Egypt, the Arab Republic of Egypt officially, is one of the biggest, most fascinating countries you’ll ever see. Egypt has a special place for everyone who gets to visit this magnificent place, with all its history, culture, cuisine, religion, and versatile geography.
Egyptian history is infinite and one of human civilization’s greatest heritage, but Egypt is far more than its thousands of years of pyramids and temples, Egypt is life itself, and certainly is a place visited by every human being who can come once in their lifetime.
Where is Egypt located?
Egypt is mainly situated in the northern part of the African continent, with part of its Asian continent located in the Sinai desert. It has a total area of 1,002,450 square km, making it the 31st largest country in the world; you have a total of 1,024 km measured from the very north to the very south.
What’s the capital of Egypt?
The capital is Cairo, pronounced Al-Qahirah, which means victorious. Cairo, a city founded around the Nile River, is one of the biggest cities on the African continent. Cairo, a massive and diverse city with 9.5 million inhabitants, is one of a kind.
What are the main cities in Egypt?
As it is the capital, Cairo is the main city, but other cities such as Alexandria, Aswan, Luxor, Sharm El Sheikh, Dahab, Gouna, Marsa Alam and Hurghada are also major cities for tourist and economic attractions.
What’s the official currency in Egypt?
The currency is called the Pound. Egyptian currency is beautiful, but English pounds, euros, and US dollars are known to have a rather poor monetary value. The currency can be abbreviated as EGP.
What is the predominant religion in Egypt?
Islam is the dominant faith, rendering the population of Egypt 90% Muslim and only 10% Christian, with the Muslims being predominantly Sunnis and the Coptic Orthodox Christians being the biggest Christians.
Egyptian Geography
Egypt, strategically situated in the Gulf of Aqaba, has Mediterranean and Red Sea coastlines and has the entire length of the Nile River flowing through it. It has borders with the Gaza Strip, Libya, Sudan, and Israel. Around two-thirds of Egypt’s land area consists of the Western Desert. The Western Desert is part of the Sahara Desert and is situated on the Nile River’s west side.
Egyptian Civilization
Egypt is known for its ancient civilization and the magnificent pharaohs’ temples, such as the Great Pyramids of Giza, the Great Sphinx, the Egyptian Museum, the Great Egyptian Museum, Sakkara, and Dasher.
There are famous temples in the south, such as the Temple of Luxor, the Temple of Karnak, Abu Simbel, the Temple of Hatshepsut, the Valley of the Kings, with focus on the tomb of Tutankhamun, the Temple of Edfu (Horus), the Aswan High Dam, and the Temple of Philae. This is just a quick overview of what’s out there; around the world, there are several other emblematic attractions.
Egyptian Cuisine
Egyptian cuisine is rather authentic and while it has some Greek influences, such as on the north coast, the country’s food is almost “full” of beans, lentils, pasta, rice, and bread.
Koshary, a dish that includes rice, lentils, pasta, tomato sauce, chickpeas, crispy onions, and garlic sauce, is a popular and traditional dish.
Tamiya, made out of bean paste, is one of the best Egyptian foods. In Egypt, Molokhia is also a very popular food and consists of a soup made from a very safe, antioxidant-packed green leaf. Molokhia is a symbol of the cuisine of Egypt.
Stuffed pigeons, kebabs, and kofta are renowned Egyptian meat and poultry dishes. As they have access to some of the best fresh seafood in the world, Egypt’s cuisine also provides a lot of fish and seafood.
Egyptian Arts
Egypt had the first references to art in the history of Ancient Egyptian Civilization during the Old Kingdom, and since then, art is one of the most important aspects of Egyptian culture, second only to religion.
Egyptian Arts is split into many categories, such as:
- Literature : In Egyptian Literature, Naguib Mahfouz was the first Egyptian writer to receive the Nobel Prize for Arabic language literature. Muhammad Husayn Haykal, Nawa El Saadawi, Alifa Rifaat, Ahmed Fouad Negm, Salah Jaheen, and Abdel Rahman El-Abnudi are also popular names in Egyptian literature.
