|
Transport
International
transport
:
Plane:
Egyptair, Air
France, TWA do regular flights from Paris and
Marseilles.
The distance Paris - Cairo is 3210 kms.
The flight last about 4h 30mn.
Air
France
:
2 Midan Talaat Harb
Tel (2) 743 300
Maritime
transport :
It is possible to get to Egypt by sea with the
'Adriatica' company from either Italy or
Greece.
Boats go to Alexandria from Italy, with stopovers
in Piraeus and Heraklion, it takes 4 days.
Internal
transport
:
Plane
:
I hour flight
between Cairo and Assouan (899 kms).
Railways
:
The network stretches over 4895 kms.
The main lines are : the line down the Nile valley
(Cairo - Assouan, 4 trains a day), the Canal line
(Cairo - Port Said), the Delta line (Cairo -
Alexandria), the Mediterranean line
(Alexandria-Mersa-Matrouh). There are three
classes.
Maritime
transport :
Internal waterways total 3500 kms, counting the
Nile, Lake Nasser, the Alexandria-Cairo passage and
several smaller canals in the delta. The Suez Canal
is 193 kms long.
There are 420 ships in the navy.
The three main ports are Alexandria, Port Said and
Port Suez.
The other ports are Al Ghurdaqah, Aswan, Asyut, Bur
Safajah, Damietta, Marsa Matruh.
River cruises : 200 boats with from 20 to 105
cabins, some are extremely luxurious.
Getting
around in Cairo :
There is an
underground which is very useful.
Taxi fares are divided by the number of passengers.
You can rent a taxi for the day (approx 100 FF for
2 people).
There is a good bus service and between the towns,
the train is very cheap, but the service on the
whole is very slow.
Time
differences
In winter,
GMT + 1 hour. In summer the time is the same as in
France
Telecommunications
The bigger
towns (Alexandria, Cairo, Al Mansurah, Ismailia
Suez and Tanta) are connected by coaxial cables and
relay micro wave stations.
Internationally the system works with 2 satellites,
INTELSAT and ARABSAT and a land station INMARSAT,
there are 5 underwater coaxial cables with micro
wave stations to Libya, Israel, Jordan and
Sudan.
To phone Egypt from France : Dial 00 20 + the town
code + the local number (6 figures)
Cairo : 2, Assouan : 97
To phone France from Egypt : dial 00 33 + the 9
numbers of your correspondent
Press
(See addresses in the Useful Addresses column)
:
« Al Ahram
», a daily, 600,000 copies
« Akhabar Al-Yom », a daily
« Le Journal d’Egypte », a daily
10,000 copies
« Al-Mussawar ».
Airports
The country
has 91 airports, of which 3 are international :
Cairo, Alexandria and Assouan. 11 airports have
more than 3 kms of tarmac landing strips.
The national airline company is Egyptair.
In Cairo the airport is Heliopolis, which is 23 kms
from the centre.
The Assouan airport is 22 kms to the south of the
town in the desert.
The Louxor airport is 15 minutes from the centre of
town.
Always negotiate
your taxi fare before you start out.
Car
rental
Avis
has several offices in Egypt :
Alexandria : Cecil Hotel 202 483 7173
Cairo : airport 202 265 2429,
Nile Hilton Hotel 202578 0321,
Meridien Hotel 202362 1717,
Meridien Heliopolis : 202290 5055
Hurghada : 202 065 447400
Sharm el Sheih : Sonestra Hotel 202 62
600979
All Avis cars are
completely equipped, have done less than 15,000 kms
and have an average age of 3 months. The vehicles
are carefully prepared and checked between each
rental using a procedure containing 7 obligatory
control points.
The cars are rented with a full tank.
Renting from Avis automatically means that the car
passengers, renter and/or driver are covered by a
third party insurance as well as an insurance
covering repatriation and the immobilization of the
vehicule in case of an accident.
You can reserve a car :
- from your travel agent
- from the international reservation centre at 0
820 05 05 05
- or from any Avis agency
Avis has an interactive network worldwide, a client
can reserve a car instantly from anywhere in the
world.
We recommend that you pay your rental using your
accredited Avis card or with another credit card
accepted by Avis : American Express, Visa,
Mastercard, Diners.
Through a simple free membership system, Avis gives
identity and/or payment cards, which are a real
help for a rapid and efficient service.
REASSURING : No on-line payment, you can pay Avis
directly at the agency when you return the car
RAPID : Avis has the quickest car rental
reservation service on the web
ECONOMICAL : The cheapest rates on the market are
available on the Avis microsite
COMPLETE : You can rent a car anywhere in the
world.
The Avis network : 5000 agencies in 172 countries,
is now on-line!
