Egypt Info

Called by Herodot the “Nil`s gift”, Egypt, is the country of a immemorial civilization, fascinating and mysterious, whose secretes remained hidden till the present time. Egypt is situated in the north of Africa and in the Small Asia's West part, its coasts being washed by the two great seas: the Mediterranean Sea in north and The Red Sea in east. The country is 90% constituted from desert. One of the longest rivers in the world, the Nil, sweeps Egypt from south to north, on a distance of about 1200 kilometers, dividing in this way the country's area.

The official name of the country is the Arab Republic of Egypt, the capital is Cairo, the biggest Africa's city (about 2500 km2), a noisy metropolis of seventeen million citizens, without including the tourists and the provincials. The form of government is the multi-parties democratic republic. The time zone is GMT/UTC +2 hours.

Egypt's population is about 79 million people; most of them are Egyptians, Berbers and Bedouins (99%) and there other nations like Armenians, Europeans and Nubians, but in a very small percent.

The official language is Arab, but all over the country English, German, or French is spoken. The official religion is Islam. More than 87% of the population is Muslim; the rest are Christians, Roman-Catholics, Jewish and Protestants. Egypt's official currency is the Egyptian lyre.

The importation and the export of the Egyptian lyre are forbidden. But you can bring to Egypt any free convertible currency. You can exchange the money at the exchange houses, at hotels, or in banks. In the majority of the hotels and magazines, you can use the credit cards. On the cruisers the credit cards are not allowed, you can pay only in cash. Banks are opened Monday to Friday, in the period of time 08.30 and 14.00.

Egypt conquers with its antiquities architectonics that reminds in a extremely visible way of an colossal empire's glory from the beginning of the history.

This wonderful country has numerous attractions such as the Pyramids, (that amazed the Romans and the Greeks, and continues to amaze generations and generations). The temples, the Old Cairo with its numerous churches, the mosques, the Pharaoh's Egypt, the bazaars, the royal tombs, the museums, the parks, the botanical and zoological gardens, the Christian and Islamic monuments, all are wonderful attractions for visitors.

In a context in which the historic monuments coexist in harmony with the actual modern life, Egypt offers the tourists variety in exploration: Nil cruises, diving in the Red Sea or trips in the Sinai's peninsula. More, visitors can play golf, go fishing, or to enjoy dance festivals, go to theatre, buy beautiful traditional souvenirs.
Most of the time, the Egypt's tours start and end with an incursion in capital Cairo, an enormous architectural jewelry.

Other touristic cities are Alexandria, with the famous Library of Alexandria, the Mediterranean seaport and the Catacombs of Kom el Shoqafa, and Luxor with the Mummification Museum and the Valley of the Kings.