Railways

Railways

Misr Train Station in Alexandria

Egyptian Railways is the backbone of passenger transportation in Egypt with 800 million passenger miles annually.^[4]
Air-conditioned passenger trains usually have 1st and 2nd class service, while non-airconditioned trains will have 2nd and 3rd class. Most of the network connects the densely populated area of the Nile delta with Cairo and Alexandria as hubs.
The Alexandria-Cairo-Luxor-Aswan link is served daily in both directions by air-conditioned sleeper trains of Abela Egypt. This service is especially attractive to tourists who can spend the night on the train as it covers the stretch between Cairo and Luxor. A luxury express train also connects Cairo with Marsa Matruh towards the Libyan border.

Egyptian currency

1 Egyptian Pound Obverse

1 Egyptian pound Reverse

The currency in Egypt is the Egyptian pound - usually abbreviated as EGP and sometimes, LE or L.E.. The 1/100th unit of EGP is the Piastre. The approximate exchange rate for 1 USD is 5.8 EGP as of December 2010. The Central Bank of Egypt controls the circulation of currency. As of May 2009, the currency notes in circulation have a denomination of EGP 200, 100, 50, 20, 5, 1 and Piastres 50, 25.^[5]
There is no limit on the amount of currency which the visitors may bring to Egypt, however, they must declare the currency and amount upon arrival and departure with bank receipts. If you are carrying Egyptian Currency, it should not exceed EGP 5,000.^[6][7]

Climate

Main article: Climate of Egypt

Peak tourist season in Egypt runs from mid October to May, during winter and spring. From May until October, the temperatures are fairly high, especially in Luxor and the southern parts of the country.
Egypt is one of the hottest and sunniest countries in the world. With the exception of a strip along the Mediterranean coast, Egypt has a desert climate, being entirely within the Sahara. The Mediterranean coastal strip has an average annual rainfall of 100–200 mm. In central and southern Egypt several years may pass without any significant rain.
Winters are generally warm in the south of Egypt, but temperatures fall rather abruptly at night so that desert evenings in winter can be quite chilly. The heat of southern Egypt in summer is fierce, and there is almost no relief from one day to another. The very low humidity, however, makes the heat more bearable.^[8]

Safety

This section may contain original research. Please improve it by verifying the claims made and adding references. Statements consisting only of original research may be removed. (February 2012)

Oceanic Whitetip Shark swims at Elphinstone Reef in Egypt in the Red Sea on November 5, 2003

Terrorism has affected the industry in recent times. A total of 58 foreign tourists were killed in the 1997 Luxor massacre. The tourist industry sunk even lower with the September 11 attacks in the eastern United States in 2001, the 2004 Sinai bombings, April 2005 terrorist attacks in Cairo, the July 23, 2005 Sharm el-Sheikh attacks, and the 2006 Dahab bombings.
Historically, foreign tourists have been a common target of attacks dating back to the early 1990s. Militants have typically been motivated by a combination of Qutbism and opposition to the Mubarak government, and attacking foreigners including non-Muslims while hurting Egypt's tourist trade was seen as serving both goals.
The 2011 Egyptian revolution has effected tourism negatively, as have attacks on women by groups of men including British Journalist Natasha Smith and Lara Logan in Cairo’s Tahrir Square.
In late 2010, Egypt's tourism ministry decided to close the Sharm el-Sheikh beach following shark attacks that left one German tourist dead and four people (three Russians and one Ukrainian)^[9] seriously injured.^{[10] [11] [12]} The attacks appear to be from more than one shark,^[13] and include at least one shortfin mako shark.^[13] Marine biologist George Burgess said that more than one species of shark has been involved in the attacks,^[14] possibly including an Oceanic whitetip shark.^[14]