Cities in Egypt?
As one of the earliest documented urbanized civilizations, you would think Egypt would be more associated with cities than it commonly is. However, when most of us hear about Egypt, we don’t think much for skyscrapers and city-slickers.
If some random opp were to spawn in, pull a gun to your beautiful head and tell you “name 5 Egyptian cities now or your brains are meeting the concrete! And not for a coffee! For like death! I mean, like, you finna die”, you might first be slightly taken aback. Then you’d probably say “uh Cairo! and…”
I know those elipses. That’s where today’s story lies. I’ll throw you a hypothetical bone: Alexandria. Okay that’s two relatively well-known cities. What’s next? Well not much if your confined to the popular imagine. It’s not totally unforgivable either.
When most people think of Egypt, we think of the grand sights to travle to, the pyramids, the Sphinx, the endless Desert. You probably would even think about the Suez Canal or Sinai Peninsula before thinking of one of the other cities in Egypt and that’s fine.
Egypt does, after all, offer a myriad of travel options beyond metropoles. We’re talking natural wonders, ancient sites, beaches, mountains, sand dunes, etc. However, ignoring the cities in Egypt is a rookie mistake. Because in those cities, you can pierce the heart of the nation. You can see parts of a famous place that perhaps aren’t so well-known. And, I mean, in this place, wherever you go, you’re never too far from history either.
So today, I will countdown my picks for the top 5 cities in Egypt you’ve got to travel to! Some will be expected! Some will not be expected. Except by me… Cuz I wrote this list… So, like, I knew what cities were gonna be on here. So, like, uh just don’t tell me I guess. Then it can stay unexpected. Yeah. What am I even saying now?
Let’s just get into the travel countdown, on the dead guys!
(cuz you know Ancient Egypt has got a thing for dead guys)
Table of Contents
5. Dahab
Starting things off is Dahab. By far the smallest city on this list. I can’t be bothered to check the numbers but in vibes and vastness it definitely has that small town charm.
Located on the eastern coast of the Sinai Peninsula, you could swim to Saudi across those turquoise waters if you so pleased. Please don’t though. You probably wouldn’t make it. What you should do instead is get into some snorkeling. Dahab does, after all, offer some of the Red Sea’s finest snorkling opportunities.
The chief spot among these is the Blue Hole but you can literally just take a walk randomly from the city center and dive into some decadent waters to go for a snorkel or two. That’s what I did, little go-pro in hand, no map to speak of, catching UV rays then catching manta rays. That’s how it goes here.
Dahab is ostensibly a surf/diving town. It’s got great tourist infrastructure and is small enough to be walkable in less than hours, aka an hour. Escaping to Dahab from a place like Cairo is more than ideal. The vibe couldn’t be more different. Come here to rest up with tranquil waves, soothing sea air and fun hours of loitering on fish property. Sure the size means it doesn’t have as much to offer but that’s where the nature comes in.
As mentioned, Dahab is byte-sized and walkable. You can wander off to enjoy promenades along the Red Sea coast, venture into the nearby hills or take a plunge in the sweetest waters east of my bathtub (joke). Sights like the Wadi Gnai, and the Gran Canyon are great for hikes and sightseeing and only sit a stone’s throw away from the city. So stop throwing stones and get your money up buster! Go throw some hundreds and buy yourself a ticket to Dahab asap!
4. Aswan
Alright, first things first, can we all just agree that of all the cities in Egypt, Aswan’s got the most swagtabatical name? I mean, you can just read that on all the hieroglyphics in Philae Temple. Which, coincidentally you can visit from Aswan btw. It says ”the name doth be fire, on a Nubian ting”.
That’s right Aswan is as south as it gets on this list, and that means it’s a brand Nubian type deal around here.
Nubian heritage is everywhere around here. Find it at the eponymous Nubian Museum but also on the great Elephantine Island, the historical lifeline of this brimming city. Elsewhere, we’ve got sights like the Isis Temple, the Unfinished Obelisk and the Dome of Abu Al-Hawa to consider. The likes of these, coupled with the calm charm of the city itself, can leave you like Wall Street was, occupied for days.
Keep in mind, Aswan is smaller than other cities and beyond some souks, it’s really these sights that carry it. It’s hot too. Hotter than these posts. Hotter than these lines. No really, like really hot. Hot like you might die. So don’t. Live instead.
Lastly, Aswan is a great launchpad for some of Egypt’s top ranked travel adventures. We’re talking about OGs of the game like Abu Simbel, postcard heavyweights like the aforementioned Philae Temple, even Lake Nasser, Kom Obo Temple and Edfu Temple are accessible too. In my case I only managed to see Philae Temple and Abu Simbel but saying only in that sentence is like some fool telling you Egypt is only thousands of years old as if that’s not ancient enough.
Say no to Ageism.
