EGYPT

GENERAL INFORMATION
VIDEO COMPILATION
PHOTO GALLERY

1. GENERAL INFORMATION

Egypt is Located in North Africa, where ancient history meets modern culture. Its strategic location connecting Africa, the Middle East, and Europe. Many historians consider it one of the cradles of civilization. Islam is the official religion, Arabic is the official language, and most of the population lives along the fertile Nile River, particularly in Cairo and Alexandria., the country is famous for its incredible landmarks, and breathtaking landscapes along the Nile River and the Red Sea.

Egypt is one of those countries that seems almost impossible to describe in a single journey. It is ancient , chaotic and fascinating, welcoming and frustrating, spectacular and, at times, incredibly difficult to travel through. For us, travelling overland, Egypt was much more than simply visiting the pyramids and temples. We entered from Sudan, crossed vast areas of desert, visited war graves and battlefields, travelled through the Nile Valley, explored Cairo and Giza, reached the temples of Abu Simbel, and experienced first-hand some of the restrictions and complications that come with travelling in a private vehicle through Egypt.

Our entry into Egypt from Sudan was certainly memorable. We crossed at the Sudan–Egypt border, an experience that was far removed from the smooth international border crossings many travellers are accustomed to. The two principal land crossings are at Argeen and Qustul, near Wadi Halfa, and there is very little infrastructure at the border itself. Travel advice at the time also warned that conditions and procedures at these crossings can be unpredictable.

For us, the border was corrupt and frustrating, with bureaucracy, officials and procedures making what should have been a straightforward entry into the country considerably more complicated. Travelling with a vehicle and our scooter added another layer of paperwork and negotiation. It was one of those border crossings where patience is essential and where you quickly learn that the rules on paper and the way things work on the ground are not always the same. BUT $$$$$ always seem to work

Once across the border, however, Egypt immediately delivered the landscape we had been expecting. The vast emptiness of the desert was broken by the occasional settlement and, eventually, the lifeline of the Nile. Egypt is essentially a country built around this extraordinary river. Outside the Nile Valley and Delta, enormous areas are desert, making the contrast between fertile farmland and barren landscape particularly striking.

Travelling Egypt Overland

Egypt is an incredible country for an overland journey. Paperwork can be complicated, border crossings can be frustrating, and military checkpoints and restricted areas can change your plans without much warning. But lik some other African and Asia countries, we also discovered the less glamorous side of overland travel: corruption, bureaucracy, checkpoints, permits, security restrictions and plans that have to be changed at short notice.

However overland gives you something that a conventional holiday cannot. You see the transition from one part of the country to another. You experience the emptiness of the desert, the sudden appearance of the Nile, the villages and farms, the enormous cities and the ancient monuments. Most importantly, you experience Egypt as a country rather than simply as a collection of tourist attractions. Our overland journey through Egypt took us from the difficult and frustrating Sudanese border to some of the greatest monuments ever built. We crossed deserts, visited war cemeteries, followed the Nile, travelled through southern Egypt, reached Abu Simbel, experienced the chaos of Cairo and stood beneath the pyramids at Giza.

It is a country of immense history, extraordinary landscapes and enormous contrasts. One minute you can be standing beside the graves of soldiers who died in a twentieth-century war; the next you can be looking at a monument built thousands of years ago. You can spend hours crossing empty desert and then suddenly find yourself in the middle of one of the world’s busiest cities.

Abu Simbel

Abu Simbel is the obvious highlight. The enormous temples of Ramesses II and Queen Nefertari were carved into the rock and are among the most spectacular monuments in Egypt. The main temple is dominated by four colossal seated figures of Ramesses II, while the smaller temple is dedicated to Hathor and Nefertari.

What makes Abu Simbel even more remarkable is that the temples are not actually standing where they originally stood. When the Aswan High Dam was constructed, the original site was threatened with flooding. An international UNESCO-supported project moved the temples to higher ground, with the relocation completed in 1968. There is something extraordinary about finding such monumental architecture in such an isolated part of the country.

Southern Egypt was one of the highlights of the journey. The scenery around Aswan and Lake Nasser is extraordinary, and the further south you travel, the more remote Egypt feels.

Central Egypt and the Nile Valley

Central Egypt is where the relationship between the Nile and Egyptian civilisation becomes particularly obvious. The river creates a narrow green corridor surrounded by desert, and for much of the journey it feels as though almost everything is concentrated along the banks of the Nile.

Villages, farms, towns and archaeological sites follow the river. Move only a short distance away and the landscape quickly becomes dry and barren.

Travelling through central Egypt also gives a glimpse of everyday life away from the major tourist centres. Donkeys and carts share roads with modern vehicles, farmers work fields that have been cultivated for generations, and people live alongside monuments that elsewhere in the world would probably be surrounded by enormous tourist complexes.

