You might have heard great stories about Egypt with pyramids, deserts, and mummies, but Egypt is a lot more than that. It is a historically rich country with temples and tombs. It has everything from beaches to rivers like the well renowned Nile river. If you are someone who likes exploring other cultures, this is one of the best places to visit for it. Almost every place here has a significant historical story behind it. Without spending much time talking about it, let’s dive into what you can do on your trip to Egypt.
1. Aswan
This is the most scenic area in Egypt. One of the most visited and liked tourist places here is Elephantine Island. As I previously mentioned, the Nile River is a well-renowned river and the Elephantine island’s eastern embankment has a flight of steps that ancient Egyptians used as a tool for estimating the annual flood level which would also ultimately allow them to judge how the harvest is going to be for that particular year.
There are ferries from which you can travel from downtown Aswan to Elephantine island. Abu Simbel is a historically significant structure that was rebuilt in the 1970s by UNESCO. Most tours, group or private, include a visit to Abu Simbel. Another attraction is the unfinished Obelisk. It is believed that it was abandoned due to a crack in the rock of a main part of the structure.
2. White Desert National Park
The best time to visit here is either at sunrise, or at sunset when the orange and pink coloured sky is complementing the White Desert. The mind-boggling part of this desert is that it is not meant to attract any tourism. This place has no tourist facilities and no bathrooms. Street vendors will try to sell you local items. So when you visit here, you are in the presence of true nature. There are no crowded shops either.
This is a great experience, especially if you are planning to go on a solo trip for peace or even in general. You are allowed to take vehicles inside and spend a night here. You could park your vehicle in a secluded region, set up a camp, and stare into the sky and let its beauty capture you as you take long breaths and try to sleep. If you are on a group or private tour, this might not be included, but you can spare a night extra to cover this. Very few companies cover it since trips are not allowed here. Don’t forget to carry a lot of water here.
3. Siwa Oasis
Siwa Oasis is extremely fertile and has thousands of date palms and olive trees. The export of dates and olive oil is known to be the chief source of income here. The traditional name of Siwa Oasis is Sekh tam, which literally means the land of palm. Siwa Oasis is one of the most isolated places in all of Egypt with a small population of around 33000 only. They only speak two languages, one is Siwi and the other is the original language of Egypt, which a lot of the population here is not familiar with.
The only link of Siwa to the outside world before the 1980s when the tarmac road was built to connect to the Mediterranean coast was its camel tracks. These were used to export the dates and olive oil, import trade goods, and carry pilgrims to Mecca. Because of this reason, they have built their traditions completely organically.
4. Alexandria
After Cairo and Giza, Alexandria is the third-largest city in Egypt and the seventh-largest in Africa. The Royal Library of Alexandria used to be the largest library in the world. Because of this, Alexandria is known to be the capital of knowledge and learning. It suffered a lot of loss due to regular fires. The Alexandria National Museum is located in an Italian-styled palace that is close to the center of the city.
The Alexandria Opera House is also a significant structure because of its traditional classical music, Arabian music, ballet, and opera performed here. Football is a very popular sport in Egypt. There is a multi-purpose stadium in Alexandria called the Alexandria stadium where not only football is played, but also sports such as sea sports like surfing, jet skiing, and water polo.
There is another club called the Alexandria Sporting Club, which is famous for its basketball team where the main players come to practice. Alexandria has a hot desert climate. Due to the northern coast, the north wind is diverted and the rest of the city is not affected by the same strong winds as Alexandria.
6. South Sinai
Here comes the beach part of the country known mainly for deserts. The blue hole is a spot for diving located in South Sinai. This is a great place for activities like snorkeling as well. The complete area is rich with coral plants, reefs, and fishes.
Fishes are found on the shallow side of this sinkhole as well. This is known to have the most divers fatalities in the world with statistics showing anywhere between 130 to 200 fatalities in the past few years. The reason for this remains unknown, but you do need to be careful around here. Besides the blue hole, South Senai has provisions for rental boats, jet boating, scuba diving, rafting, jet skiing, and even swimming with dolphins.
7. The Great Pyramid of Giza
Leaving the best for last, The Great Pyramid of Giza constructed 4500 years ago is one of the seven wonders of the world, and is the oldest one of them. This is built with limestones with very accurate work. The front faces were smoothed only after the limestones were arranged. There are 3 main chambers in the interior – The King’s, the Queen’s, and the subterranean chamber. There are two entrances to the inside of the pyramid. The original entrance is the one on the north side.
