Book Description
Music and sheesha smoke wafting from the open doorway of a Cairo coffeehouse, the rippling dunes and blinding white sand of the Western Desert, and the awe-inspiring temples of Abu Simbel and Karnak - our bestselling guide to the ancient land of the Pharaohs covers every corner of this inspiring country. • TAKE A CRUISE with our dedicated Nile Cruises chapter - we'll give you the low-down on everything that floats, from local feluccas to luxurious cruise ships • GET AROUND with our 128 detailed maps - including customized itineraries and a walking tour map to help you discover the medieval alleyways of Islamic Cairo • GET THE BACKGROUND on everything from pyramids to papyrus with our special sections on Pharaonic Egypt and the Egyptian Museum • DISCOVER THE OUTDOORS with our comprehensive coverage of Red Sea diving and desert safaris - we know every shipwreck and oasis! • TALK THE TALK with the help of our Egyptian Arabic language chapter


Excerpted from Lonely Planet Egypt (Lonely Planet Egypt) by Andrew Humphreys, Siona Jenkins, Gadi Farfour, Anthony Sattin, Joann Fletcher. Copyright © 2004. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
Destination: Egypt Egypt is the most extraordinary place. Herodotus, the ancient Greek historian, noted as much more than a century before the birth of Christ when he wrote, "Concerning Egypt I will now speak at length, because nowhere are there so many marvellous things, nor in the world besides are there to be seen so many things of unspeakable greatness..." By which he meant the Pyramids and the immense wealth of awe-inspiring temples and monuments left by the pharaohs. But to those you can now add the legacy of the Greeks and Romans, the churches and monasteries of the early Christians, and the overwhelming profusion of art and architecture accumulated from centuries of successive Islamic dynasties. Around these ancient wonders day-to-day life goes on. Egyptian society and culture offer as much intrigue and magic as the country's historical treasures: whether it's the voice of diva Umm Kolthum wafting from a busy Cairo coffeehouse at dusk, or taking passage on a local Nile ferry to reach a small family restaurant on the far bank. Then there's the incredible natural beauty of the country. The fine white sand, clean clear water, and purple mountain backdrops of the Sinai and the Red Sea coasts have long been known to divers, who come to enjoy offshore reefs with sheer drop-offs that plummet to unknown depths, for coral-encountered shipwrecks and for the abundance of amazing marine life. Equally other-worldly are the vast expanses of blinding white sand and rippling dunes of the Western Desert, now more accessible through a growing number of desert-safari outfits. There's far more to Egypt than just the Pyramids.