Eastern Egypt and the Red Sea

The eastern side of Egypt is dominated by the Red Sea and the mountains of the Eastern Desert. It is a very different environment from the Nile Valley and Western Desert.The Red Sea coast is one of Egypt’s major tourist regions, particularly around places such as Hurghada and Marsa Alam. The area is famous for coral reefs, diving, snorkelling and marine life. Behind the coastal resorts, however, the Eastern Desert rises towards rugged mountains and remote valleys. Travelling in this region also means encountering a strong security presence. Egypt’s border regions and some desert areas are treated as sensitive or military zones, and movement can be restricted. This is particularly important for people travelling overland in their own vehicles.

The Sinai Problem

Our experience of Sinai was another reminder that travelling overland in Egypt is not always straightforward. We had intended to travel through the Sinai Desert in our vehicle, but we were not permitted to do so. Security restrictions in Sinai can be extremely strict, and access to different areas can depend on the current security situation, permits and the route being taken.The situation is particularly sensitive in North Sinai, where current travel advice warns against all travel, while restrictions also apply to parts of South Sinai and areas east of the Suez Canal.

For an overland traveller, being told that you cannot simply drive through an area can be incredibly frustrating, particularly when you have planned your journey around crossing the peninsula. But this is one of the realities of travelling through regions where military and security considerations take priority over tourism. We therefore had to adapt our plans rather than simply continue as we had intended. It was another lesson in travelling through Egypt: flexibility is essential.

Cairo

Eventually, the vastness of the desert gives way to Cairo, and the change is extraordinary. Cairo is huge, noisy, crowded and full of life. Traffic seems to operate according to rules of its own, with cars, buses, taxis, motorcycles, pedestrians and animals all competing for space. Yet that chaos is part of the experience. After the emptiness of the desert, the density of Cairo can be overwhelming.

Cairo is also a city layered with history. Ancient Egypt, Roman history, Islamic architecture, colonial influences and modern Egyptian life all exist within the same enormous urban environment. The Egyptian Museum, historic Islamic Cairo, the Citadel, Khan el-Khalili and the Nile itself all provide different ways of experiencing the city. But Cairo is not a place to rush. The traffic alone can turn a short journey into a major expedition, and simply sitting somewhere and watching the city can be as interesting as visiting another monument.

Cairo also has a fascinating connection with the military history of Egypt. The city served as an important headquarters and hospital centre during both world wars, which explains the presence of numerous Commonwealth war graves and memorials in and around the city.

Giza and the Pyramids

Of course, no journey through Egypt would be complete without Giza. The pyramids are so familiar from photographs, television and books that it is easy to imagine they might somehow feel ordinary when you finally see them. They do not. Seeing the Great Pyramid in person gives you an entirely different appreciation of its scale. The individual blocks are enormous, and the sheer amount of labour and organisation required to construct the complex is difficult to comprehend. The most famous image of Egypt is often the pyramids against a seemingly endless desert. The reality is somewhat different. Modern Cairo has grown right up to the Giza plateau, meaning that one of the world’s most ancient monuments exists alongside a huge modern metropolis.

The War Graves of Egypt

Overlanding through Egypt is discovering just how much of the country’s history is connected with the First and Second World Wars. Egypt was strategically vital because of the Suez Canal, its position between Europe, Africa and Asia, and its proximity to the campaigns in Libya and the Western Desert. The war cemeteries are therefore an important part of the country’s modern history. They are also places of remarkable peace. Rows of carefully maintained graves stand in stark contrast to the harsh desert landscapes in which many of the battles took place.

El Alamein is perhaps the best known. The battles fought here in 1942 became a major turning point in the North African campaign. The Commonwealth War Cemetery contains thousands of graves, while the adjacent memorial commemorates thousands more Commonwealth servicemen who died without a known grave. Standing among the graves at El Alamein makes the history feel very different from reading about it in a book. The desert surrounding the cemetery is almost silent, and it is difficult to imagine the scale of the fighting that once took place here. The cemetery is beautifully maintained, and the contrast between the carefully tended gardens and the surrounding desert is particularly powerful.Egypt has repeatedly been at the centre of major international conflicts because of its geography.

The Western Desert

The Western Desert is enormous, remote and spectacular. Travelling through it gives a completely different impression of Egypt from the busy cities and tourist sites. The desert stretches westwards towards Libya and contains huge areas of almost complete emptiness, along with isolated oases such as Siwa, Bahariya and Farafra. The landscape changes constantly, from flat expanses of sand and gravel to dramatic rock formations and the famous White Desert.

However, overland travellers need to understand that the Western Desert is not simply somewhere to point a vehicle and explore. Some areas require permits and official guides, while other regions have significant security restrictions. Current travel advice specifically warns about several areas of the Western Desert and advises travellers to follow local authorities and official guides.

For an independent traveller, this can be frustrating. The temptation is to see an empty road disappearing towards the horizon and simply follow it. In Egypt, that can be a very bad idea. Military areas, borders and security zones can be encountered with little warning, and checkpoints are a normal part of travelling through the country.