It is still important to continue monitoring the situation before making your holiday arrangements, but I remain optimistic the situation will get back to normal very quickly. If you plan to travel to Egypt any time soon, I recommend that you take a look at some of these great Egypt holiday packages at the Africaguide website.

The Great Pyramid at Giza. One of Egypt's key attractions

At the time I am writing this post, the news about the ongoing street protests in Alexandria, Cairo, Aswan and other cities in Egypt is almost stale news. Global news websites like CNN have covered the two-weeks old political unrest in great detail.

The political implications of the protests aside, the tourism industry is turning out to be the biggest loser so far. Just yesterday, Thomas Cook announced that the Egyptian and Tunisian protests will cost them about £20million. This is as a result of booking cancellations and emergency evacuation.

Consider the fact that Thomas Cook is just one of the several hundred travel agents that organize holidays to Egypt. Compared to Thomas Cook, most other travel agents may be smaller, but their combined total volume of business is obviously very big. I am not an expert in economics, but logic (twisted perhaps) tells me that if all agents are facing cancellations of similar magnitude, Egypt has already lost tens of billions of dollars in tourism revenue in these two weeks.

From the travel industry point-of-view, the unrest could not have come at a worse time. This is supposed to be peak season for Egyptian tourism, because of winter in Europe and other western nations. Now tourists are forced to go to alternative destinations, to Egypt’s loss.

Obviously most governments are not going to lift the Egypt travel alerts they have issued any time soon, Canada, The UK and the US for example. Already, there are reports that hotels are sending most of their workers on open-ended unpaid leave. See this report for example. This at a time when the resorts should be enjoying almost 100% occupany.

Will the the Egypt travel industry bounce back?

For sure it will. It may take some time, but not very long I believe. Tourism contributes more than 10% of Egypt’s gross domestic product. What’s more, the political unrest is affecting other sectors of the economy too. It is for this reason that I believe that the Egyptian government and people will resolve the impasse sooner rather than later.

When Kenya was faced with post-election violence in 2008, the tourism industry was most affected. Three years later, we have fully recovered. The recovery process will definitely be much faster for Egypt; No other country can offer the kind of attractions you find in Egypt. Unlike in Kenya’s example, tourists cannot go anywhere else to see the valley of the kings for example, or the great pyramids of Giza. As soon as the political situation improves, tourists will come back to Egypt in large numbers.

Should You Cancel Your Egypt Holiday Plans?
This depends on how soon you scheduled your holiday. If you were to travel in February for example, you may have little choice but to cancel, or postpone the trip. However, if you were to travel, say, in October, it may be too early to cancel now. You should monitor what is happening there. Things are likely to improve before then. Remember, no other African destination offers you the experience you will enjoy on a vacation in Egypt.

Enjoy Your Egypt Holiday in Style

As a holiday destination, Egypt stands head and shoulders above other African countries. So much that probably everyone in the world knows about the Egyptian pyramids and the other relics of ancient Egypt civilizations. You should read my previous post on the top-five must-see sites in Egypt if you need an introduction to some of the country’s attractions.

A Nile Cruise Ship At Aswan, Egypt. Image courtesy of commons.wikimedia.org

A good number of Egypt’s historical sites are located on the banks of the Nile river. These include Aswan, Edfu, Karnak, Kom Ombo, Luxor, and the Valley of the kings. Luxor, the starting point of most nile cruises, for example, is home to the Luxor Temple, which was built around 1400BC as a tribute to the gods Amun-Min, Mut and Chons.

Besides the magnificence of the Luxor temple itself, other interesting things to see here are the obelisk, the statues of Ramesses, the gigantic pylons, and the avenue of sphinxes which connects the temple to the nearby Karnak temple complex. You can find more information about Luxor and the other equally fascinating temple sites at the  sacred destinations website.

Apart from just allowing you to explore ancient sites, a Nile cruise offers you one of the best opportunities to see how people in rural Egypt live. Naturally, the fertile Nile valley is Egypt’s most inhabited region, besides the cities. During your cruise therefore, you get a true cultural experience while aboard a floating luxury hotel.

The typical Nile cruiser has almost all the facilities and luxury of modern hotels of equal rating, though their rooms may be smaller. (Yes, the Nile cruisers are rated as 5-star, 4-star, etc., just like “normal” hotels). The amenities in a luxury Nile cruiser may include internet access, a swimming pool, souvenir shops, massage parlors, and a bar.

While you cannot really compare the Nile cruisers to an ocean-based luxury cruise ship, they are definitely superior the riverboats in any other part of the world.Depending on the tour company you book your trip with, your Nile cruise can take anything from three to seven nights. You are most likely to start your trip from Luxor since most boats operate between Luxor and Aswan.

If you love adventure, you can explore the same portion of the nile using traditional boats locally known as feluccas. But that is only if you are willing to give up the luxury of the cruise ships in favor of the thrill of the felucca adventure.

Nile Cruise Holiday Booking
There are several tour companies through which you can book your tour of Egypt. Once again, I recommend Africa Guide to you.

1. The Pyramids at Giza

The Great Pyramid of Khufu in Giza, Egypt. Photo by: Girolame at flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/girolame/

The Egyptian pyramids are probably what everyone thinks of when planning to travel in Egypt. While there are several pyramid sites all across Egypt, none is as popular as Giza. Among the three pyramids at the Giza necropolis, the great pyramid of Khufu (pictured) is the most magnificent. It is the only one of the Seven wonders of the ancient world that is still intact.

Scientists believe that this great pyramid took about 20 years to build during the reign of Pharaoh Khufu, with its construction being finished in the year 2551BC. Like most other Egyptian pyramids, the great pyramid was built to serve as a tomb for the then royal family.

