🇪🇬 Egypt

Hej! I’m sharing a glimpse of my experience visiting timeless Egypt. I was there in 2011. Below are some notes on what I tasted, saw and listened to.

Important: I only share my own experience and recommend the things I personally tried and liked. Therefore, everything written below is extremely subjective, and does not cover all the wonderful local features and places ☺️.

🗺 Places: Sharm El-Sheikh.

🏛 Top sights visited:

1. Sharm El-Sheikh
   • Ras Mohamed Nature Reserve (راس محمد)
   • Sharm El-Sheikh Old Market (السوق القديم)
   • Shark’s Bay Beach (خليج القرش)
   • The Bedouin Village (القرية البدوية)
   • Naama Bay Promenade (خليج نعمة)

🎧 Local musicians:

• 🇪🇬 Hisham Abbas (singer). Genre: pop
• 🇪🇬 Sherine (singer). Genre: pop
• 🇪🇬 Mohamed Hamaki (singer). Genre: pop
• 🇺🇳 Aly & Fila (DJ duo). Genre: trance

🎚️ Contribution to EDM:

• Tape Music. Originated: mid-1940s
• Mahraganat. Originated: early 2000s

🥘 Local food & drinks:

• Falafel (طعمية)
• Feteer (فطير)
• Ful Medames (فول مدمس)
• Torly (تورلي)
• Macarona bil-Bechamel (مكرونة بالبشاميل)
• Koshary (كشري)
• Basbousa (بسبوسة)
• Fakhfakhina (فخفخينا)
• Aish Baladi (عيش بلدي)
• Karkadeh Tea (كركديه)

🎬 Local movies:

• Café Regular, Cairo (Café Regular, Cairo). Year: 2012. Genre: short / drama

🪔 Authentic features:

• The Desert Safari (رحلات السفاري الصحراوية)
• The Henna Body Painting (رسم الحنة)
• The Khayamiya Textile (خيّامية)
• Authentic Musical Instrument: Goblet Drum (دربوكة)
• Authentic Garb: Galabiya (جلابية)
• The Culture of Copts (أقباط / ⲛⲓⲣⲉⲙⲛ̀ⲭⲏⲙⲓ)
• The Legacy of Ancient Egyptians (المصريون القدماء / 𓆎𓅓𓏏𓊖)
  • Ancient Egyptian Mythology (أساطير مصرية)
  • Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphs (الهيروغليفية المصرية)
  • Ancient Egyptian Architecture (العمارة المصرية القديمة)
  • Ancient Egyptian Religion (ديانة قدماء المصريين)
  • Ancient Egyptian Sarcophaguses (التوابيت المصرية القديمة)
  • The Senet Game (لعبة السِّينِت)
  • Ancient Authentic Musical Instrument: Sistrum (السيستروم)
  • Ancient Authentic Garb: Khat & Shendyt (الخات والشنديت)
• The Heritage of the Mamluk Empire (سلطنة المماليك)

🎊 Authentic holidays & celebrations:

• National Day of Egypt (عيد ثورة ٢٣ يوليو). Month: July
• Sham Ennessim Festival (شم النسيم). Month: April or May
• Wafaa El-Nil Festival (عيد وفاء النيل). Month: August

💐 National flower: White Egyptian Lotus (زهرة اللوتس البيضاء)

🦉 Local wisdom: “He who was burned by hot soup blows even on yogurt.” / “اللى اتلسع من الشوربة ينفخ فى الزبادى” — Egyptian proverb

👨‍🎓 The oldest university: The Al-Azhar University (جامعة الأزهر الشريف), Cairo, est. 970.