Egypt à la Carte

The Sinai

Covering some 23,000 miles², the Sinai stretches from the Mediterranean in the north to the Red Sea in the south and is bordered by Israel to the east. The landscape of desert, sporadic green oases and rugged multi-coloured mountains and canyons is spectacular, as are the sunrises and sunsets. For decades the region was under occupation but today is increasingly accessible to visitors, especially the south. A highlight here is the ancient St. Catherine’s Monastery, which was founded by the Emperor Justinian in the 6th century. Accommodation in the Sinai is extremely limited, so most visits are done as day tours from the Red Sea resorts.

El Alamein

Some 100km along the coast to the west of Alexandria lies El Alamein, setting for the critical and decisive British victory in the North Africa campaign of 1940/43, when the British Eighth Army under Montgomery halted the advance of the German Afrika Corps under Rommel towards the Nile. Today one can visit the illuminating Alamein Museum, the underground Military Hospital, the starkly beautiful British and Commonwealth Cemetery, the German and Italian cemeteries and, to the south, the salt marshes of the Qattara Depression. The comfortable Hilton Borg el Arab Hotel, mid-way between Alexandria and El Alamein, is the perfect base from which to explore.