Egypt Travel Advice

General information for Egypt

Continent: Africa

Geographical location: Northeast Africa, located in the northern hemisphere.

Highest elevation: Jabal Katrina (2642 m above sea level)

Longest river: Nile (6852 km)

Form of government: Republic System of

Government: Semi-presidential system

Languages: Arabic

Neighboring countries: Libya, Sudan, Gaza, Israel, Jordan

Capital: Cairo

Area: Approx. 1,001,500 km²

Residents: Approx. 97,042,000 people (2017)

Population density: 97 residents per km²

Religions: About 90% Sunni Muslims, about 6% followers of Christianity, as well as Jews, Bahais and other religious communities not recognized by the state

Currency: Egyptian pound; 1 EUR is approximately 18.5 EGP.

Climate: predominantly dry desert climate with regional characteristics

Time zone: UTC + 2

Area code: +20

Country code: EG

Electricity: Type C sockets are used in Egypt. The mains voltage is 220V with a 50Hz change interval.

Check a2zdirectory for old history of Egypt and agooddir for modern history of Egypt.

Travel climate in Egypt

Egypt lies within the North African dry belt and largely has a desert climate with very little rainfall and considerable seasonal and daily temperature fluctuations. Only the Mediterranean coast and the Nile delta are influenced by the Mediterranean with 100 – 200mm winter precipitation.

The average daily temperatures in July can reach up to 31 ° C in Port Said, 35 ° C in Cairo and over 40 ° C in Aswan, although it can be very cool at night. Due to the low relative humidity of around 30%, however, the heat is easy to bear. In January, the average daytime temperatures drop to 20 ° C in Cairo and 24 ° C in Aswan. The hot Khamsin, a sand and dust wind coming from the south, blows from March to June.

In Egypt, depending on the geographical location, five more specific climatic zones can be distinguished.

The approximately 700 km long Mediterranean coast and the Nile delta are characterized by very warm summers and mild winters with relatively abundant rainfall of up to 200 mm / year. Spring, like autumn, is hot and dry with possible temperatures of over 40 ° C. In summer, daytime temperatures between 28 and 32 ° C are reached and there is no more precipitation. The air humidity is relatively high all year round at 60–75%. The sea invites you to swim in summer with values of up to 28 ° C, in winter it cools down to 16-18 ° C.

The lower Nile valley from Cairo to Asyut is also characterized by mild winters with daytime temperatures of 18–22 ° C, the summers, with possible temperature peaks of up to 48 ° C, are hotter than in the Nile delta and on the Mediterranean coast and there is hardly any precipitation all year round at a significantly reduced humidity of 40–60%. In the winter nights, on the other hand, it can get very cold with the onset of morning frost.

In the upper Nile Valley, similar to the desert areas and oases to the east and especially to the west, the winters are also mild with cool nights, the spring and autumn are very short and warm, and the long summers are very hot and extremely dry. The average daily values reach 38–42 ° C, whereby heat waves can cause temperatures of over 50 ° C.

In contrast to this, mild to warm winters with very moderate temperatures between 20 ° C during the day and 10–13 ° C at night prevail in the coastal areas on the Red Sea. The summers, which are also very hot, do not quite reach the temperature peaks as in the neighboring desert areas. At around 20–29 ° C, the sea invites you to swim all year round.

Due to its higher elevations, winters in the mountains of the Sinai Peninsula are very cool with 12–15 ° C during the day and 0–5 ° C at night. Spring and autumn are accordingly a little longer, but the summers are still very warm with daytime temperatures of up to 32 ° C. At night, however, the values drop to a cooler 15–18 ° C. Incidentally, there is hardly any significant rainfall with only low humidity.

Culture and sights in Egypt

Ancient Egypt was one of the earliest civilizations of mankind and the associated cultural history of Egypt goes back over 6000 years, during the course of which Egypt influenced later cultures in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. After the Pharaonic era, Egypt itself came under the influence of Hellenism, Christianity and Islamic culture. Today, many aspects of ancient Egyptian culture are still present and interact with newer elements, including the influence of modern Western culture.

For centuries, Cairo has been one of the intellectual and cultural centers of the Arab world with the seat of the renowned Islamic university al-Azhar and the head of the Coptic Orthodox Church. It is home to large libraries, museums and the first opera house in the Arab world, as well as large parts of the Arab film industry. Numerous galleries, exhibition areas, music labels and event locations, which are often located in empty buildings in the magnificent but ailing inner city, offer a varied program and are closely linked to the international cultural scene. The most important cultural events include the Cairo International Book Fair, the International Film Festival and the International Festival for Experimental Theater. In addition, there is still an active independent cultural scene.

Egyptian music is a rich mix of indigenous, Mediterranean, African and western elements. Percussion and vocal music have always been an important part of local musical traditions at weddings and other festivities, while Egyptian pop music has become increasingly culturally important in the younger music scene.

According to the historical importance of Egypt, the country is rich in cultural and historical sights, above all the pyramids around and in the wider area of Giza and the Luxor temples and the nearby Valley of the Kings in Thebes. Monuments to the recent history of Egypt are particularly worth seeing in Cairo and Alexandria.

For nature lovers, the three national parks of Egypt offer interesting insights into the desert and steppe landscapes of the eastern Sahara as well as into the maritime world of the coastal areas of the Red Sea.

Holidays with a fixed date in Egypt

The date of the Islamic holidays is based on the Islamic lunar calendar and therefore shifts from year to year

Jan 1st Bank holiday

Jan 7th Coptic Christmas

Jan 25th Anniversary of the 2011 Revolution

Apr 25th. Liberation Day of Sinai

May 1st Labor Day

July 1st Bank Holiday

July 23rd Anniversary of the 1952 Revolution

Oct 6th Armed Forces Day

Medical advice for Egypt

For legal reasons, we as a tour operator are not allowed to communicate any binding medical information and therefore refer to the information provided by the Foreign Office of the Federal Republic of Germany, the Robert Koch Institute and the German Society for Tropical Medicine and International Health

Travel advice for Egypt

You can obtain current travel and safety information, information on entering and leaving the country, as well as special criminal information and recommendations for your stay in Egypt from the Federal Foreign Office.