EFFICIENT : Find your town (you don't have to fill
in the country), enter the date and click on
estimate
PRACTICAL : You only have to fill in 4 boxes and
you will receive an e-mail confirming the
reservation.
You can even rent a vehicle at the last minute just
round the corner or ... on the other side of the
world.
Hotels/Restaurants
Your
suitcase
Take very
light clothing with a sweater for the evenings and
the air conditionning.
Women should avoid wearing short skirts, low cut
blouses or shorts. Take along rather wide trousers
and long sleeved shirts to avoid being bitten by
mosquitos or getting sunburn. A hat and suncream
are necessary.
In the monasteries it is forbidden to wear short
sleeves.
To visit the tombs don't forget to bring along a
torch (and spare batteries).
Schools
Ecole
Champollion, Alexandria
Lycée français du Caire, Cairo
Alexandria University, Hadara, Alexandria
American University, Cairo
Ministry of Higher Education, Cairo
Ain Shams University,Cairo
Cairo University, Cairo.
International centre of agriculture, Caire.
Regional centre of adult education (ASFEC),
Menoufia.
(See the addresses in Useful Addresses.).
Information
Shopping
in the Souks :
Objects
in copper, in silver, painting on papyrus, carpets,
jewelry, embroidery, turquoises, lapis-lazuli,
articles in leather, snakeskin and crocodile,
antiques, spices, coral, khol ...
You are expected to haggle both in the souks and
the boutiques.
You can expect to be pestered by both beggars and
children when you walk in town.
Gastronomy
Egyptian cooking is oriental. Some regional dishes
:
grilled fish from the Red Sea, stuffed pigeons,
chawarmas, kofta, kebabs, foul made with brown
broad beans and lentils, meloukhia, a clear chicken
soup with herbs, fattha, a salad with lamb and
curds, shish tawok, a chicken with spices, giant
prawns from Alexandria.
Desserts:
baklawa,
kataif,
sweets made
with semolina,
honey cakes,
raisins, almonds, dates
Drinks
: sweet Turkish
coffee - infusion of red flowers, karkadé -
wine
Various
National day is the
23rd July 1952, which is the anniversary of the
revolution. The constitution was established on
11th September 1971.
The flag is 3 horizontal strips, red, white and
black with the national emblem in the middle : the
seal on a golden eagle facing a scroll with the
country's name written in Arabic.
Public
holidays
1st
January : New Year's Day
1st May : Labour Day
25th April : Anniversary of the liberation of the
Sinai
18th June : anniversary of the Republique
23rd July : Revolution Day
6th October : Army Day
23rd December : Victory Day
Also
celebrated, depending on the lunar
calendar:
Korité
(end of Ramadan)
Tabaski (sheep celebration)
Tamxarit (a Muslim religious day)
Other
religious celebrations which are not public
holidays :
The Magal at Touba (which is the Mecca of the
Mourides)
The Gamou (pilgrimage to Mecca of the Tdjanes, to
the north of Thiès)
The Christian pilgrimage to Popenguine (Monday of
Pentecost)
Tips
or bakchich
In the
hotels and restaurants, you can tip as you
wish.
On cruises it is normal to tip $3 a day per
person.
To visit the tombs don't forget to bring along a
torch.
Banks
You will
find the following banks in Egypt :
EFG Hermes, 55
Charles de Gaulle St, Giza, Egypt.
National Bank of Egypt, Tower 1187, Corniche El
Nile, Cairo.
Misr Exterior Bank, Cairo Plaza Building, Cornich
El Nil.
Guides
Guide du
Routard
Lonely Planet Egypt/Sudan.
Marco Polo maps from the National Geographical
Institute
French Trade Commission notes available in
Paris, at the Librairie du Commerce International,
345 FF
-Normes,
réglementation et assurance qualité
en Egypte (Feb. 1996, 50 pages).
-L'industrie du ciment en Egypte (Oct. 1996, 23
pages).
-L'industrie des engrais chimiques en Egypte (Oct.
1996, 20 pages).
-Le marché des parfums et cosmétiques
en Egypte (Oct. 1996, 35 pages).
Free notes on
individual sectors (in French)
-
Alexandrie : aperçu sur l'économie de
la seconde ville d'Egypte (Feb. 96).
- La consommation des ménages (Feb. 96).
- Le régime et la protection des
investissements en Egypte (Mar. 96).
- Le marché du bois de sciage (April
1996).
- Le Secteur du papier et du carton (May1996).
- Le marché des piscines (June 1996).
- Le marché égyptien des eaux
minérales (June 1996).
- Le contrat d'agence commerciale (June1996).
- Le secteur avicole en Egypte (June 1996).
- La filière maïs en Egypte July
1996).
- La restauration rapide en Egypte (July1996).
