Egypt Country Guide

In the north-eastern corner of Africa, encircled by hot, sandy deserts and home to a fabled past, lies Egypt. The ancient, highly evolved civilisation of the Pharaohs is renowned worldwide. Some of mankind’s most stunning monuments are in Egypt, such as the Pyramids of Giza and the Great Sphinx. The city of Luxor, to the south of Cairo attracts huge numbers of travellers, thanks to the spectacular remains of the Pharaonic civilization. The Karnak Temple and the Valley of the Kings are two of these fascinating attractions.

Modern Egypt, thanks to its strategic location between Europe, West Asia and South Asia and its cultural heritage, is an important nation in the Middle East.

This Egypt Country Guide gives you some quick facts and background information to help with your travels. Our Egypt destination guide gives more detailed information about specific cities within Egypt. More general information about what there is to see and do can be found on our Egypt tours page.

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Egypt Country Guide

Useful information on this page includes:

Click on this Egypt weather link to view the current weather in Egypt, then select the city/region you wish to view.

Egypt has a modern communications network. The telephone service works reasonably well. There are three GSM mobile service providers, Vodafone, Mobinil and Etisalat. Roaming services are available, but do check with your service provider. If you wish, you may purchase a tourist mobile phone costing around 30 LE for use during your stay.

Internet access is widely available and inexpensive. Internet cafés are a dime a dozen in Cairo, Luxor and even smaller tourist spots. Charges for using them vary from 2-10 LE depending on the place and broadband speed. Increasingly, the availability of free wireless Internet access is spreading across restaurants, coffee shops, hotels and other places. Look out for free Wi-Fi at popular chains like the Cilantro and Costa Coffee outlets, where you get to access the Net by asking for a 2-hour “promotional” card from the waiters.

Egypt’s currency is the Egyptian pound (EGP), 1 EGP = 100 piastres. You’ll often find the currency referred to as LE, short for the French livre égyptienne. Sometimes, the pound sign £ is used. It’s best to avoid the dubious street moneychangers and instead opt for changing foreign currency at banks or exchange companies. You’ll find ATMs all over the cities. This is probably your best choice since they offer excellent rates and many overseas banks have branches in Egypt.

Banking hours in Egypt are from Sunday through Thursday, from 8:30 am to 2:00 pm.

Banknotes come in several denominations, from 200 pound notes to 5 piastres, the latter of no use whatsoever!). Coins have been introduced only as recently as 2006 with 50-piastre and 1-pound coins available currently. While American Express, Diners Club, MasterCard and Visa are accepted, you’ll be able to use them freely only in Cairo’s bigger hotels and restaurants or places in tourist frequented areas. You can exchange travellers' cheques in any bank, but an encounter with Egyptian bank procedures, like its bureaucracy, can be a severe exercise in patience.

Most areas 220 volts AC, 50Hz. Certain rural parts still use 110 volts AC. Mostly British-style three-pin plugs.

To view a list of Egypt embassies around the world, as well as foreign embassies within Egypt, click on this link to EmbassyWorld.com.

Egypt’s territory sprawls over 1,001,450 square kilometers (386,660 sq mi), making it the 38th largest country on the planet. Its neighbours are Libya to the west, Sudan in the south and Israel and the Gaza Strip on its east. Egypt’s location gives it tremendous strategic importance in geopolitical terms. The Isthmus of Suez, a narrow land bridge between Africa and Asia comes under its territory. The Suez Canal, which traverses this region links the Mediterranean Sea with the Indian Ocean and is a major international shipping route.

The vast part of Egypt’s land area is a desert plateau, the Nile Valley and delta and the Sinai Peninsula being its only other geographically different areas. Powerful winds that blow across the country can create towering sand dunes over 100 feet (30 m). Parts of the Sahara Desert and the Libyan Desert too belong to Egypt. There are references to them from ancient times, and they acted as a protective barrier, for the Kingdom of the Pharaohs, from western invaders.

Tourists over one year of age coming into the country from yellow-fever infected areas must possess a vaccination certificate. Those who do not will be denied entry at the airport.

Travellers are advised to consider taking precautions against Hepatitis E, Hepatitis B and tuberculosis. Dengue fever epidemics have been known to break out, while Bilharzias (schistosomiasis) exists in the Nile Delta and Valley. Swimming and paddling in fresh water are not advisable.

Rift Valley fever epidemics occur sporadically. Onchocerciasis (river blindness) and leishmaniasis, a viral disease caused by sandfly bites also occur. Polio is still present in Egypt and immunisation is therefore a must. There have been several cases of bird flu, with a significant fatality rate.

