheikh has been built for tourists, so there are many international restaurants with good food. If you are proned to 'Delhi belly' on holiday be careful in Egypt. I got a very painful stomach upset (apparently a bacterial infection) that lasted most of the holiday (with no respite even with local medicine!). My mum also got sick both trips she took. Having said that it really didn't spoil my holiday!

Thinks to do: Quad biking in the desert, Boat / snorkling at Ras Mohammed National Park, Arabian night in the desert, Coach trip to Cairo. This trip is quite expensive but shows you everything you would want to see in Cairo and you get a night in a really nice hotel!

In general, the people in Egypt are really nice and have a good sense of humour. As a blonde female, I didn't get any of the usual hassle from local men - just a few marriage proposals...Lol!

You'll enjoy it here if you go!

Life story of queen Hatshepsut is really interesting!! she was very strong woman and she wasn't really that kind of fair ideal person Queen "Hatshepsut" was the first one to send ships to the country's "Puntland" (Somalia now), so they are loaded and perfumes .. And "Hatshepsut" is the fifth kings of the eighteenth dynasty, which also belongs to the King "Tutankhamen." A daughter "Thutmose I," and wife "Thutmose II," has received the sentence with "Thutmose III," which was the son of one of her husband Gariaat, at the same time, her daughter's husband, and remained until her death in 1484 BC holding the reins of government, the ruling was over cogens her life, and deported "Thutmose III" from power, it was not described to him in the Governing Although she was a female had represented itself in the form of statues man has been flat without breasts, and has borrowed to live. Having died liberation "Thutmose III" from the trusteeship of heavy, and I like to retaliate against them Vatm construction of the temple, and the proportion of the same, and the name and crush most forms excavated and icons, and a place name and his titles in many quarters (please look the pictures i put inside) The design and implementation of building the temple Engineer "die" QC and one close to it. It belongs to a family of modest "Armant" but became the first president to acknowledge reception of the royal family, and the President receiving machine "Amon", and is in charge of all construction, so it made the greatest professional successes in the history of ancient Egypt.

Learn some of the local lingo (that means Language to non Aussies!)
Learning some Egyptian Arabic will help to stop Hasslers bothering you so much. As soon as I spoke some Arabic it soon turned the conversation around and they wanted to know more about how and why I knew some of the language it generated conversation and interest and stopped so much hassling, therefore making the trip so much more enjoyable. This goes for anywhere, not just Egypt as if you make an effort so do the locals.
Some useful words are:
La Shokran - No Thank you
Ahna Mish Eyes - I don't want
Hellass (smile and add Minfudluk) - Enough Please
Issayak? - How are you?
Kwayis Owie (Kwayisa Owie for female) - Very Good
Bi Kam Da - How Much is that?
Minfudluk (to male) Minfudlik (to female) - Please
Aywah - Yes

Females, cover up. You don't have to wear a head scarf (it's not Saudi Arabia) but wear long sleeves and long skirts in cool cottons.

Gizah, or Giza or however you want to spell it is one of the oldest tourist destinations in the world. Home of the Great Pyramids of Giza. When I visited, I went in the late afternoon (mostly because we couldn't get directions...no one seemed to know where the pyramids were and how to get to them), but the setting sun was amazing against the pyramids. Taxis are overflowing as are souvenir shops. They're selling exactly what you're looking for. Don't believe me? Just ask them and they'll tell you the same thing.

Some people think Alex doesn't live up to its past. No more pharos, tomb of Alexander, or even the multi-cultured feel the place had up until the 1950s. But, there is enough of the old Alex for the place to be relaxing and charming (especially compared to Cairo). The corniche area from the Fort to the new library is lovely to walk down. The Cecil hotel in the main square still has colonial charm and there are some lovely restaurants and cafes in this area. The Roman catacombs are also worth a visit.

The Famous House Of The Writer K.Kavafis Surely Worths A Visit.

A visit to Alexandria is not complete without a visit to the Catacombs of Kom Ash-Shuqqafa. Open from 9am to 4pm cost is about 12 Egyptian Pound. Well worth it. Booking is not required but more information can be obtained on 484 5800. Cameras are not permitted and bags need to be left at the ticket counter while you descend into the unknown.

Activities, to go see the Aswan Dam that has created the largest man-made lake in the world. It is easy to get to by taxi.

Gizah, or Giza or however you want to spell it is one of the oldest tourist destinations in the world. Home of the Great Pyramids of Giza. When I visited, I went in the late afternoon (mostly because we couldn't get directions...no one seemed to know where the pyramids were and how to get to them), but the setting sun was amazing against the pyramids. Taxis are overflowing as are souvenir shops. They're selling exactly what you're looking for. Don't believe me? Just ask them and they'll tell you the same thing.

Some people think Alex doesn't live up to its past. No more pharos, tomb of Alexander, or even the multi-cultured feel the place had up until the 1950s. But, there is enough of the old Alex for the place to be relaxing and charming (especially compared to Cairo). The corniche area from the Fort to the new library is lovely to walk down. The Cecil hotel in the main square still has colonial charm and there are some lovely restaurants and cafes in this area. The Roman catacombs are also worth a visit.

The Famous House Of The Writer K.Kavafis Surely Worths A Visit.

A visit to Alexandria is not complete without a visit to the Catacombs of Kom Ash-Shuqqafa. Open from 9am to 4pm cost is about 12 Egyptian Pound. Well worth it. Booking is not required but more information can be obtained on 484 5800. Cameras are not permitted and bags need to be left at the ticket counter while you descend into the unknown.

Activities, to go see the Aswan Dam that has created the largest man-made lake in the world. It is easy to get to by taxi.

Stay away from the sea food in the restaraunts. Drink plenty of bottled water and use bottled water to brush your teeth. Stear clear of fuit and salads as they may have been washed with the tap water which contains some pretty nasty bugs. I stayed there for 9 days and was one of the few who didn't get sick. Forgetting about having to be careful about what you put in you, this is my favorite place to scuba and relax, I love Dhahab. The best thing to do, is go for a Bedowin BBQ in the dessert surrounded by the mountains, its amazing.

don't go in summer! it's to hot

Awesome diving is to be had here, the most amazing colours and fish. Also be careful of eating any local fish - as tempting as it is, they pump raw sewerage out into the ocean and you can end up getting really sick. If you do get sick head to the pharmacy, as the Doctor owns and runs the phartmacy, so they can sell you antibiotics over the counter - they are really really cheap!

Marsa Alam is a beautiful pearl on the Red Sea; it used to be just a tiny fishermens village until a few years ago. Today it became pretty popular, especially among divers.

Don't expect it to be anything like Sharm: the surrounding is nothing but sand. No city, no nightlife, nothing: just the plain desert. Turists usually are trapped into their holiday-village and the only way to go see the outside is to subscribe to any of the trips that are always suggested by your travel operator. The nearest place to see is Luxor [6hrs. by car, circa], the nearest hospital is in Hurgada [3hrs. ahead.].

Be careful: don't drink their water, don't eat fresh veggies, nor fruits. 90% of travelers get diarrhea and whatnot. So be sure to bring meds from home, because you never know what they'd give you in case of need.

The locals are very hospital but also incredibly fucking annoying. They'd do anything for a couple of € and are always ready to assault you whenever you put your nose outside your room's door. They'd sell anything. Women are warned: to wander around alone ain't exactly smart, unless of course you love to be harrassed at every step, that is.

Perfect beaches. Especially the trips to cairo and lixor are very intresting...