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Talk:Egypt

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The original Wikitravel:CIA World Factbook 2002 import has been moved to Talk:Egypt/CIA World Factbook 2002 import should it be needed for future reference. -- Huttite 03:17, 12 Apr 2004 (EDT)

[edit] Sources for further reseach

  • Seat 61 [www.seat61.com/Egypt.htm]
  • Egyptian Railways [1] Unofficial site with downloadable timetables, maps and information on the egyptian railway system.
  • For a Fact Sheet on touring by Bicycle, see :

http://users.utu.fi/mjkain/egypt/factsheet/

Cacahuate 04:54, 2 December 2006 (EST)

IMHO, for things like railways, if there is no official site, then the next best thing should be used. Jpatokal 06:17, 2 December 2006 (EST)
That's a valid opinion, but it doesn't jibe with our external links guideline. If there's no official site, we don't put in a link. --Evan 07:57, 2 December 2006 (EST)

[edit] Exchange rates reference

Online rate check: USD | GBP | EUR | AUD | NZD | CAD | JPY | INR |

--DenisYurkin 00:28, 27 March 2007 (EDT)

[edit] Conflicting information?

Is the abbreviation for the Egyptian Pound EGP or LE? LE is used in the exchange-rate table, but EGP is in the text. 4.243.146.84 23:30, 28 December 2006 (EST)

→ Talk:Cairo#Money. I'll add a note about this to the Buy section. Jpatokal 23:36, 28 December 2006 (EST)

[edit] return trip to Luxor

Due to a two-tier pricing structure fares can be more than four times as expensive for foreigners than locals but still relatively cheap — for example a return day trip to Luxor is about $150.

A return trip to Luxor -- from where? From Cairo? From some European city? --DenisYurkin 17:18, 20 March 2007 (EDT)

[edit] personal experience with taxi

Moving from article text; to be rewritten back to the article according to MoS. --DenisYurkin 04:10, 10 July 2007 (EDT)

We visited Egypt in February 2007. HOWEVER; many taxis are still dirty, as are some drivers. They will quote you one price and then raise it at the end of the trip. Some drive as if they have a death wish. [RJM105]It's a good idea to ask the police at your hotel to get a taxi for you; it's often one that they know.

[edit] Bargaining

There should be a dedicated exclusive paragraph on bargaining/haggling !! There should be a brief guide on how to outmanuovre egyptian street-vendors, shopkeepers, on-site tourist-guides, etc etc. I spent a couple of months in Egypt recently, and i especially recall one so-called 'bedouin'(?) guy with a donkey at Saqqara who was obstinately nagging me to ride his donkey and take a picture with their kind of clothes on me, ENTIRELY FREE !!! I kept refusing consistently and smilingly, but relented when he almost started dragging me. He lifted me on the back of the donkey before I could realize and told my companion to take a picture. I immediately got down and started to walk away. Now the guy blocks me again and asks USD $ 100.00 for the opportunity to take picture on the back of his donkey :-), which was supposed to be FREE :-)) After a few minutes of adamant argument, I gave him Egyptian L.E. 01.00 and finally walked away . The crux of the matter is, this guy climbed down to Eg LE 01.00, 600th of the price he asked, ie. from USD 100.00 which he demanded for the opportunity to take a photo !! He probably thought after a hard bargain I may give him at least USD $ 50.00 or something and walk away with a feeling of false victory :-)) :-))

The moral of this is, these guys can and will ask for outrageous prices. Be sure about that. So don't be shy and be absolutely outrageous yourself when bargaining. Buy the way, haggling is part and pacel of the culture here. One seems to need this skill most in Khan-e Khalil.

Similar things happened to me everywhere in Egypt, from Alexandria to Abu Simbel, from Bahariya to Sharm al Sheikh.

Thanks for your input. In view of your concerns, I have added a link to the article on haggling to the Egypt - buy section. Take a look. WindHorse 07:50, 28 July 2007 (EDT)

[edit] nature reserves

I've moved this list here for now, those red links are tempting, but I'm doubtful that most of these actual need their own articles dedicated to them – cacahuate talk 18:34, 5 July 2008 (EDT)

There are 24 natural reserves in Egypt:

  1. Ras Muhammad and the Islands of Tiran and Sanafir, South Sinai governorate
  2. Al-Zaraniq area in the eastern part of Lake Bardawil (North Sinai)
  3. The coastal thickets extending from Al-Arish to the eastern borders of Egypt at Rafah, North Sinai governorate
  4. The areas of Abu Galoum on the western coast of the Gulf of Aqaba, South Sinai Governorate
  5. The areas of Nabq on the western coast of the Gulf of Aqaba, South Sinai Governorate
  6. Taba area in north east of sinai
  7. St. Catherine mountain, South Sinai Governorate
  8. The area of Elba in the south- eastern corner of Egypt, the Red Sea Governorate
  9. The camels(hamada) valley , in the red sea Governate
  10. Al-Rayan Valley south of Lake Qarun in the Western Desert, Al-Fayyum governorate
  11. the whale vallay in fayom
  12. Lake Qarun, Al-Fayyoum governorate
  13. The Islands of Saluga and Gazal and the mid-way Islets in the southern part of the River Nile basin, Aswan governorate
  14. Al-Alaqi Valley, Aswan Governorate
  15. The area of Al-Amid near the Mediterranean coast, Marsa Matruh
  16. The Oasis Siwa near marsfa matruh
  17. The straits of Ashtoum Al-Gamil and the Islet of Tenis in Lake Manzala, Port Said Governorate
  18. Al-Assiuty Valley in the central part of Upper Egypt, Assiut governorate
  19. Wadi Sanour cave in the Eastern Desert, Beni Suef Governorate.
  20. Prolose reserve in Kafr el shiekh Governorate
  21. The fossil forest in the Qatameya area, east of Maadi
  22. Delgla valley in east of Maadi
  23. Qubat Al-Hassana in Abu Rawash area, Giza Governorate
  24. the white desert in the new valley

[edit] Dress

The common advice is for foreign women to cover up, with long sleeves, etc., as if that will ward off unwanted attention. When I packed to come to Egypt, I had that in mind and packed all long sleeve tops. But, at the last minute tossed a t-shirt into my luggage, and was sure glad I did and regretted packing just one t-shirt.

My experience is that as a foreign woman, you will get plenty of attention regardless of what you wear, and will be subjected to verbal/sexual harassment even if you try to cover up. Even Egyptian women, including those that wear the full hijab, regularly experience sexual harassment. With that being the case, at least in downtown Cairo, Zamalek, Ma'adi and other such areas during the hot summer months, it really didn't make a difference if I wore a t-shirt (or other nice, but short sleeve top) or long sleeves. You still want to dress nice though, but a nice short sleeve top is okay for foreign women. When with a group of foreigners, I would be even more comfortable with a short-sleeve top, since a group of foreigners will get attention no matter what. And, when going to the Giza Pyramids, sleeveless tops and shorts were fine for both women and men, and it the summer, the temperatures can be brutal around the Pyramids. Aude 23:36, 7 January 2009 (EST)

Your new wording is excellent, the old one was much too vague. However, while short-sleeve tops and T-shirts are one thing, travellers probably shouldn't emulate the busful of Italian highschoolers who showed up at the Citadel in Cairo in hotpants/miniskirts and plunging decollete... Jpatokal 01:23, 8 January 2009 (EST)

[edit] Average Temperatures and Daylight

It would be interesting to see what the average temperatures are if vauge they may give an idea of what months to travel and what months not to. Also ideas of sunrise/sunset including ref to Daylight saving observations?

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