Most people who think of Egypt think of antiquities, but Egypt offers much more. Certainly it is a prime location to see our great heritage from the ancient world, including Pyramids and wonderful temples, but it is also part of the Holy Land, and tours to Christian and other religious monuments are popular. Yet Egypt also offers nature and desert treks, great scuba diving and even golf, fishing and birding expeditions. One may choose to relax on the wondrous Egypt Red Sea or Sinai coasts, take in the high culture of Cairo, or even leisurely float down the Egyptian Nile on a luxurious river boat.
Egypt could be said to have six different tourist super-sites. Each has its own flavor, and mostly each serves a different purpose. Surprisingly, or perhaps not, most of these tourist areas do not depend on ancient monuments to sustain them. In fact, only Luxor is completely dependent on this trade.
We major on Cairo in our discussions and offer some\of the best and highly recommended resorts.
Cairo, the Triumphant City, known officially as al-Qāhirah is one of the world's largest urban areas and offers many sites to see. It is the administrative capital of Egypt and, close by, is almost every of Egypt’s Pyramid, such as the Great Pyramids of Giza on the very edge of the city. There are also ancient temples, tombs, Christian churches, magnificent Muslim monuments, and of course, the Egyptian Antiquities Museum all either within or nearby the city.
Cairo, is an amazing city, full of life and movement, and it is that way almost 24 hours every day, with the noisy honking of horns, children playing in the streets and merchants selling their wears and services. And here, the Egyptians are most at home in this powerful, modern and ancient city. Cairo provides great culture, including art galleries and music halls, such as the Cairo Opera House, as well it should, being one of the largest cities in the world. It also provides some of the grandest accommodations and restaurants in the world, such as the Four Seasons and the Cairo Marriott.
Cairo offers an incredible selection of shopping, leisure and nightlife activities. Shopping ranges from the famous Khan el-Khalili souk, (or bazaar) largely unchanged since the 14th century, to modern air-conditioned centres displaying the latest fashions. All the bounty of the East can be here. Particularly good buys are spices, perfumes, gold, silver, carpets, brass and copperware, leatherwork, glass, ceramics and mashrabiya. Try some of the famous street markets, like Wekala al-Balaq, for fabrics, including Egyptian cotton, the Tentmakers Bazaar for appliqué-work, Mohammed Ali Street for musical instruments and, although you probably won't want to buy, the Camel Market makes a fascinating trip. This is, and has been for over a thousand years, truly a shopper's paradise.
2. Cairo and the immediate area around the City. Cairo has everything. Cairo has great hotels, entertainment, restaurants, all manner of monuments from throughout the history of Egypt and it is often the entry point for most people visiting Egypt. It even has bowling allies and several golf courses to choose from.
3. Luxor, and the surrounding area. Luxor is a living museum with vast numbers of ancient Egyptian monuments. It is also highly oriented to tourists, and might be thought of in the same regard as a theme park, where the attractions just happen to be real monuments.
4. Aswan and the surrounding area. Aswan is probably the least of the super-site tourist areas, but has great hotels, along with the huge Lake Nasser just to the south.
5. Hurghada and the surrounding area, particularly El Gouna. Not to far apart are El Gouna, Hurghada and Safaga, and these areas contain just about everything a tourist would like to have, with the exception of ancient monuments. They make up for that with every variety of watersports, several golf courses, casinos and more. The Red Sea area has less of an Egyptian feel, but not as European as the Sinai.
6. Sharm El Sheikh, and the surrounding area including Sharks Bay. This is Sinai’s super-site, again with almost everything any tourist might wish. There are even some wonderful Christian monuments nearby, and the water sports, as at Hurghada, are all inclusive.
There are many more tourist destinations, particularly on the Red Sea and in Sinai, and on Egypt's mainland interior, the oases. However, in much of the rest of the mainland interior, travel and destinations are limited. However, the tourist super-sites encompass perhaps ninety-five percent of the ancient monuments.
