Egypt Cities
Cairo & Giza
Back to Map
Capital city with history from many time periods
Cairo is the Capital of Egypt and the largest city in Africa in terms of area and population. Cairo is a cosmopolitan city that blends charm of the east with a Mediterranean flavour, which accommodates 26% of Egyptian population.
Cairo has a wealth of monuments and museums, mosques, tombs, churches, forts, palaces and hotels representing over fifty centuries of civilization. Cairo is a melting pot where antiquities of Pharaonic dynasties, Graeco-Roman civilization, Christian and Islamic landmarks co-exist.
Cairo is a dynastic city proud of its warm and friendly people known for their traditional hospitality.
What mainly attracts the visitor in Cairo is that vital blend of a majestic past and a glorious present at top of the Mokattam hills extending on the Eastern bank of the Nile, where rises the impressive Cairo Citadel of Salah Eldeen El-Ayoubi.
In Great Cairo, on the western bank of the Nile and on top of the Giza plateau rise the colossal pyramids and the mysterious Sphinx, the greatest tribute to Pharaonic art and thought.
In Cairo, don't forget the most essential after-dark experience, the Sound and Light show at the Pyramids, a dramatic fusion of light and music recounting the story of antiquity.
Between the Pyramids and the Citadel, there is Modern Cairo with its network of roads, squares, gardens, clubs, amusement parks, luxurious hotels, skyscrapers and Cairo Tower rising 187 meters high.
In the heart of Cairo, the Eternal River Nile flows gently from south to north. A Cairo visitor cannot miss sailing in a Nile felucca at sunset. Cairo invites you to come and enjoy its beautiful all-your weather, and visit the immortal monuments and relics, especially the ancient pyramids in Giza.
Cairo comes alive at night, which is the best time to shop, eat delicious Egyptian cuisine, or simply watch the world go by from a pavement cafe.
In Cairo, you can dine in a floating restaurant on the Nile, have an apple-flavored shisha (water pipe) at a coffee shop or watch oriental dancers at any luxury hotel.
In Cairo, you can also visit the splendid Opera House with its complex houses, several galleries (including the Museum of Modern Art), library and concert halls.
Back to Map
North Coast
Alexandrias ancient history and modern structure
Egypt North Coast is characterized by the beaches extending along the Mediterranean coast with its soft sand and clear waters, from Alexandria until the Egyptian borders at Sallum.
All along the coast there are numerous tourist resorts, hotels, villas, chalets and services on the road.
Alexandria: The largest port and second city of Egypt, and the greatest summer resort, with beaches extending along the Mediterranean coast for some 30 km. Named after Alexander the Great.
It is distinguished by its strategic location, moderate climate and its beautifully fine sandy beaches. King Mariut: It is 25 km from Alexandria coast, the most suitable for rheumatic and cardiac patients and for those who seek relaxation.
Wadi Al-Natroun Area: South east of Alexandria coast, and is one of the places the Holy Family passed through. It is renowned for its four Christian monasteries: Abu Makkar, Al-Baramos, Anba Bishoi, Al-Sprian.
Borg Al-Arab Area: It is 52 km from Alexandria coast, contains Abu Seir temple and a communal grave from the Roman era. Sidi Kreir Beach: A private beach 34 km west of Alexandria coast.
The summer resort extends for 2 km on the coast with a typical tourist resort and casino.
Al-Alamein Beach Al-Alamein area is 104 km west of Alexandria coast, on the paved road parallel to the Mediterranean coast.
Known for its serenity, its fascinating scenery and mild climate Sidi Abdel Rahman Beach: It lies 127 km west of Alexandria Coast.
It overlooks a calm bay on the coast, and is distinguished by its clear water and dry weather.
Marsa Matrouh Lies 290 km west of Alexandria coast.
It is noted for its beach, which extends for seven kilometers on the Mediterranean coast with its fine white sand and transparent, quiet water as it is protected by a chain of natural rocky breakwaters.
Back to Map
Luxor
The beauty of the Infamous Karnak temple
Luxor (in Arabic: الأقصر al-Uqṣur) is a city in Upper (southern) Egypt and the capital of Luxor Governorate.
The population numbers 376,022 (1999 survey), with an area of approximately 416 square kilometres (161 sq mi) [1].
As the site of the ancient Egyptian city of Thebes, Luxor has frequently been characterized as the "world's greatest open air museum", as the ruins of the temple complexes at Karnak and Luxor stand within the modern city.
Immediately opposite, across the Nile River, lie the monuments, temples and tombs on the West Bank Necropolis, which include the Valley of the Kings and Valley of the Queens.
Thousands of international tourists arrive annually to visit these monuments, contributing a large part towards the economy for the modern city. History For the ancient settlement of Luxor, see Thebes, Egypt Luxor was the ancient city of Thebes, the great capital of Egypt during the New Kingdom, and the glorious city of the God Amon-Ra.
The city was regarded in the Ancient Egyptian texts as WST (Pronounced "Waset"), which meant "the foremost" or "city of the sceptre" and also as T-IPT (probably pronounced as "ta ipet" and meaning "the shrine") and then, in a later period, the Greeks called it Thebai and the Romans after them Thebae.
