Study in Egypt - Living in Egypt

TRANSPORTATION   |   SOCIAL SCENE

ACCOMMODATION   |   EMERGENCY CONTACTS

Taxis

Service taxis are usually Peugeot 504 vehicles which hold about six or seven people and which tend to congregate near bus and railway stations.

This is a relatively fast way to travel between cities, but the driver will not begin the journey until his vehicle is full, which can be inconvenient. The whole vehicle can be hired for an increased fare, however.

A larger version of the service taxi is the microbus, which is built to hold about 12 people and often holds twenty or more. Needless to say, it is not particularly comfortable and passengers are often charged extra for luggage. Microbus fares are roughly the same as service taxis, but there are fewer routes.

Regular taxis operate in most Egyptian cities. In Cairo these are black and white, and in Alexandria black and orange. Although most are fitted with a meter, many are non-functional and arguments between passenger and driver over the correct fare are quite common. As in all Middle Eastern countries, it is probably best to avoid this by negotiating the fare before beginning your trip.

Buses

Bus services are to be found everywhere in Egypt. Deluxe buses, which run between most of the main towns and cities, are air-conditioned and fairly comfortable. The basic intercity bus service is less luxurious and is often crowded.

Tickets can be bought at a bus station window, or, sometimes, on the bus. Regular ticket inspections are the norm. On longer runs, seats can be booked in advance, but for short distances those who board first will get the best seats.

Visitors should be a little wary of 'video buses' which, despite their superior speed and cleanliness, show non-stop movies at high volume, and are not for those with delicate eardrums.

Rail

Egypt's railway system has over 5,000km of track, connecting almost every major city and town. Timetables are generally reliable, although the system itself is in need of some modernisation.

First-class rail travel is either by wagon-lit, which has air-conditioning, hot and cold running water in each sleeper compartment and a full meal service; or by first-class seated accommodation. Second-class travel is divided into two sub-sections: with or without air-conditioning. Third-class travel is extremely basic, very cheap and can be crowded.

Trams

Cairo and Alexandria have their own tram networks. In Alexandria, the trams are often fairly crowded, but the network is extensive and the system is reliable. In Cairo, the system is smaller, consisting of only three lines.

Car Rental

Roads are hazardous and local driving skills leave a great deal to be desired, roadside heaps of post-accident scrap metal constantly bear witness to this.

Visitors are strongly advised against hiring a car themselves, although there are plenty of rental agencies in all major cities. Driving at night is particularly dangerous, as many drivers do not use headlights.

Mounted Transportation

Camels and donkeys can be hired on an hourly-basis to enable visitors to wander around many of Egypt's ancient sites. A guide will usually accompany you.

Cairo

The heart of Egypt for more than 1000 years, Cairo demonstrates the dichotomy of all things Egyptian. It's in Cairo where the medieval world and the contemporary western world come together in a confusion of earthen houses and towering modern office buildings, of flashy cars and donkey-drawn carts. Nobody really knows how many people live in Cairo, but estimates put it at about 16 million, and the city's many squatter camps and slums alone accommodate around 5 million people. Housing shortages are terrible and the traffic is appalling, but the government has begun a campaign to ease these pressures, opening an underground metro system and constructing satellite suburbs.

Islamic Cairo (which is no more Islamic than the rest of the city) is the old medieval quarter, and stepping into its neighbourhoods is like moving back six or seven centuries. This is the most densely populated area of Egypt, and probably the whole Middle East. Districts like Darb al-Ahmar are full of tiny alleyways, mud-brick houses, food hawkers, and goats, camels and donkeys. The streets are lined with mosques and temples, and the air is filled with the pungent smells of turmeric and cumin, animals and squalor. Some of Islamic Cairo's highlights include the Mosque of Ibn Tulun, dating from the 9th century and the city's oldest intact and fully functioning Islamic monument; the 15th-century Mosque of Qaitbey, considered the jewel of Mamluk architecture; Al-Azhar Mosque, the keystone of Islam in Egypt; and the Citadel, an awesome medieval fortress that was the seat of Egyptian power for 700 years. The Citadel has three major mosques and several museums.

