For some, this is a country before our era. It is the realm of the pyramids and the pharaohs, and the stone witnesses of the past leave the viewer amazed and incredulous. Egypt – these are wonders of the world that you can touch and that you must have seen, because they are unique in the world and where the larger-than-life statues in the temple in Luxor proclaim power and domination. This country on the Nile is two things: blessed with mysterious tombs and a retreat on the beaches of the Red Sea to unwind.
The Egyptians like to speak of their country as the “Mother of the World”. It is certainly a land between heaven and earth. Between the biblical sites on the Sinai peninsula and the colossal tombs that were snatched from the sand sea on the great river and have encouraged conservators to race against transience for decades. The realm of the dead is a fascinating example of people’s delusion of securing a place for eternity. The pyramids of the god-kings in Giza are among the most interesting travel destinations on our globe.
Anyone who visits Egypt embarks on a journey through 7,000 years of history and to the temples of the cult of the dead. Most holidaymakers land in the lively capital Cairo and then either head southeast to the warm waves of the Red Sea or approach Luxor, the Valley of the Kings or the Hatshepsut Temple in the form of a Nile cruise. More than three hundred ships are sailing on the Nile to transport holidaymakers to the sites where the pharaohs dreamed of immortality and afforded themselves the luxury of gigantic buildings.
The pyramids still pose puzzles not only to the observer but also to scientists, and it is inconceivable that all this was created by human hands in an era when no one dared to dream of a technical revolution. Hieroglyphics of that time show that even the downtrodden people were convinced that the rulers reached the “land of light” after their death via a kind of ladder to heaven. Many holidaymakers stand humbly in front of these wonders in the Orient.
The trips with a ship of the Nile fleet, which usually start in Luxor , are pleasant. On the shore, the mud huts of the villages glide past here and there, or the contours of a minaret. And behind it, the desert spreads out – golden yellow and mysterious. Egypt has many faces, and if you want to understand the history of the country, you should also take a look around Cairo’s large museums.
On the Red Sea, some first-class or futuristic art cities have emerged. For example, the seaside resort of El-Gouna, where artificial islands, hills and lagoons have been built and where holidaymakers can choose between Venetian, Nubian or Yemeni domiciles. Here, the imagination of world-famous landscape architects and urban planners has been lived out and created amazing things. But also in Hurghada , 22 kilometers away, there are a number of modern hotels with huge water landscapes and challenging golf courses.
The magic of the Red Sea is also revealed under water. The areas are a highlight for divers, and the shipwrecks off the coast are teeming with schools of damselfish. This is the warmest sea that can be reached from Europe and an Eldorado for water sports enthusiasts.
| Capital | Cairo |
|---|---|
| Form of government | Republic Semi-presidential system |
| Currency | Egyptian pound (EGP) |
| Area | approx. 1,001,449 km² |
| Population | approx. 94,666,000 (2017) |
| Languages | Arabic |
| Electricity grid | 220 volts, 50 Hz |
| Area code | +20 |
| Time zone | UTC+2 |
