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About Egypt

Covering an area of about 1,020,000 km² Egypt includes the Sinai Peninsula while the majority of the country is located in North Africa.The vast majority of Egypt's population inhabits the banks of the River Nile (about 40,000 km²). Large areas of land are part of the Sahara desert and are sparsely inhabited.

Egypt is famous for its ancient civilization and some of the world's most stunning ancient monuments, including the Giza Pyramids, the Karnak Temple, the Valley of the Kings and the southern city of Luxor that contains a large number of ancient artifacts. Among the other attractions of the country are the monuments of the Nile Valley, the souks and mosques of Islamic Cairo and ancient fortresses, monasteries and rock art.

Egypt has many natural wonders from the Red Sea, Sinai, and the Eastern and Western deserts with fantastic coral reefs and tropical fish, dunes and rockscapes.

Top destinations in Egypt

Cities in Egypt

General information

Capital: Cairo
Language: Arabic
Climate: Hot, dry summers and mild winters with some rainfall along the Mediterranean coast. Inland rainfall is negligible and summers are very hot. In April the hot dusty Khamsin wind blows from the Sahara.
Timezone: UTC+2
Currency: 1 Egyptian Pound (E£) = 100 piastres
Electricity plugs: c (show)
No. of inhabitants: 75 Million
Interl. accesscode +20
Toplevel domain .eg
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Good to know

Today, Egypt is widely regarded as the main political and cultural centre of the Arab and Middle Eastern regions. Egypt is a multi-layered culture with ancient and modern elements with the fellaheen of the Nile, the Bedouin tribes of the desert, the Nubians of the far south, and the Coptic Christians.

Approximately 94% of the population adheres to Islam. During Ramadan in the ninth month of the Islamic calendar many restaurants and cafes won't open until after sundown. Public transport is infrequent, shops close earlier and the pace of life is generally slow.

Banks, shops and businesses will close for the following Egyptian National Holidays: 1st January New Year's Day, 25th April Liberation Day, 1st May Labour Day, 23rd July Revolution Day, 6th October Armed Forces Day, 23rd October Suez Day, 23rd December Victory Day.