Coptic Cairo was originally built as a Roman fortress town. Pre-dating the founding of Islamic Cairo by several hundred years, it was home to one of the world's first Christian communities and is also a holy place for Jews and Muslims. The sole remaining section of the Fortress of Babylon includes two towers which were built in AD 98 and originally overlooked an important port on the Nile before the river changed course. The Coptic Museum at the foot of the towers explores Egypt's Christian era from the years 300 to 1000. The stunning collection includes religious and secular art, stonework, manuscripts, woodwork, glass and ceramics.

Giza is on the west bank of the Nile and takes in an 18km (11mi) swathe that includes the Great Pyramids. The pyramids were one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, and despite the crowds that visit every year, they are still a truly overwhelming sight. They have survived the rise and fall of great dynasties and conquerors, and share the flat desert surrounds with the Sphinx and a number of smaller pyramids and temples.

Cairo has various precincts with cheap tourist accommodation and places to eat, but central Cairo is popular with budget travellers, particularly Midan Orabi and Midan Talaat Harb.

Alexandri

The mighty Macedonian Alexander the Great came to Egypt in 331 BC after conquering Greece and selected a small fishing village on the Mediterranean coast to establish his new capital, Alexandria. The city is oriented around Midan Ramla and Midan Saad Zaghoul, the large square that runs down to the waterfront. Alexandria once had a great library that contained more than 500,000 volumes, and at its peak the city was a great repository of science, philosophy and intellectual thought and learning.

The Graeco-Roman Museum contains relics that date back to the 3rd century BC. There's a magnificent black granite sculpture of Apis, the sacred bull worshipped by Egyptians, as well as an assortment of mummies, sarcophagi, pottery, jewellery and ancient tapestries. Another highlight is one of the few historical depictions of the Pharos of Alexandria, one of the Seven Wonders of the World. The only Roman Amphitheatre in Egypt was rediscovered in 1964. Its 13 white marble terraces are in excellent condition and excavation work is still under way, although the dig has shifted a little to the north of the theatre.

Pompey's Pillar is a massive 25m (82ft) pink granite monument measuring 9m (30ft) around its girth. The pillar should rightfully called Diocletian's Pillar, as it was built for the emperor in AD 297, and was the only monument left standing following the violent arrival of the Crusaders around 1000 years later. The Catacombs of Kom ash-Shuqqafa are the largest known Roman burial site in Egypt, and consist of three tiers of burial tombs, chambers and hallways. The catacombs were begun in the 2nd century AD and were later expanded to hold more than 300 corpses. There's a banquet hall where the grieving would pay their respects with a funeral feast. Experts are hoping to discover Cleopatra's Palace under the sea bed off Alexandria; columns were found in 1998, and recently archaeologists raised a beautiful statue of Isis from the depths. Cleopatra's Library was destroyed by the Crusaders.

Luxor

Built on the site of the ancient city of Thebes, Luxor is one of Egypt's prime tourist destinations. People have been visiting the magnificent monuments of Luxor, Karnak, Hatshepsut and Ramses III for thousands of years. Feluccas and old barges shuffle along the Nile between the luxury hotel ships of the Hilton and Sheraton cruising to and fro Cairo and Aswan.

Luxor Temple was built by Pharaoh Amenhotep III (1390-1352 BC) on the site of an older temple built by Hatshepsut and added to by Tutankhamun, Ramses II, Nectanebo, Alexander the Great and various Romans. Excavation work has been under way since 1885. The Temples of Karnak are a spectacular series of monuments that were the main place of worship in Theban times. They can be divided into the Amun Temple Enclosure, which is the largest; the Mut Temple Enclosure on the south side; and the Montu Temple Enclosure. The lonely statues of the Colossi of Memnon are the first things most people see when they arrive on the West bank, though the Valley of the Kings, including the spectactular tombs of Nefertari and Tutankhamun, are the big attraction. Luxor is accessible from Cairo by buses or trains which run every day.

Institution Accommodation Facilities

Most of the institutes have segregated, conveniently located and cost-effective accommodation facilities. The accommodation fees vary from institute to institute.

Private Rental Market

Many furnished and unfurnished apartments are available throughout the Egypt. When you rent a unit in a private building you will have to sign a rental agreement or lease that specifies your rights and responsibilities and those of the property owner and his agent.

The following is a list of emergency telphone numbers from within Egypt: