Egypt

We have seen many of the major sites in Egypt (Cairo, Luxor, Aswan) on a trip we have done before. The sites are incredible - we need to decide which of these we want to see again. We should see more driving rather than taking public transport. We will head over to Sinai.

The current unrest in Egypt should hopefully be settled by the time we get here. South African nationals require a valid passport, and a visa for travel to Egypt ie we would need to get it in advance, probably in Sudan. UK citizens : A 30-day visa can be obtained on arrival for US$15 or the equivalent, provided the purpose of travel is for tourism - this might be easier than doing it on our SA passports?

- Aswan - Abu Simbel - Dhow - High Dam - the ferry lands here from Sudan
- Luxor - Valley of Kings and Queens - Karnak Temple
- Al-Balyana - Abydos, Temple of Seti I
- Dakhla Oasis - Al-Qasr
- Qasr al-Farafra - The only real village in the Farafra Oasis, quiet and relaxing
- Alexandria - second largest city in Egypt. Lots of historic stuff to see.
- Birqash - Camel Market - 35km away from Cairo. The best day to visit is supposed to be Friday, when the market is most lively in the earlier parts of the morning 7am-9am. Hundreds of Camels are sold here everyday.
- Cairo - Pyramids of Giza, Egyptian Museum
- Suez Canal
- Thistlegorm - British merchant navy ship built in 1940 & sunk in the Red sea in 1941. In the early 50's Jacques Cousteau discovered the wreck & it is now a famous dive site.
- Ras Mohammed - marine & terrestrial wildlife reserve with fantastic diving
- Dahab - Scuba, beaches, mountains. We plan to do some chilling out here, along with maxing & relaxing ...
- Sinai - St Catherine Monastery

From here, there is a choice of going through Libya or the middle east...
- Marsa Matruh - white beaches

Extras...
- Marsa Alam - diving
- Beni Hasan - ancient Egyptian cemetary site

Apparently the ferry between Sudan and Egypt is not regular and there is a lot of bureaucracy - we may even need to travel on a different boat to our 4x4 which is worrying. Some parts of southern Egypt apparently also require travelling in convoy or a very expensive permit. Egypt pushes up the deposit required for the Carnet far above any other country.

National Geographic Photos - http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/travel/countries/egypt-photos/

Some of these are our previous trip photos, others are from the web...