Advice and tips for photographers travelling to Egypt
Overview
I’ve visited Egypt twice, first travelling from Cairo, though to Luxor then on to Hurghada and Dhahab. More recently I spent a week in Cairo with short trips out to Bawiti (to visit the White Desert) and Alexandria. The people are great, and like their neighbours in the Arabian Peninsula, take hospitality to foreigners very seriously.
Architecture fans are in for a treat; both Alexandria and Cairo hold a huge number of interesting Art Deco and Nouveau buildings. Start at Cario’s Chaar-Hachamaim Synagogue and take it from there.
Practical advice
Egypt is very highly touristed, but this shouldn’t put you off. Most visitors are on tightly scheduled tours from which they can’t stray far, so you only need walk for a few minutes from the big attractions to experience the real Egypt.
I didn’t notice a great deal of photographic equipment on sale, so finding anything other than batteries or memory cards might be difficult. Hotels all have electricity so recharging you gear isn’t a problem. The Internet is widely available and my mobile phone worked fine. English is widely spoken.
Tourist touting around the big sites is quite intense, but learning a few words of Arabic easily transforms an annoyance into your new best friend.
Risks
I wasn’t aware of any risks — Egypt felt very safe, whenever and wherever I wandered.