- Cinema : Every year, the presence of Egyptian cinema is enhanced with the launch of several new films. A number of series and shows are created for the Ramadan season, because watching Egyptian series during Ramadan is a strong tradition. Each year, the El Gouna International Film Festival takes place and has become a strong catalyst in the film industry for creative minds in and outside.
- MUSIC : Egyptian music is big and people in the country really enjoy music. Umm Kulthum, Mohammed Abdel Wahab, Abdel Halim Hafez, Sayed Darwish, and Abdul al-Hamuli are some of the legendary names in Egyptian music, Contemporary music is now gaining a huge position in the Egyptian music industry, and the new faces of Egyptian music are names such as Amr Diab, Mohamed Mounir, Tamer Hosny, Mohamed Ramadan and others.
- Dance : The world-famous style of belly dancing was born in Egypt, and there is still a very strong tradition in the country and the world to this day. It is prevalent in Egyptian weddings that they often have a belly dancer to dance at their wedding celebration with the bride and groom.
Egyptian Sports
Egyptians are obsessed with sports and there is a television for matches and games in just about every restaurant or cafe.
Soccer is the number one sport in and while the Egyptian national soccer team has not had much success in the World Cup, the Egyptian national soccer team is extremely competitive in the African Cup and the supporters are just so enthusiastic about the sport that they do not lose hope and they also believe Egypt will win the World Cup title someday.
Egyptian squash players are among the best in the world despite not being the best in soccer, and the sport is highly played in the region, along with tennis and water polo.
Is Egypt safe?
Egypt is safe to visit. The new government has instituted very strict sexual harassment laws and the crime rate is very low, and while you can feel safe if you travel on your own, Egypt is better experienced with the presence of a tour guide who knows the region and can speak Egyptian Arabic for the language reason.
What is the best time to visit Egypt?
Since summer in Egypt can get very hot with temperatures rising as high as 50 Celsius, the best time of the year to visit Egypt is between September and May, where you can enjoy Egypt’s outdoors with a nice cool breeze and not too much sun, just enough of it.
Interesting Facts about Egypt
- There are a total of 80 pyramids in Egypt, and in the Giza Pyramids Complex, the Great Pyramid of Giza is the most prominent and best preserved.
- Egypt is home to seven of the world’s heritage sites, six of them are cultural and one is geological, according to UNESCO: Abu Mena, Luxor, Old Cairo, The Pyramids of Giza Complex, several temples between the temples of Philae and Abu Simbel, the Monastery of St. Catherine and the Wadi al-Hitan.
- The population crossed the 100 million population mark in 2020.
- Egypt is home to the world’s 4th best-paid soccer player in 2020, Mo Salah, who is currently playing for Liverpool’s English team and has received multiple English and Champions League awards.
A Few Things to Know before Visiting Egypt
- The summer in Egypt is Very hot and temperatures will increase to 45 Celsius.
- Egyptians are very polite and they are outstanding individuals to be around.
- Getting a tour guide is a great choice when visiting Egypt, as you can get a lot more out of your trip and if you have an Egyptian with you, people will appreciate you more.
- A perfect way to be included in the Egyptian culture is to learn some Egyptian Arabic.
- Egypt is Breathtaking and one of the top ten destinations in the world, for sure.
Planning to travel to Egypt, but you can’t talk Arabic for a word? Would you like to sound like a real Egyptian? No worries, we’re going to get them up and running in no time. To accompany you on your next adventure in Egypt, we have created a Pocket Guide full of daily Egyptian Arabic vocabulary, phrases, and expressions.
We give Egypt day tours from all cities in Egypt such as Cairo, Hurghada, Sharm El Shiekh, Marsa Alam, El Gouna, Alexandria and would like to see the real Egypt with very rich ancient history and culture such as Cairo, Luxor and Aswan. We can arrange all tours and excursions in Egypt, book your Nile Crusie, Shore excursions, ride with your own guide and travel expert,Airport transfers.
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