1 million sq. km. (90% of the population occupies just 10% of the total surface of the country. This 10% is known as the Nile Delta and Nile Valley regions which are habitable land and sustain cultivable crops).

GMT+2
Egypt is two hours ahead of Greenwich Meantime (GMT).
Daylight saving time is also observed between May 1 and September 30.

Sterling pounds, US dollars, European euros are readily exchanged. Egyptian pounds can be obtained at any major bank, at the airport or at your hotel.

Exchange rate (2005):
US$1= 5.68 LE (Egyptian pound)
1LE (Egyptian Pound) = 100pt (piasters)
Coins: 1, 10, 25, and 50 pt
Notes; 10, 20, 50, 100 LE notes.

There is severe shortage of small change. 50 pt and 1 LE
are hard to come by and should be hoarded for tipping, local transport, or paying for toilet use.

You can utilize cash withdrawals with debit cards on local ATM/ Teller machines with 'Cirrus', Maestro', '123' or 'Plus' logo or VISA/ MASTERCARD for credit cards.

Encashing traveller cheques e.g. Thomas Cook or American Express, entails commission charge.

On credit card purchases, please consider a 5% surcharge.

Egyptian hotels are rated by a star system categorically from one to five stars. Prices vary accordingly to ratings, location, view privileges, and season (e.g. a room with a Nile view or Pyramids view are more expensive). You do not need to book a tour to book a hotel accomodation.

Students or even teachers are privileged for a 50% reductions on most of the entrance fees to various tours. International Student Identity Card (ISIC) can also be used in plane and train ticket discounts.

Travel Insurance are compulsary and should have the details of the policy, in case you need them. Egyptians can be helpful to anybody who gets ill but treatment and medications are at the personal expenses of the tourist who likewise can reclaim any costs through their travel insurance.

Whilst sick: drink plenty of fluids, avoid fruit juices and milk, eat appropriately i.e. sweet biscuits, bread, rice, but no meat, salads and vegetables. When you start to suffer from diarrhea, stomach cramps, or vomiting consult a doctor immediately.

Visitors can purchase duty- free alcohol and goods (on anormal amount) and bring them to Egypt. On arrival, they are entitled to buy up to another 2 litres of hard spirits. Also, within 48 hours from arrival, it is allowed to purchase more from other duty-free branches in Cairo. Alcohol drinks are available in bars for consumpton by international visitors. Local beers 'Stella' are sold in pint sized green cnas at 10.00LE to 20.00LE. It is forbidden to drink alcohol on streets or outside the bar/hotel - Egyptian law is quite strict on this.

Cairo's Khan el Khalili is one of the biggest and oldest oriental market in Africa and the Middle East - famous for copper handicrafts, backgammon/chess boards made from ivory, ebony, or camel bones.

Carpet Institute provides showroom for indigenous workshop of carpet/ rugs making. Bazaars in Giza are famous for perfume essence and original papyrus (not from banana & sugarcane leaves).

Aswan souq has an exotic atmosphere as you wander through small alleys to see, hear, smell and taste life as it has been for many centuries. Famous for spices, cotton products, Nubian handcrafts, etc.

Luxor's shops, though not as varied in Cairo and Aswan, are famous for gold and silver jewelry where you can have your name written in hielogryphics on a cartouche. Remember, always haggle for a bargain price.

Egypt is a Middle Eastern country and has Middle Eastern customs. Whether Muslim or Copt, the Egyptians are deeply religious and eligious principles govern their daily lives. Combined with religious belief, each family member is responsible for the integrity of the family, and for the behavior of other members, creating a safer environment than any other western metropolis.

Egyptians have been raised in a social environment steeped in Islam. It is precisely in this training that makes Egyptians some of the most charming and helpful of hosts.

Egyptians are most accommodating and they will go out of their way to help you. They readily respond to any question but most require little personal space and will stand within inches from you to talk. You will find that whenever you start talking with an Egyptian, you will enevitably draw a crowd, and often the Egyptian will start discussing among themselves over the correct answer to a question.

Refusing a first invitation is customary. If the offer is sincere and not just for politeness, it will be repeated. If invited into a home and was refused, the householder will often press for a promise from you to visit in the future, usually for a meal. If you make a promise, keep it, for having a foreign guests is often considered a coup. If you fail to arrive, your would-be host will be humiliated. A common practice to repay invitations is to host a dinner in a restaurant. Be cautioned on polite expressions like "ye etfaddal" where a native Egyptian wearing beautiful jewelry, and receives a good compliments for appreciating the beauty of the jewel - he or she would literally answer "ye etfaddal" or please have it. Such reply can be social blunders and are not to be taken literally.

Woman wearing veils demonstrate either modesty or Muslim piety. Another reason that this practice is favored by young professional women is that it tends to discourage male advances, either physical or verbal.

Major tourism Mosques are open to the public unless services are in progress (main service at noon on Friday). Other Mosques are not. All visitors to Mosques, mausoleum, or madrasas must remove their shoes or canvas overshoes are available at major tourist attractions; a tip of 50pt to 1LE is in order for the people who put them on. Women must cover bare arms and should also have a hat.