Fast Facts

American Express -- Cairo: 21 Giza Street, Downtown (tel.02/567-2266; fax 02/570-3146. Open Mon-Fri 9am-5pm). 11 Almaza Street, Heliopolis (tel. 02/418-2144; fax 02/290-9157. Open 9am-5pm, closed Fridays). Alexandria: 5 Tudor Street, Roushdy. (tel. 03/541-0177; fax 03/545-7363. Open 9am-5pm, closed Fridays). Luxor: Old Winter Palace Street. (tel. 095/378-333; fax: 095/372862. Open 9am-5pm, closed Fridays). Aswan: Corniche El Nil. (tel. 097/306-983; fax: 097/302-909. Open daily 9am-5pm, closed Fridays).

Area Codes -- Cairo: 02; Alexandria: 03; Luxor: 095; Aswan 097; Sharm El Sheikh: 069; Hurghada: 065. Once you're in Egypt, area codes are only dialled if you're calling another city. If you're dialling a cell phone number you must dial the cell phone code which is either 010 or 012. If you're calling a cell phone number from abroad, you don't need to add the city code before the cell phone code.

ATM Networks -- Cirrus and PLUS ATM networks are widely available, especially in hotels, shopping malls and at bank branches. Cirrus, the MasterCard network (tel. 800/424-7787), and PLUS, (800/843-7587) the Visa network can help you locate ATMS before your departure, although that is not really necessary.

Business Hours -- Business hours vary wildly from sector to sector. Generally speaking, Friday is when most offices are closed, as it's the Muslim day of rest. Some places take Saturday off for a two-day weekend, while Christian establishments generally close on Sunday. Banks are open 8:30am-2.30pm and closed on Fridays. Government offices also close on Fridays, and open 8:30am until 5pm the rest of the week. But you might not necessarily be able to do business in those hours -- if you have any urgent matter to take care of, it's best to arrive first thing in the morning so you're not told to "come back tomorrow." Many shops are open seven days a week, only taking Friday morning off and opening after the noon prayer. Upscale shops usually close around 10pm, while others do business until midnight or later. Hairdressers are closed on Mondays, and restaurants are usually open seven days a weeks, starting around 11am. Doctors offices have the most erratic hours of all, and it's not unusual to have a dentist appointment at 10pm or later.

Drugstores -- Pharmacies are very widespread, and usually open until 9pm or later. Just ask for an ag-zakhana or sigh-daliyya, or look for signs depicting a snake coiled around an apothecary's cup. Cairo and Alexandria have 24-hour pharmacies, as do some of the more popular resorts like Sharm El Sheikh. Just ask at your hotel.

Electricity -- Outlets in Egypt supply 220 volts of electric current, and take only 2-pronged, rounded plugs (same as western Europe.) If you're bringing electrical equipment from the US, you'll need a current adapter as well as a converter.

Embassies & Consulates -- All embassies are located in Cairo, the capital. The UK also has a consulate in Alexandria.

United States Embassy: 8 Kamal El Din Salah St, Garden City, Cairo (tel. 02/797-3300)

United Kingdom Embassy: 7, Ahmed Rageb Street, Garden City, Cairo (tel. 02/794-0852). Consulate: 3 Mina Street, Kafr Abdou, Roushdy, Alexandria. (tel. 03/546-7001)

Canada Embassy: 26 Kamel El Shenawy, Garden City, Cairo. (tel. 02/794-3110)

Australia Embassy: World Trade Centre, 11th Floor, Corniche El Nil, Cairo. (tel. 02/575-0444)

Emergencies --

Cairo: police 122; tourist police 126; ambulance 123; fire 125;

Alexandria: police 122; ambulance 123; fire 180.

Internet Access -- Cyber cafes can be found anywhere tourists gather, and in wealthy neighborhoods in the big cities. The easiest thing is to head for a hotel or resort, where you'll usually find internet access advertised, although smaller cyber cafes are cheaper.

Language -- Arabic is the national language, although many people, especially in the tourist industry speak English and possibly other European languages as well. Signs are usually in English and Arabic.

