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History of Sinai
he Sinai has borne witness to many visitors who have crossed the land in both directions. Bronze Age Semites from Mesopotamia mined copper and turquoise here some 8000 years ago. |
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Places to visit Rest of Egypt
Cairo Only an hour by plane or 6 hours by car or bus, the bustling, cosmopolitan city of Cairo and capital of Egypt is a must for all visitors to the country. The largest city in Africa, |
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 Mangroovy Places to visit |
Rest of Egypt
Cairo
Only an hour by plane or 6 hours by car or bus, the bustling, cosmopolitan city of Cairo and capital of Egypt is a must for all visitors to the country. The largest city in Africa, Cairo is a thriving metropolis steeped in history, yet adapting to life in the 21st Century.
Every visitor to Cairo must take the time to visit the Pyramids and Sphinx at Giza. The Great Pyramid at Giza is the only remaining wonder of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. A visit to the Egyptian Museum, in downtown Cairo is also worth a visit. |
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| Home to many ancient Egyptian artefacts, including the gold mask of the boy-king, Tutankhamen, a visit to Cairo is not complete until you have visited the Museum. Of note, too, is the Citadel, wherein one will find the mosque of Mohammed Ali, perched high above the city and giving the visitor a panoramic view over the city, in particular over the adjacent Islamic quarter.
Last, but not least, a visit to the souk district of Khan El Khalili in the heart of Islamic Cairo is recommended. A labyrinth of alleyways with bazaars selling Egyptian gold and silver, Arab coffee pots, shisha pipes and more, it is well worth a visit. |
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Luxor
Luxor (once the ancient capital of Egypt, then known as ‘Thebes’) is home to many of Egypt’s ancient antiquities.
The main town lies on the eastern bank of the Nile. In the heart of the town, you will find the ancient Temple of Luxor. Close by is Luxor Museum, which houses a small but, nevertheless, interesting collection of artefacts collected from temples and tombs in the vicinity. |
| North of Luxor town stands the awe-inspiring Temple of Karnak, built over some 1300 years; it is a must-see for any visitor to Luxor.
The main treasures, however, lie across the river on the West Bank with its vast necropolis, wherein you can discover the tombs of the great pharaonic leaders of Egypt in the Valley of the Kings and Queens. The Temple of Hatshepsut and the Colossi of Memnon are also worth a visit.
Luxor is the main departure point for Nile Cruise boats which ply up and down the Nile, enabling tourists to reach many of the temples both north and south of Luxor. |
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Aswan
Aswan is Egypt’s southernmost city with a population of some 150,000. It lies on the banks of the Nile and its people are Nubian in origin, with darker skin than other Egyptians. Nubians have different customs and traditions to other Egyptians. Here, there is a real African feel to the place.
Popular attractions for tourists include taking a trip on a felucca around Elephantine Island which sits in the middle of the Nile at this point. South of the city is the High Dam, built between 1960 and 1971 in collaboration with the Soviet Union, to enable Egypt to manage more efficiently its most precious resource, water from the Nile. |
| The creation of the High Dam resulted in a huge artificial lake, Lake Nasser, which covers some 6000sq km and displaced much of the Nubian population and submerged many ancient monuments. Nevertheless, several of the more important monuments were saved and moved to higher ground and are key attractions in the region. Philae Temple stands on an island in the northern part of the lake and can be visited easily by boat. Abu Simbel, the great Sun Temple of Ramses II, lies 280km south of Aswan and can be reached by a short flight or overland by bus, a journey of 3½hours. |
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Alexandria
Alexandria is Egypt’s second city with a population of 5 million inhabitants. It occupies a 32km stretch of the Mediterranean coastline and enjoys a Mediterranean climate, cooler than the rest of Egypt.
Founded by Alexander the Great around 331BC who chose it as the new capital, rejecting Memphis (close to Cairo) the then capital, Alexandria is a city rich in Greco-Roman heritage. Foreign visitors to the city should aim to see the Roman Theatre, the Greco-Roman Museum, which houses Egypt’s largest collection of Classical antiquities and the catacombs of Kom es-Shoqafa. The Bibliotheca Alexandrina is also worth a visit; built during the late 1990s and officially inaugurated in 2002, it commemorates the original Library of Alexandria, lost to antiquity.
There are modern international hotels in the city such as Hilton and Sheraton. The city is popular with holidaying Cairenes in the summer months when hotels can be fully-booked so foreigners are advised to visit in the spring and autumn. |
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