A unique set of circumstances coincided in ancient Egypt, allowing for the birth and existence of a highly evolved civilisation – the regular flooding of the Nile River, and the richness of its alluvial deposits, along with the partial isolation provided by deserts to its east and west. A single, powerful kingdom came into being around 3200 B.C. and successive dynasties ruled over Egypt for three millennia. In 341 B.C. the last of these dynasties fell to Persian invaders, who in turn, were defeated by the Greeks, Romans and Byzantines. In the 7th century, The Arabs introduced Islam to Egypt and ruled over it for the following six centuries.

In 1869, with the completion of the Suez Canal, Egypt’s importance soared, as a nerve centre for world trade and transportation. The country however, was also heavily in debt. Under the guise of protecting its investments, Britain took control of Egypt’s government in 1882, with nominal allegiance to the Ottoman Empire until 1914. In 1922, Egypt became part independent. The British conceded full sovereignty after World War II.

The building of the Aswan High Dam on the Nile in 1971 (and the resultant Lake Nasser) was another landmark in Egypt’s modern history, dramatically altering its agriculture and ecology.

Among the many languages spoken in Egypt, Egyptian Arabic (Masri) has the most widespread usage and is considered the national language.

Egypt’s indigenous languages, sometimes referred to as Copto-Egyptian, consist of Egyptian and Coptic, an offshoot of the Afro-Asiatic family of languages. This was among mankind’s very first written languages, as historians have established from the hieroglyphic inscriptions that have been discovered on monuments and papyrus sheets. Today, the remnants of this language are used mainly by the Coptic Orthodox Church.

Egypt’s official language is Standard Arabic and is used mostly in written media. English and French usage is also relatively common, especially so in corporate circles and western-educated society. Travellers will have no difficulty in finding local English speakers, particularly in areas of tourist interest.

To view a map of Egypt, click on this link to WorldAtlas.com.

Egypt’s recorded history goes back six thousand years. One of mankind’s earliest civilisations, what is remarkable about Egypt’s ancient culture is that it embraced complexity and yet remained stable for millennia. This was a major influence on the later cultures of Europe, Middle East and other African countries. These aspects are apparent even today, where the old coexists comfortably with modern elements, including western culture, which ironically, itself has roots going back to ancient Egypt.

Cairo, Egypt’s capital and its largest city has for centuries been a hub for education, culture and trade. The Egyptians were among the earliest peoples to systematise design elements in art and architecture. The brilliant frescoes created to glorify and honour the Pharaohs followed strict procedures. The awesome pyramids, colonnaded temples and fabled tombs left behind by this civilisation are a priceless legacy.

Follow the link to view a list of current public holidays in Egypt.

Social life in Egypt is deeply influenced by religion; indeed the law endorses it. Islam is the predominant religion. In a population of around 80 million, 90% are Muslims. Of these, the majority are Sunni Muslims. A fairly large number of Egyptians are followers of native Sufism. Shia Muslims are a minority.

The majority of the non-Muslim population are Christians. They form about 10% of the population, the biggest Christian community in the Middle East. 90% of them are followers of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria. Smaller groups of native Egyptian Christians belong to the Coptic Catholic Church, the Coptic Evangelical Church and several Coptic Protestant denominations. Non-Egyptian Christians generally live in urban centres like Cairo and Alexandria.

Significant from a historic point of view is the 2000-strong, non-immigrant Baha’i community. Also present are a tiny community of 200 Jews and a miniscule number of atheists and agnostics. Altogether, the minority communities are each comprised of groups ranging from several hundreds to a few thousands. No traces remain of Egypt’s ancient, Pharaonic religion.

With a large chunk of its economy dependent on tourism, Egypt’s immigration laws are fairly relaxed and obtaining visas, if required, is also easy. Three types of visas are available. Vacationers will get a 3-month Tourist Visa that’s granted on single or multiple entry basis. Business visitors, students or anyone entering for reasons other than tourism should apply for an Entry Visa at Egyptian consular and diplomatic missions overseas, or at the Entry Visa Department at the Travel Documents, Immigration and Nationality Administration (TDINA). This is mandatory in order to complete the procedure for taking up temporary residence in Egypt. A Transit Visa is rarely required and applies only to specific nationalities.

Foreigners entering Egypt must possess a valid passport. Visitors of several nationalities can obtain a visa on arrival at important points of entry.