It’s not always easy choosing a travel destination, particularly on a limited annual vacation allotment. Do you go the full cultural route and return with memory cards full of ancient ruins or just flop on the beach? To put it another way, would you rather your friends envied your sophistication or your tan?
With a carefully chosen itinerary for Egypt, you can activate the full gamut of buddy envy.
April 13, 2012
Egypt’s second city was once the first choice of foreign visitors to the country, its raffish port charm and Mediterranean sophistication giving it a worldly air, now a little faded. From the great arc of the seaside Corniche to tiny back lanes, Alexandria reveals itself most readily to the unhurried pedestrian. To give your wanderings some focus, here are five recommended sights, ancient and modern.
March 16, 2012
The Bibliotheca Alexandrina, on Alexandria’s Mediterranean seafront, was opened in 2002 and while it is indisputably a building with books in it, that’s where the comparisons with your local municipal library end.
This vast structure, dominated by the sloping disc which forms the roof of the multi-leveled reading room, is not only an ambitious repository of learning but also the most important 21st century building in Egypt. Its location is highly significant; not only is Alexandria Egypt’s traditional window on the world, it was also the site of library which was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world before its destruction in…well actually, no-one can actually agree when it was destroyed. Guesses range from 48 BC to the start of the Muslim era.
You won’t need a library card to access the major attractions in the complex, which include a range of permanent and temporary exhibitions. The Antiquities Museum boasts numerous ancient pieces from the Pharaonic period onward, including some which were unearthed during work on the library site.
February 17, 2012
Egypt has the oldest railway network in Africa, dating back more than one and a half centuries and now covering over 5000 kilometers. Generally efficient, safe and reliable, rail is one of the most enjoyable ways of covering the large distances between places of interest in Egypt.
January 20, 2012
Abu Simbel is about as far south as you can get in Egypt, lying about 20 miles from the Sudanese border. It’s a remote place, most accessible by plane or by boat from Aswan.
October 28, 2011
Aswan is the southernmost city in Egypt and not coincidentally the driest; rain is a freakishly rare occurrence here, any time of the year. But while we’re on the superlatives it’s also the hottest, which makes the (northern) winter the best time to visit, when daytime temperatures are mild enough to allow for sightseeing.
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May 11, 2012
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