3. Alexandria
Alexandria, named after Alexander the Great, still has a place in the heart of yours truly Alexander the Great never could have! That’s right, the beef between me and the long-dead Macedonian is still on! He knows what he did! Anyways…
Alexandria is rightfully seen as Egypt’s second city. Yeah, it doesn’t quite hit like Cairo for out of Africa-ers but it has its own unique charms to offer travelers. Alexandria’s defined by its coastal nature. It’s coasting on the Mediterranean Sea. Already one of the most Goated mini-Oceans in the game but Alexandria did right to avoid coasting on its clout to tout its own legacy.
It’s got beaches galore, including that one situated under the iconic Stanley Bridge. You know the one. 100% that beach no questions asked, thank you very much.
But there’s treasures along the waterfront too. Of course the legendary Library is not what it used to be, having burned down many moons ago, but there’s still a sight there in the distinctly more modern library looming over the downtown.
Not too far from there is Qaitbay Citadel, sitting at the edge of the Ras-at-Tin. An impressive and imposing architectural landmark in its own right, nearby which I just so happened to get my socks robbed. So, if you hate this blog and want to gloat at my pain, go there and try to find the kid that did it. Worship him like they did the dung beetle.
Other travel highlights include the Catacombs of Kom el Shoqafa, the Montaza Palace, the Antoniades Gardens, and a part of town called New Miami. What’s that about? Why don’t you go ask Alexander? Oh wait, you can’t!! Hahahaha! I hate Alexander til the year 3000!
2. Luxor
Luxor is one of the only other cities in Egypt that would’ve come to the mind of many in that dumb little hypothetical scenario I placed at the beginning of this post. Perhaps you know it as Thebes, though, the name in Ancient times, for the city that once served as the capital for several pharaonic dynasties. If you want history, you’ve for sure came to the right place. The city is essentially drowning in it.
Sitting pretty on the Nile, you’ll find most of the city on one side and mystic desert glory on the other side. That other side, accessible by frequent and cheap boat journeys, opens you up to several ancient sites like Memnon, Medinet Habou and most extraordinarily, the Valley of the Kings and the Valley of the Queens.
At such an easy travel distance away, Luxor is one of those cities in Egypt where you feel like you can time travel while keeping up the comforts of the 21st century.
Yet don’t sleep on the main side of Luxor either. It’s no slouch. Yeah you gotta deal with often annoying hustlers along the riverside, but the city sees your pain and rewards with not only the centrally located Luxor Temple but also the further away but even grander Karnak Temple. These two are some of the biggest and best preserved monuments to ancient Egypt and stand as testaments to the city’s position of importance throughout the thousands year history of this great nation.
Beyond that, Luxor is still a city, with the ups and downs that come with that. For me, it sat at a great in between level in terms of size. Big enough to have the usual anemities without feeling crowded and small enough to offer quaint reflective moments too. You can still get lost in the Souk, burned alive by the desert sun and baked out of your mind with some high quality shisha, the classic Egyptain travel activities.
1. Cairo
Ahh, of course, it comes back to Cairo right? I suppose there was never a way around that. I mean, it’s name means the Conqueror after all, Al Qahirah was bound to conquer this list. To me, it’s an easy decision too. The gap between Cairo and the other Egyptain cities, in scale, scope, prestige and intrigue, is just too vaste. This is a world city.
For my purposes, I am putting Cairo and Giza together so that allows me to include things such as the Giza Necropolis in this entry as well. Yeah, Cairo’s got that, it’s also got the Egyptian Museum, the Cairo Citadel, Cairo Tower, and Tahrir Square. Not to mention specific sections within the city could have got their own mention. Fatimid Cairo often steals the show but there’s also the City of the Dead, Coptic Cairo and further afield Nasr City.
This is an overwhelming city that could just swallow you whole if you let it. It can be challenging, especially at the beginning but once you get situated, just go with the flow, do as the locals do and you will learn to love Cairo.
You’ll love the never-ending movement of a city, brimming with life. You’ll love the chaos that permeates many cities in Egypt but reaches its final form here. You’ll fall hard for those decaying 19th century buildings and transform into a dreamer each time you gaze off into the gleaming waters of the River Nile.
The conqueror will conquer you just as it did me. I don’t necessarily know what else to add. Cairo is the kingpin of Egypt. It’s where it all goes down and frankly, Ra, Horus, Isis, Osiris, Set and the rest of the gang would have probably smited me had I put anything else as number one on this list. And you know ya boi don’t got time for them type of problems. No surry-bob!
To Conclude
So there you have it, my picks for Egypt’s top 5. If you like smoking on top 5s like me and Kendrick, I hope you enjoyed this post. I wanted to shed the light on the other cities of one of my favorite countries I have ever visited and I hope I accomplished it. Yeah it ended predictably with Cairo, but come on, some things are just undeniable.
I have to apologize for the quality of the photos in this one. On the vast majority of these posts, I try to rely solely on my own photos, the ones I took on each trip and on location. However, my camera had started malfunctioning at the time and I was too broke and ignorant to fix it. So unfortunately a lot of the Egyptian photos have all these blemishes on them. But, uh that just proves what a Hardboi traveler I am, so respect it!
And respect to you for reading this far. If you did, shout out to you… Don’t end up like Alexander!
See you later!
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