Thebes was also known as "the city of the 100 gates", sometimes being called the southern city of the sun ('Iunu-shemaa' in Ancient Egyptian), to distinguish it from the city of Iunu or Heliopolis, the main place of worship for the god Ra in the north.
Back to Map
Aswan
Hosting the wonder of Abu Simbel temple
Aswan, formerly spelled Assuan, Aswān; Ancient Egyptian: Swenet, "Trade"; , Swān; Ancient Greek: Συήνη, Syene) is a city in the south of Egypt, the capital of the Aswan Governorate.
It stands on the east bank of the Nile at the first cataract and is a busy market and tourist center. The modern city has expanded and includes the formerly separate community on the island of Elephantine.
Aswan is one of the driest inhabited places in the world; as of early 2001, the last rain there was six years earlier. As of 18 January 2009[update], the last rainfall was a thunderstorm on May 13, 2006. In Nubian settlements, they generally do not bother to roof all of the rooms in their houses.
Aswan is the ancient city of Swenet, which in antiquity was the frontier town of Ancient Egypt to the south.
Swenet is supposed to have derived its name from an Egyptian goddess with the same name.
This goddess later was identified as Eileithyia by the Greeks and Lucina by the Romans during their occupation of Ancient Egypt because of the similar association of their goddesses with childbirth, and of which the import is "the opener".
The ancient name of the city also is said to be derived from the Egyptian symbol for trade.
[1] Because the Ancient Egyptians oriented toward the origin of the life-giving waters of the Nile in the south, Swenet was the first town in the country, and Egypt always was conceived to "open" or begin at Swenet.
[citation needed] The city stood upon a peninsula on the right (east) bank of the Nile, immediately below (north of) the first cataract of the flowing waters, which extend to it from Philae.
Navigation to the delta was possible from this location without encountering a barrier.
Abu Simbel
Construction of the temple complex started in approximately 1244 BCE and lasted for about 20 years, until 1224 BCE. Known as the "Temple of Ramesses, beloved by Amun," it was one of six rock temples erected in Nubia during the long reign of Ramesses II.
Their purpose was to impress Egypt's southern neighbors, and also to reinforce the status of Egyptian religion in the region. Historians say that the design of Abu Simbel expresses a measure of ego and pride in Ramesses II.
Back to Map
Sharm El Sheikh
the beauty of the red sea and luxorius 5 star hotels
Sharm el-Sheikh is a city situated on the southern tip of the Sinai Peninsula, in South Sinai Governorate, Egypt, on the coastal strip between the Red Sea and Mount Sinai.
Sharm el-Sheikh is the administrative hub of Egypt's South Sinai Governorate which includes the smaller coastal towns of Dahab and Nuweiba as well as the mountainous interior, Saint Catherine's Monastery and Mount Sinai.
Sharm el-Sheikh is known as The City of Peace referring to the large number of international peace conferences that have been held there.
Sharm el-Sheikh (27°51′N 34°17′E) is on a promontory overlooking the Straits of Tiran at the mouth of the Gulf of Aqaba. Its strategic importance led to its transformation from a fishing village into a major port and naval base for the Egyptian Navy.
It was captured by Israel during the Sinai conflict of 1956 and restored to Egypt in 1957.
A United Nations peacekeeping force was subsequently stationed there until the 1967 Six-Day War when it was recaptured by Israel.
Sharm el-Sheikh remained under Israeli control until the Sinai peninsula was returned to Egypt in 1982 after the Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty of 1979.
Back to Map
Hurghada
The leading seashore resort on the Red Sea
Hurghada is a city in the Red Sea Governorate of Egypt.
It is a tourist center located on the Red Sea coast.
The city was founded in the early 20th century, and since the 1980s has been continually enlarged by Egyptian and foreign investors to become the leading seashore resort on the Red Sea.
Holiday villages and hotels provide aquatic sport facilities for sailboarders, yachtsmen, scuba divers and snorkelers.
Hurghada stretches for about 36 kilometres (22 mi) along the seashore, and it does not reach far into the surrounding desert. The resort is a destination for Egyptian tourists from Cairo, the Delta and Upper Egypt, as well as package holiday tourists from Europe, notably Italians, Russians, Czechs and Germans.
Until a few years ago it was a small fishing village.
Today Hurghada counts 248,000 inhabitants and is divided into three parts: Downtown (El Dahar) is the old part; Sekalla is the modern part, and El Korra Road is the most modern part.
Sakkala is the relatively modest hotel quarter. Dahar is where the town's largest bazaar, the post office and the long-distance bus station are situated.
The city is served by the Hurghada International Airport with scheduled passenger traffic to and from Cairo and direct connections with several cities in Europe.
The airport has undergone massive renovations to accommodate rising traffic.
Hurghada is known for its watersports activities, nightlife and warm weather.
Daily temperature hovers round 30 degrees Celsius most of the year.
Numerous Europeans spend their Christmas and New Year holidays in Hurghada, primarily Germans and Italians.