Legal Aid -- Contact your consulate or embassy, who can refer you to a qualified English-speaking attorney.

Liquor Laws -- Most Egyptians don't drink, and liquor is hard to come by. As a result, restaurants, bars and hotels are your best bet, although beer and wine can also be purchased at specialized stores to be found in the wealthier neighborhoods. In Cairo, you can order liquor from Drinkie's toll free at tel. 0800/100-1001. In smaller towns, in the desert and countryside alcohol may not be available at all, and some establishments may not even have a license to serve it. Regardless of where you are, take into account the strong local disdain for liquor and drunkenness, and getting trashed in public is considered very shameful. The legal drinking age is 21, but if you're not Egyptian, you won't be carded. During Ramadan, most places don't serve alcohol, and it's banned altogether on religious holidays.

Lost & Found -- To report a credit card, call Visa collect in the US at tel. 410/581-9994 or MasterCard at tel. 636/722-7111. American Express cardholders and travelers should call a local office in Egypt, at tel. 02/570-3411 (see "American Express" entry above for more numbers). If you need emergency cash over the weekend when all banks and American Express offices are closed, you can have money wired to you via Western Union (tel. 02/795-7454 in Cairo or 3/427-1148 in Alexandria. For more locations, log on to www.westernunion.com.

Mail -- The Egyptian postal service is notoriously unreliable, so if you have an important letter to send, you might want to use UPS (tel. 2/414-1456; www.ups.com), Fedex (tel. 2/268-7888; www.fedex.com) or DHL (tel. 02/302-9801; www.dhl.com). Without snags, an airmail letter will take about a week to ten days to arrive in Europe, and a few weeks to make it to or from the United States. The bulkier your mail, the less likely it is to arrive.

Newspapers & Magazines -- Egypt has a number of English-language newspapers and magazines, all of which are censored by the government. The best newspaper of the lot is Al-Ahram Weekly, a subsidiary of the semi-official Al-Ahram newspaper, but the Egyptian Gazette and Cairo Times might also be worth an occasional peek. The monthly magazine Egypt Today, and its sister publications Business Today and Travel Today are some of the best sources of information in the country. They offer insightful coverage of current affairs, and the former has an especially good section of restaurant and art reviews, as well as an extensive directory in the back.

Passports -- For Residents of the United States: Whether you're applying in person or by mail, you can download passport applications from the U.S. State Department website at http://travel.state.gov/get_forms.html. To find your regional passport office, either check the U.S. State Department website or call the National Passport Information Center toll-free number (tel: 877/487-2778 for automated information.

For Residents of Canada: Passport applications are available at travel agencies throughout Canada or from the central Passport Office, Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Ottawa, ON K1A 0G3 (tel. 800/567-6868; www.ppt.gc.ca).

For Residents of the United Kingdom: To pick up an application for a standard 10-year passport (5-yr. passport for children under 16), visit your nearest passport office, major post office, or travel agency or contact the United Kingdom Passport Service (tel. 0870/521-0410 or search its website at www.ukpa.gov.uk.

For Residents of Ireland: You can apply for a 10-year passport at the Passport Office, Setanta Centre, Molesworth Street, Dublin 2 (tel. 01/671-1633; www.irlgov.ie/iveagh). Those under age 18 and over 65 must apply for a €12 3-year passport. You can also apply at 1A South Mall, Cork (tel. 021/272-525) or at most main post offices.

For Residents of Australia: You can pick up an application from your local post office or any branch of Passports Australia, but you must schedule an interview at the passport office to present your application materials. Call the Australian Passport Information Service at tel. 131-232, or visit the government website at www.passports.gov.au.

For Residents of New Zealand: You can pick up a passport application at any New Zealand Passports Office or download it from their website. Contact the Passports Office at tel. 0800/225-050 in New Zealand or 04/474-8100, or log on to www.passports.govt.nz.

Restrooms -- Public bathrooms are rarely available and can be quite smelly and dirty; if you need to go, try to find a nearby restaurant or hotel. Always carry toilet paper with you, since many bathrooms only offer water spouts attached to the toilet bowl. Bathrooms are clearly marked with internationally recognizable symbols for ladies and gents, or with the French abbreviations M. (Monsieur) and Mme. (Madame) or Mlle. (Mademoiselle).

