Cairo

1,001,450 km²
(24x the Netherlands)

UTC +2

Arabic, Berber, Nubian, English, French

Jabal Katrina (Sinaï) - 2,629 m

The flag was adopted on October 4, 1984. The flag has the colors of Pan-Arabism and in the center is the coat of arms of Egypt, Saladin's Eagle. red symbolizes the Revolution in Egypt. White represents the bright future. Black is a reminder of the time before the Revolution.

In 1834 the Egyptian pound (Geneih) replaced the Piaster. Banknotes were issued on April 3, 1899. Depicted on the banknote is Khafre, the 4th king of the 4th dynasty (approx. 2550 BC) Chephren was the son of Cheops and left the second largest pyramid in Giza and build the sphinx.

The Egyptian museum in Cairo is a must see. It contains more than 120,000 pieces from the rich past. If you take a minute to look at every item you will need nine months for the whole musuem. The museum is too small for the crowds who shuffle at a snail's pace past Tutankhamun's death mask. You have to pay extra to see the mummies of the pharaohs. The museum contains items which date back 5,000 years. They have been preserved well by the dry desert At that time, the Egyptians even had wooden chairs.

Karnak, Egypt's largest temple, is located in Luxor. The temple is dedicated to Amon-Ra. There's a lot to tell about this temple so I think I leave it up to you to find out more. Almost every pharaoh has made additions to the temple. The hypostyl hall with 134 columns with a height of 24 meters is the most impressive.

The small temple of Kom Ombo is located on the bank of the river Nile. 180 BC Ptolemy VI started building the temple that would last four years. The temple is dedicated to Horus and Sobek. Sobek is the crocodile god. The Roman emperor Augustus, who defeated Cleopatra in 30 BC, later added a pylon, the court and the outer wall. The temple is richly decorated.

The Pyramids of Giza were built during the 4th Dynasty. The Cheops pyramid is the largest with a height of 137 meters and 230 by 230 meters at the base. Second highest is the pyramid of Chefren (son of Cheops) and third highest is the pyramid of Mycerinus (son of Chefren). For the pyramid of Cheops 2.3 million stones, 2,500 kg each, were used. The locals who are hanging around the pyramids even try to sell the grains of sand to you. When you take aphotograph a camel, they say it's their camel and they charge money.

Spend a night in the White Desert near the Farafra oasis. The entire area is dotted with limestone rocks created by erosion (sand and wind).

The convoy to Abu Simbel leaves at half past four in the morning. There is no stopping during the four hour drive. The temples are visited twice a day by a convoy. One in the morning and one in the afternoon. The temples are dedicated to Ra and Hathor. The temples were built by Pharaoh Ramses II (1273-1213 BC). The temple of Ra is guarded by four large images of Ramses II. Due to the construction of the Aswan dam in 1965, the two temples were moved by Unesco to keep them save from flooding. They placed the temples 200 meters further and 60 meters higher.

The Valley of the Kings is located on the west bank of the Nile near Luxor. The walls of the tombs are beautifully decorated. With your entrance ticket you can visit three different tombs of pharaohs. In the valley next to it is the temple of Hatshepsut where many murals are still intact. Don't forget to visit the graves of the nobles and the workers in Medinet Haboe.