Name
Egypt full name is The Arab Republic of Egypt;
Cairo is the capital and one of the first million
inhabited cities in Africa and Arab World; it
is also the industrial and commercial center of
Egypt.
Location & -geographical
related notes:
Egypt is the Land of contrasts: it reflects shining
light and deep shadow, holds grassy soil and arid
sand.
The Arab republic of Egypt occupies the north
eastern corner of Africa as part of great Sahara
desert; its northern border marked by the Mediterranean
Sea, it is limited on the south by the republic
of Sudan ( 1,273 km border), on the west by the
Libyan border (1,115 km), and on the east by Holly
land (266 Km). & Gaza strip (11 Km). Then
on the south of Sinai Peninsula there are Aqaba
Gulf, and the Red sea ending with Halaib-Shalatin
area border. A northern Africa & Arab vast
desert plateau interrupted by Nile valley and
delta, between Asia and Africa, such a unique
geographical position made Egypt a hub of world
trade, with the shortest sea link between Indian
Ocean and Mediterranean Sea and cultural exchange
counter. Today, worldwide shipping transits the
gates of the Suez Canal.
- Geographic coordinates: 27 00 N, 30 00 E
- Area; total: 1,001,450 sq km; Land: 995,450
sq km; water: 6,000 sq km
- Land Use: arable land: 3.25%, permanent crops:
0.67%, sterile desert & other: 96.15% (2008
EST.)
- Lowest point: Qattara Depression-133 M
- Highest point: Mount Catherine 2,629 M
- Maritime claims: Territorial sea: 12 NM, Contiguous
zone: 24 NM, Continental shelf: 200-m depth or
to the depth of exploitation, Exclusive economic
zone: 200 NM.
Time
GMT + 2 hours
Summer time (GMT + 3 hours) observed from late
April until end of September.
Currency: (Customs & converter)
Egyptian Pounds (EGP) el-Gineih el-Misri, sign:
E?; which stands for livre égyptienne, It is divided
into 100 piasters (quersh in Arabic). American
Express, Master Card, Visa, all Euro cards, JCB
even the Chinese Union Pay are accepted by AL-Ahly
bank machines, all of these have become become
widely accepted in various hotels and shops. Same
areas you can find ATMs Machines. As for foreign
currency exchange, it is available in banks and
certain foreign exchange firms. If you run out
of money during your tour, you can get money wired
to you from abroad through plenty of Western Union
branches, which takes only few minutes to get
any sum of money sent you from abroad.
Recommended that you don't change US$ & L
or Euro until you arrive in Egypt - as conversion
rate is far better in Egypt, Egyptian Pound =
100 Piasters .
$1(US)= approximately 5.452 Egyptian Pounds (2010-01-07)
1(UK)= about 8.9 Egyptian pounds
1 Euro about 8.10 Egyptian pounds
Click this link; Currency Converter for 164 Currencies
Or check the web site; http://www.oanda.com/currency/converter/
Population
According to May 2008 EST, nearly 78.7 million
Life expectancy at birth: 71.85 years (Female:
74.52 years & Male: 69.4 years)
Egypt Ethnic Groups: (Egyptians, Bedouins, and
Berbers) about 99% Eastern Hamitic (or);
Nubian, Greek, Armenian, or even other (European)
(1%)
For sure the most prominent Semites today are
Arabs and Jews. Egyptian is one of Arab countries
& one of the nations who still speak Semitic
languages (Arabic); this group includes Arabs,
Aramaeans, and Jews, whose ancestry can be traced
back to Shem, Noah's eldest son. At the same time,
ancient Egyptian mostly gathered with North-African
Berber, Cushitic, Beja, and the Chadic all were
part of the Hamitic group. These facts leave visitors
to Egypt with a question that is still not answered
so far finally how did civilization arise in Egypt?
Let us examine the facts that are being shunted
aside, facts derived from research done before
political considerations brought down a cultural
curtain.
Languages
Arabic (official), with the Egyptian-Arabic dialect,
in business English predominatesand French disseminated
to a lesser extent, while Italian and German widely
understood in Red sea coasts cities.
Banking Hours
Sun-Thurs 08:30-14:00 (Friday & Saturday off)
Tipping
the word "baksheesh" often is heard
in Egypt. You are expected to pay tips during
your Egypt Tour.
The amount depends on how much efforts have
done to earn your satisfaction
Electricity (Egypt 220V-50
Hz-C / F)
The mystery of electricity is how to get benefits
from your favorite devices. How do you keep
iPhone, Vaio laptop, and Nikon happy, To the
traveler who confuses an adapter (which gets
the plug right) and a converter (which adjusts
voltages). To prevent Oops, we recommend that
you bring your electronic devices outlet convertor
Type C Euro-plug 2-pin with you for your peace
of mind; however it is not expensive to buy
it from Egypt. Remember Egypt use CEE 7/16 (Europlug
2.5 A/250 V unearthed whatever used in most
hotels or Nile cruise outlet).
A lot of hotels provide free high-speed Internet
access and you will find Wi-Fi hotspots in the
main towns.
Pack an Internet connection kit that contains
a spare phone cord, an extra Ethernet network
cable, a phone adapter and a surge protector.
And prepare for differences in electricity.
You may need an adapter to accommodate type
"C" plugs in Egypt. Check the voltage
capacity of transformer block on your laptop.
If it cannot handle 220 to 230V, buy a new transformer.
Phone Codes
Egypt Country Code: (+2)
Codes for major Cities:
Cairo: 02; Alexandria: 03; Luxor: 095; Aswan:
097; Sharm El Sheikh: 062; Hurghada & El
Gouna: 065
National Day
23rd of July. (Eid-EL SAWRA) It commemorates
the Anniversary of the 1952 Revolution.
Independence 28February 1922 (from UK)
Public Holidays
- Sinai Liberation day 25 Apr.
- Labour Day 1May
- Evacuation Day (Eid El Galaa) 18 June
- Revolution Day 23 Jul.
- Flooding of the Nile 15 Aug
* Coptic New Year
- Coptic Christmas Day
- Armed Forces Day 6 Oct.
- Egyptian Naval Day 21 Oct
- Suez & National Liberation Day 24Oct
- Suez Victory Day 23DEC
- Mother's Day 21 March
- Sinai Liberation Day 25 April
*Coptic Easter 5 to 29 April
*Sham El Nesseem
(Hegry Year for Muslims)
* Day of Arafa& Eid El Adha
* Islamic New Year
* Ashoorah Day
* Prophet Muhammad's Birthday (PBUH)
* Eid El Fitr
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