If you are lucky, you may get a chance to go into the pyramid when you travel to Giza. But that means you have to wake up early since the authorities only allow 300 people in at any one time.

2. The Great Sphinx of Giza

The Great Sphinx of Giza. Image courtesy of wikimedia commons

The sphinx is huge statue of a lion with a human head, situated near the Giza pyramids. To this day, scientists and Egyptologists are not entirely certain about who built the sphinx, when it was built, and for what reasons.

One thing is certain though: the sphinx is one of the oldest and largest statues in the world, measuring about 45 meters long. Despite how well I write to describe the magnificence of the sphinx, and no matter how many photos I include for you to see, you will for sure be pleasantly shocked when you see sphinx for the first time.

You may see more details about the sphinx at this website.

3. The Valley of the Kings

Entrance to the valley of the Kings: Photo by S J Pinkney at flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/spinkney/

Some historians divide the era of the ancient Egypt civilization into three periods: the old kingdom, the middle kingdom, and the new kingdom, with some intermediate periods in between. During the “old kingdom”, the kings and other royalty were buried in pyramid style tombs, like the great pyramid of Giza.

In the new kingdom however, the nobles were buried in special underground tombs cut out from limestone in the Thebes region. One of the reason for this was that these tombs were easier to conceal, thus less prone to attacks by tomb raiders, unlike the pyramids. This tomb region in Thebes (modern day Luxor) is what is now called the valley of the Kings.

Today, the Valley of the Kings is one of Egypt’s most important archaeological site and tourist attraction. The tombs contain lots of treasures and artistic decorations from the books of the under world.  The most exciting discovery in the valley of the Kings was probably that of the tomb of King Tut, one of the youngest pharaohs to ever have ruled Egypt.

4. The Abu Simbel Temples

The two temples at Abu Simbel

The two temples at Abu Simbel are perhaps just as magnificent as the Sphinx and the great pyramid of Khufu and Giza. You may be surprised to learn that these temples were built just to satisfy the ego of one King, the great Ramesses II, and probably to impress his favorite wife, queen Nefertari .

In the 1960s, when the Egyptian government was constructing the Aswan High dam on river Nile, the two temples were faced with the danger of being submerged in the resulting lake. The dismantling, relocation, and reassembly of the temples in a higher and safer ground is considered one of the great engineering feats of modern history.

You can read more about the Temples at the bible places website here.

5. The Karnak Temple Complex

Sphinx statues at Karnak: Photo by Walwyn at Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/overton_cat/

There are several temple sites in Egypt, but very few of them are as impressive as Karnak. This temple complex is located near Luxor, and consists of three main temples and several smaller ones all enclosed in the same site, plus a number of “outer” temples.

Probably the most outstanding fact about the Karnak temple complex is that it was built by several successive generations of ancient Egyptians, over a long period of time. In fact, archaeologists think that more than 10 different pharaohs contributed to its building. The level of diversity and complexity found in Karnak therefore cannot be found in any other ancient temples site.

You can find more information about Karnak at the Egyptology Online website

Egypt Holiday Packages
I have highlighted what I consider the greatest tourist attractions in Egypt. There a lots of other places you can visit for a holiday in Egypt. I’d recommend you take a look at some of the Egypt holiday packages available at the Africa guide website, and you may just find a great package for your Egypt vacation.

The pyramids at Giza, Egypt. Image courtesy of commons.wikimedia.org

Arguably, nothing today is more symbolic of the engineering prowess of the ancient Egyptians than the pyramids. Most of these pyramid-shaped structures are believed to have been constructed between 3000 BC and around 1800 BC, a period between the old and middle kingdoms of ancient Egypt. Over 100 pyramids still survive today, though many more certainly existed before. It is believed that most pyramids were constructed as tombs for the Pharaohs and other members of the royalty.

The pyramids at Giza are the most known. The largest of these, the pyramid of Khufu (popularly known as the great pyramid of Giza), is the only remaining member of the “Seven wonders of the ancient world”.

All the pyramids are situated west of river nile, mostly in groups of several pyramids. While the Giza pyramids, not very far from Cairo, attract many visitors to Egypt due to their massive size, there are other pyramids in other locations with even richer culture and heritage. Other pyramid sites include:

• Abu Rawash
• Abu Sir
• Dahshur
• el-Lahun
• Hawara
• Mazghuna
• Lisht
• Meidum
• Saqqara
• Zawyet el-Aryan

Egypt is undoubtedly one of the most popular travel destination in Africa. Its many historical sites attract millions of visitors to the country annually. These sites are a heritage from the ancient civilization dating back to the days of the Egyptian pharaohs. The great pyramids are top among the tourist sites and are what most people identify Egypt with.

There are however several other equally famous and interesting sites to visit in Egypt. Some of these are:

• The two temples at Abu Simbel
• The Karnak temples
• Valley of the kings
• The great pyramids at Giza
• The Sphinx

Egypt is located in North Africa, and is one of the most influential countries in the Middle East. As the map of Egypt shows, the country borders Sudan on the South, Libya on the west, the Mediterranean Sea on the north, Israel on the North East, and the Red sea on the East.

The river Nile is Egypt’s most important natural resource. The river banks of the Nile constitute the only regions in which Egypt people can practice agriculture. Most of the remaining land area has desert climate, and thus unsuitable for farming. Apart from agriculture, the nile is an important source for geothermal electricity produced at the Aswan High dam. The river is also an important tourist destination popular for the luxury nile cruises on board floating hotels.

Cairo, the capital city, is the main entry point to Egypt. Other important Egyptian cities and towns include Alexandria, and Sharm el Sheikh and Luxor.