Smoking -- Generally speaking, Egypt is a smoker's dream -- you can smoke practically anywhere. Look around you for guidance on where it's alright to smoke and where it's not, and if in doubt just ask. If you see no-smoking signs in areas patrolled by the police and nobody else is smoking, do refrain or you might get into trouble.

Taxes -- Taxes are always being changed, so always find out what you'll be charged before you book anything. Generally speaking, restaurant taxes are around 7% and hotel taxes are up to 26%. Keep in mind that restaurants will also charge a 12% service charge in addition to the customary 10% tip.

Taxis -- Taking cabs is a comfortable way to get around, and not very expensive by western standards. But agreeing on a price with the driver requires a little bit of skill and research. Before you head out, find out at your hotel what your trip should cost. When you hail a cab, it's best to agree on a price before you get in. That price will include the tip, and don't feel obliged to pay a penny more. If you feel confident enough, you can do what locals do: board a cab without agreeing on a price, and on arrival, get out and hand the fare through the window. The driver will invariably complain, but it's ok to just walk away.

Telephones--

To call Egypt: If you're calling Egypt from the United States:

1. Dial the international access code: 011

2. Dial the country code: 20

3. Dial the city code (2 for Cairo) and then the number. So the whole number you'd dial would be tel. 011-20-2-000-0000.

To make international calls: To make international calls from Egypt, first dial 00 and then the country code (U.S. or Canada 1, U.K. 44, Ireland 353, Australia 61, New Zealand 64). Next dial the area code and number. For example, if you wanted to call the British Embassy in Washington, D.C., you would dial tel. 00-1-202-588-7800.

For directory assistance: For a local directory, dial tel. 140 if you're in Cairo, 100 if you're in Alexandria. For an international directory, dial 144 in Cairo.

For operator assistance: If you need operator assistance in making a call, dial 140 if you're trying to make an international call and 144 if you're making an international call.

Toll-free numbers: Numbers beginning with 0800 or 0900 in Egypt are toll free. American and European toll free numbers can't be called from Egypt.

Telephone calling cards: ATT: tel. 02/510-0200. MCI: tel. 02/795-5770

Time Zone -- Egypt is 2 hours ahead GMT, or 7 hours ahead Eastern Standard Time. Summer savings time begins on the last Friday in April, when clocks are turned back by an hour, and ends on the last Thursday in September.

Tipping -- Giving baksheesh is one of the most important social obligations for anybody with money to spare. If you're not sure how much to tip, err on the side of generosity. Most Egyptians you'll come in contact with earn less in a month than what you would spend at home in just one day, and many of them depend on income from tourists to make ends meet. In general, you should leave a 10%-15% tip at restaurants and bars, even if the service charge is already included. If you're staying at a five-star hotel, tip the luggage porter LE 5-10, the doorman LE 2-5 if he hails you a cab, and leave LE 2-5 a day for chambermaid. When you're out and about, tip the various people who wait on you -- doormen, valets, porters, ushers, bathroom attendants -- about LE 1-5. Cab drivers don't need to be tipped, especially since you usually negotiate the complete fare before you begin your trip. If little children approach you for baksheesh it's recommended not to give them any. These kids are usually trained and sent out by parents banking on the puppy eyes effect; giving them money only encourages a cruel practice and keeps the children out of school.

Water -- If you're only in Egypt for a short while and don't have time to go through a lengthy process of getting accustomed to the local bacteria, consume as little tap water as possible. Although it's not particularly dangerous, it will certainly give you a memorable case of diarrhea and could spoil your vacation. This means drinking bottled water, ordering drinks without ice (unless the ice was made with bottled or purified water), and staying away from leafy greens as much as possible. Water that has been boiled for several minutes and then filtered is fine, as is water which has been sterilized with iodine tablets or similar additives. It's ok to brush your teeth and wash fruit with tap water, as long as you dry it off properly.