Egypt
Pictures
Ruins at Karnak, Egypt ©
Fast Facts
- 1 million square kilometres, four times bigger than the UK
- 79 million people, with an average life expectancy of 71 years
- Official language is Arabic
- 0.1% of the adult population is HIV-positive
- 20% of the population lives below the local poverty line
- 6.3% are internet users, and almost 18% own a mobile phone
- 92,370km of roads, 81% of them paved
Lay of the land
Egypt's population is centred along the narrow but fertile Nile Valley. Most of the rest of the country is desert. Road conditions are hazardous. Most are paved, but cars travel at high speed, often without headlights, and animals frequently stray onto the roads.
And on the way...
Karnak - a huge temple complex on the banks of the Nile, built on a scale that was designed to house the Gods.
Other highlights
Siwa or Siwah Oasis - an ancient fortress set in an oasis with monumental dunes and bright-blue salt lakes nearby.
The White Desert - a white landscape in western Egypt that is filled with strange chalk monoliths.
Aswan - a pretty town known as the gateway to Africa. This is somewhere to relax before the long ferry ride to Sudan.
Cairo - Egypt's bustling, chaotic capital and the most heavily populated metropolitan area in Africa.
The Great Pyramid of Giza - the oldest, and sole survivor, of the Seven Wonders of the World.
Whale Valley (Wadi Al-Hitan in Arabic) - a desert site revealing hundreds of fossils that show the evolution of the whale from a land-based mammal to an ocean-going one.
The people
Egyptians make up by far the largest ethnic group in Egpyt, with small minorities of Bedouin Arabs, Siwis, Nubians, Beja, Dom and Fayyum. Almost all the population is concentrated along the banks of the Nile, in the Delta, or near the Suez Canal.
Did you know...
Umm Kulthum (1904-1975) was the leading lady of Egyptian song and the most famous Arab singer of the 20th century.
Egypt has won the African Cup of Nations, the main international football competition on the continent, a record five times.
Comments
Comments 1 - 10 of 22
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At 10:04:08 AM on 27/05/2007, Su (Bristol) wrote:
Temples of Karnak
It'll probably be heaving with people but if you can, hang back from the crowds you get a better sense of scale when it's quieter and the place just 'feels' better. Stand in the Great Hypostyle Hall and look up under the stones that still cross between the columns.... you can see the original colour paintings! The columns represent the papyrus reeds that grew in the primal swamp. 12 columns end with open papyrus flowers and the rest are closed bud style. I loved this place! There are also huge walls carved with accounts of military victories; lines of chariots, horses and soldiers. If you go to the tomb of Queen Hatshepsut (Dier el-ahri) there's an annex easily missed - it's on the lower levels on the right as you look at the ramps. It's a little annex that few people bothered going to when we were there and it has the original painted walls showing Anubis and Horus and a beautifully painted vulture. Fantastic!
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At 09:18:40 AM on 28/05/2007, Francesca Chippindale (Cairo, Egypt) wrote:
Nightmare
Traffic is a nightmare in Cairo. They drive like lunatics. Expect the unexpected.
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At 12:28:58 PM on 31/05/2007, Jim Crossan (Glasgow) wrote:
Hot Air Balloons in Luxor
When in Karnak (Modern day Luxor) if you have time, go for a dawn ride in Magic Horizon Balloons. Their hot air balloon ride over the Valley of the Kings and West bank of the Nile, it is not to be missed! Ask to go with Captain Bob (The best pilot in Egypt) if you are lucky he may be able to fly you between the Colossi of Memnon. He is the only pilot ever to attempt it and it is awesome. He also flies the biggest commercial balloon in the world, made by Cameron Balloons in the UK. I have been on this trip many times and get something different every time I fly. Good luck on the rest of the trip.
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At 01:22:40 AM on 02/06/2007, Derek Nolan (Wexford, Ireland) wrote:
Cairo
Best of luck with the Long way down. Cairo is fantastic but do watch out for the crazy traffic and drivers. I had a police escort which really helped. The people are really friendly there but a lot of poverty too. The city of the Dead on the way to Giza actually has people living in the tombs. Things to see are the Pyramids and Sphinx of course and the Cairo Museum with the Funeral mask of Tutan Khamun. Charlie should try a Shisha with a turkish coffee at the Cairo Market at night. Take a cruise on the nile with Belly Dancers and Whirling Dervish. Get your name on a cartouche in heiroglyphics. Check out some of my pics at http://picasaweb.google.com/nolan.derek/Egypt05 Have a great trip Derek
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At 04:08:41 AM on 02/06/2007, SCoveney (San Francisco) wrote:
Egypt!
I was in Egypt about 20 years ago! I saw Karnak, Luxor, took a Falucca (?) across the Nile at Aswan, saw the Sphynx, the pyramids, Cairo, rode a camel, and more that I could only remember if I went back and looked at my slides! LOL! NOW - I ride a BMW F650ST here in San Francisco, and have watched your LWR and Race to Dakar videos with my hubby, and am wondering why I still work for a living! Wouldn't it be better if we hooked up with you guys and travelled the world to raise money for Unicef?????? Call me! ...Sherry
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At 02:35:05 PM on 02/06/2007, Tristan Brown (Cairo, Egypt) wrote:
Cairo!
Cairo's a great place.. not too great for driving a motorbike.. and I'm sure you'll get stared at ALL the way! i'll be looking out for you!
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At 09:49:45 PM on 05/06/2007, Tami Flores (Oakland, CA) wrote:
Use your horn
I was in Cairo the summer of 2001: the traffice was crazy! No one looks where they're going, they just navigate by sound using their horns and they get right up on top of each other, so be careful! A highlight of the trip was Abu Sibel...a major feat of old and new engineering and worth the detour from Aswan!
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At 11:37:08 PM on 06/06/2007, Steve (Kettering) wrote:
Poetry
Some poems for you. Who says bijers aren't cultured? Round the world was very tough But for Ewan &Charlie not enough Fail we can't said Claudio von Planta In Africa we'll do some more stuff (They get better!) In a far off and dusty land An epic bike journey was planned We'll do it for fun One more long way run It will never be a problem that sand! I bet KTM rue the day They turned Ewan&Charlie away They did not have the bottle For global full throttle And are paying for it more day by day For your charity work you're all aces Raising money in so many places As your journey unravels In all of your travels You light up the smiling young faces Good luck and be safe
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At 08:36:59 AM on 07/06/2007, Andy Lenihan (Macclesfield) wrote:
Abu Simbel
Just as the last comment, Abu simbel is an amazing place, not just the feat of engineering itself, but the modern engineering that was used to lift and move the two temples up above the bed of Lake Nassr to where they stand now, before the Nile valley was made into a lake by the installation of the dam just south of Aswan - which itself is another amazing feat of engineering. Just watch out for the crocs!
At 11:05:32 PM on 14/05/2007, Helena (London) wrote:
Goshh..
Hello there. Lucky you!! Damm Egypt When you guys gets to Cario go visit Al Rifai Mosque. Its a very nice Mosque! Irans king Shah Reza is buried there. very historic. you will get the story when you get there! Do take a camel ride at the pyramids. Just not more then An hour or so!! dont do it in 2 hours It will hurt a lot.trust me on that one! There is gonna be many people thats going to try to sell some stuff. SO DONT ever think about taste anything because You will have to pay for it then! What ever they say! they will fool you!! Drink a lot of water and Eat plenty.. You will need it! its going to Be very hot..
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