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|
full country name |
|
Arab Republic of Egypt |
| capital |
|
Cairo |
| population |
|
69.1 million (as of 2001) |
| surface area |
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1001400 sq km |
| currency |
|
Egyptian pound (E£) |
| exchange rate |
|
US$ 1 = E£ 4.58 (as of May 2002) |
| language |
|
Arabic |
| main religion |
|
94% Muslim (primarily Sunni) |
| Internet users |
|
0.65% (as of 2000) |
|
| The Race |
| Two steaming cups of tea are sitting in front of us on the table. It is 3:30 in the morning - too early. In a few minutes, a microbus will arrive and bring us to the magnificent Temple of Ramses II in ... (more) |
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| The Unexpected |
| With regard to what I saw ... Even though it was anticipated, the overall oldness of the pyramids, temples, and tombs in Egypt was an unexpectedly stark contrast to the relative newness of ... (more) |
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| Looking for Gems in the Chaos |
| Almost guaranteed, the overpowering initial impression of Cairo for a first time visitor is one of an overwhelmingly hectic city, quite crowded and polluted, noisy and hot, and with ... (more) |
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| Show Me The Money |
| In most cases, fees for visitor visas obtained upon arrival at land border crossings or international airports still require cash payment in hard currencies. Since we have used up some of our US$ ... (more) |
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| Gain Something, Lose Something |
| One late evening in Luxor, we are walking along a busy street when squealing brakes instinctively make us turn our heads towards the noise. In front of our eyes, a mother and her three-year-old son ... (more) |
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Our flight from Budapest to Cairo left April 16th, 2002. We arrived in Cairo on April 17th, 2002 and stayed in Egypt for four weeks, returning to Budapest on May 15th, 2002.
We spent a week in Cairo, Egypt's chaotic capital. The Pyramids of Giza, the treasures in the Egyptian Museum, and labyrinth-like Islamic Cairo with its large market Khan Al-Khalili are absolute musts for a visit. Afterwards we headed to the Bahariyya Oasis which is surrounded by the surrealistic White, Black, and Western Deserts. We stayed for five days, three of them camping in the desert. In the third week, we visited Aswan, took a short felucca (traditional sailing boat) trip on the Nile, and explored the magnificent Temples of Abu Simbel. Later that week, we went to the temples of Luxor and Karnak, and looked at Pharaonic tombs in the Valley of the Kings and Valley of the Queens. During our last week in Egypt, we relaxed in Dahab at the Gulf of Aqaba while swimming with dolphins, snorkeling, and scuba diving the Red Sea.
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