- Le secteur médical (Aug. 1996).
- Le marché automobile (Sept. 1996).
- Le marché du meuble (Sept. 1996).
- Les zones franches en Egypte (Oct. 96).
- Le marché de l'outillage (Oct. 96).
- L'élevage bovin en Egypte (Oct. 96).
- Le marché du poisson importé en
Egypte (Oct. 96).
- Le marché des produits laitiers en Egypte
(Oct. 96).
- Le développement du machinisme agricole en
Egypte (Oct. 96).
- Le marché de la poudre de lai et du
butteroil (Oct. 96).
Tourism
Egypt
offers an entire palette of sites to visit and
colourful things to do. With its marvelous climate
and its friendly people, Egypt still charms with
its 70 centuries of culture and history. Travelling
in Egypt necessitates a certain patience and
indulgence, as the structures are not always as
organized as in Europe. In fact it is better to
travel via a known travel agent and avoid losing
time in this country where the bakchich is the rule
and the regulations are sometimes not very
clear.
To
visit:
Cairo museum, the Pharaohs' treasures.
The Museum of Coptic Art
The Mosque of Sultan Hassan
The Pyramids of Gizah.
The Pyramids of Saqqarah. The pyramid built by King
Djoser is built in 6 graduations. The statue of
Djoser near the Pyramid
The statue de Ramses II at Memphis
The fortress of Trajan
The citadelle of Saladin from the Ayyubide era
The town of Fcotat, the first capital of Islam
Elephantine island (mausoleum of the Aga Khan,
Kitchener's Island), sail in a felucca.
Abu Simbel and Philae.
The Nilometer on Rodah island, end of the IXth
century
Luxor ...
The
Oasis
Lost in a
sea of sand, sprinkled with little islands, the
oasis are typical of Egypt and you have to see
them: - the Siwa oasis, a sacred place dedicated to
the god Amon
- Farafra "the white", mineral statues sculpted by
the wind in the sand
- Kharga, with its warm water used for treating
rheumatism
- El Fayorem, inhabited since prehistoric times
Cruises
on the Nile
The Nile is
the longest river in the world. Over a period of
three thousand years people built temples and tombs
along its banks, developed writing, agriculture,
discovered geometry and arithmetic. A cruise on the
Nile between Luxor and Assouan is both a trip
through time via the monuments of ancient Egypt,
and also a discovery of fascinating landscapes.
The
desert
Since the
time of Moses, the people of the Mediterranean owe
a part of their origins and their religion to the
Sinai desert. In the north the desert is edged with
dunes, the coast is a forest of palm trees and
tamarisk, the interior is made up of ochre chalk
cliffs in the middle of arid plains.
The
Red Sea
This region
has become legendary for divers. The underwater
fauna and flora are the most extraordinary in the
world, particularly the variety of corals. It is
friendly, well organized and there is good diving
material available, all set up in a perfect tourist
infrastructure.
Excursions : discover the sea beds with a
sub-marine, safari in a 4-wheel drive in the desert
or the mountains, visit a Bedouin camp, take a
camel ride, a boat ride to Giftun island...
Sharm
el Sheikh
Situated on the
southernmost point of the Sinai peninsula, this
town has become a fashionable sea resort. Hotels,
restaurants, handicraft boutiques are grouped
together at the foot of the Sinai mountains.
Excursions : safaris in a 4-wheel drive crossing
the wadi and the coloured canyon, the St Catherine
monastery, climb Mt Moses, ride a camel in the
mountains where the Bedouins live, take a boat to
Bas Mohamed, a natural park on the south point of
the Sinai...
Luxor
The temple of
Amon-Râ
Karnak, the biggest pillared temple in the world
(134 columns). An alley way of sphinxes leads up to
the monumental entry of the temple
The colosses of Memnon, 20m high statues which
represent the pharaoh
Valley of the Queens : 80 tombs from 1300 to 100
BC
Valley of the Kings : tombs of Ramses I,II,III,
Tutankhamon, etc
The sacred town of Denderah, with its 3
sanctuaries
The town of Abydes, dedicated to the cult of
Osiris
Assouan
Abu Simbel,
on the banks of Lake Nasser is the temple of Ramses
II, next to it is the temple of Hathor, dedicated
to his wife Nefertari
Kalabsha, the ancient city of Talmis
Philae, a temple dedicated to Isis, rebuilt on the
island of Agilkia after the flooding of the
valley.
Sports
: Golf, tennis,
squash, diving
Shows
Dinner in
old Cairo followed by a medieval Mamelouk show
Dance of whirling dervishes in the El Ghuri palace
in Cairo
Dance of Arab pure-blood horses
Son et lumière in the temples of Philae, in
Karnak, or a classical music
concert.
|
