Egypt: Regions, Cities & Travel Guide

What is Egypt known for?

Few countries carry a past as deep as Egypt's. The pyramids and the hieroglyph-covered temples draw travellers who have come since ancient times, part of what may be the oldest tourist trade on earth. Churches and mosques mark later faiths across the same ground.

Called a cradle of civilisation, Egypt holds one of the longest recorded histories of any nation, and its two great cities, Cairo and Alexandria, still carry that weight of centuries.

Where is Egypt?

Egypt occupies the northeast corner of Africa and reaches across the Sinai Peninsula into the southwest corner of Asia. The Mediterranean Sea forms its northern edge and the Red Sea its eastern, with the Sinai carrying the only land bridge between the two continents. Sudan and the Sahara lie south; Libya closes the west.

In the northeast the Gulf of Aqaba separates Egypt from Jordan and Saudi Arabia, while beyond the Sinai lie Israel and the Palestinian territories. Sea and desert frame the country on almost every side. Desert fills much of the interior.

The Sahara spreads across the south and west, a dry expanse of rock and sand rather than forest, so most travel and settlement gather toward the coasts and the great cities. Cairo is the capital and largest city, the leading cultural centre of the country. Alexandria follows as the second city, long a hub of industry and of tourism to the ancient sites.

The pyramids and old temples that draw travellers rise from this desert ground. Between the Mediterranean shore and the Red Sea coast, the pattern of Egyptian life bends around water and sand.

What is the history of Egypt?

Egypt holds one of the longest recorded histories of any country in the world. Counted among the cradles of civilisation, it left the pyramids, carved temples, and walls of hieroglyphics that still mark the land. Travellers have come to see these monuments since ancient times, and that deep past made Egypt perhaps the oldest destination for tourists anywhere on earth.

The great stones outlasted the people who raised them by thousands of years. Empire after empire passed across the country in turn, each leaving something on the ground. Later ages left their own marks.

Churches and mosques rose beside the older monuments as new faiths took hold across the country, adding sanctuaries to a landscape already crowded with the works of earlier ages. Egypt took its modern form in 1922, emerging then as an independent state. From that founding grew the Arab Republic of Egypt, a major nation of the Arab world that reaches across Africa toward Asia.

Its two great cities, Cairo and Alexandria, gather the layered record of all that came before. The past here is never far from the street.

What is Egypt like?

Arabic is the language of daily life across Egypt, and the country sits at the heart of the Arab world. Its culture rests on layers few places can match: the art and hieroglyphics of the ancient monuments, then the churches and mosques of the faiths that followed, all standing on the same old ground. Faith runs deep and visible.

Churches and mosques share the streets of the cities, marking the ground of a country shaped by many beliefs. Ancient art still shapes how the country is seen far beyond its borders. The old monuments are not kept behind glass alone.

The pyramids, temples, and carved hieroglyphics remain part of how Egypt sees itself, a heritage carried in the open rather than shut away, and people have been welcomed among them since ancient times. Cairo leads the country's cultural life. As the largest city and leading cultural centre, it draws the arts and faith of the nation, while Alexandria carries the character of a second city with its own long story.

Egyptians are known for meeting travellers warmly. That welcome is old.

What is the climate of Egypt?

Heat and drought define Egypt's weather. The Sahara sets the pattern across most of the country, bringing long rainless summers of fierce heat and warm, bright winters that draw travellers to the ancient sites. Rain is rare inland.

Only the Mediterranean edge in the north sees much of it, where sea air softens the season along the coast. Between the desert interior and the two coasts, the climate stays firmly warm and sun-struck the year round.

How do you get to Egypt?

For most travellers, the journey to Egypt ends at an airport gate. Cairo, the capital and largest city, is the main point of entry for international flights, while Alexandria takes its own share as the second city. Ships reach the coasts as well.

The Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Red Sea to the east both carry sea traffic to the country. Overland, the Sinai Peninsula holds the one land route between Africa and Asia, linking Egypt toward its neighbours in the northeast.