Holidays to Egypt for 43rd Cairo International Book Fair 2012

One of the biggest fairs in the Arab world, Cairo International Book Fair is slated for 24 January and will continue till 6 February 2012 at Cairo International Conference Centre in El-nasr Road Nasr City, Cairo.

The Book Fair was cancelled in 2011 and it is coming back in 2012. This time Tunisia will be the Guest of Honour and is organized by the Ministry of Culture and the Egyptian General Book Organization.

Scheduled to open daily from 10.00 am to 7:00 pm, the 2012 Book fair is expecting a big turnout. The government has plied public buses from Al Tahrir square, Ramsis square, Ataba, and Abassia to venue in Nasr City. During the fair, the railway authority dole out 50 % discounts on train tickets, to make travel for vacationers on holidays to Egypt affordable and convenient.

Attracting thousands of exhibitors, the leading cultural event is a rage and entices scholars, writers and authors in droves to make mind for Egypt holidays in January. Myriads of intriguing collections of books in Arabic, English and other language will be showcased in the fair. Besides, it will also feature countless art events, seminars and music performances.

The legendary book fair was set up in 1969 for narrowing the gap between the Arabic and foreign language books. The fair featured over 462 publishers from 47 countries and 100,000 titles. No wonder, the 2012 Book Fair makes for a perfect thing for cultural buffs on luxury holidays to Egypt.

Budget vacationers and extravagant travellers on luxury holidays to Egypt can make reservations in nearby hotels like Sonesta Hotel, Nile Hilton Hotel, Peace Hotel, Novotel, Baron and Beirut Hotel.

Luxury Holidays to Egypt

The enigmatic pyramids at Giza and other equally mesmerising landmarks, mind blowing artefacts and museums, indefinably tantalising Arabian and Western cuisines, hilarious nightlife and glorious desert attractions, your holidays to Egypt will never be enough to drink in the wonders of this land. Behold the landscape from a hot air balloon over Luxor or dive at the world famous Ras Mohammed Marine National Park. Check out the fast vanishing Nubian culture at Aswan and indulge in old world French colonial charm at Alexandria. Egypt teleports you into some other dimension, when you step into its stunning tourist pullers like the ‘City of the Dead’. Shopaholics and bargain hunters may pick amazing souvenirs at the Khan-el Khalili bazaar. Egypt has everything for everyone, be it a dhow cruise on the line, a helicopter ride over the city, or a camel safari across the desert. The country simply overwhelms.

Egypt is an Unforgettable Obsession. See for Yourself

Visiting Egypt is definitely one of the things to add to the ‘Things to do Before I Die’ list. Unbelievable natural beauty and equally unbelievable man made creations, food to die for, nightlife high on belly dancing, and high doses of fun on the air, land, and water all combine to make Egypt a potent entertainment cocktail. Here, I will talk about Cairo and Sharm-El-Sheikh, two of my and many others’ favourite Egyptian destinations.

Cairo

‘The Mother of all Cities’, as Cairo is called, has to be seen to be believed. During my Cairo holidays I discovered that this visit was the best part of my overall holidays to Egypt. Cairo has much more to it than those jaw dropping pyramids and the sphinx. While the Egyptian Museum of Antiquities satisfied that lifelong lust of getting up close to the Tutankhamen gold and mummified pharaohs, a stroll through the first royal city of the world at Memphis seemed like jumping into the scene of some historical movie. Anyone going on Cairo holidays should take note of the fact that with dozens of sightseeing attractions to check out, it is advisable to keep aside plenty of time to explore the destination.

Climbing the minarets of the Mosque of el-Muayyad, raucously bantering with the local traders at the Khan al-Khalili bazaar, trudging through the ‘City of the Dead’, and the stunning architectural wonders like the Hanging Church, all had me in the grip of an unbreakable spell during my holidays to Egypt and for a lot of time to come. Cairo is also just a 1 hour plane ride away from the ‘World’s Greatest Open Air Museum’, as Luxor is called. It is a good idea to reach Luxor by night and then get up early in the morning for a spot of hot air ballooning.

Sharm-El-Sheikh

Sharm-El-Sheikh emerged as another gem during my Egypt holidays. Lip smacking Arabian and Western gastronomic wonders, bronzed hills, a colourful captivating marine life, exhilarating coral reefs, and soft pebbled beaches – Sharm-El-Sheikh was all this and much more. I will go so far as to say that no holidays to Egypt can be complete without a trip to Sharm-El-Sheikh. The destination is also a paradise for scuba diving enthusiasts like me and has some of globally renowned dive sites. Other than scuba diving, Sharm-El-Sheikh offers a world of windsurfing, parasailing, boating, and canoeing opportunities as well.

Sharm-El-Sheikh also proves ideal for those famed long desert travels associated with most of the exciting holidays to Egypt. Amongst all the different charms of Sharm-El-Sheikh, ‘The Coloured Canyon’ somehow made a special place in my memory. I cannot put into words, the exhilarating feeling, which overwhelmed my mind while I watched those colourful glittering stones along the sheer depth of that canyon. Sharm-El-Sheikh bombards one with so many choices for fun that I daresay in some ways Cairo seems to steal the thunder of Egypt holidays from the destination.