The Nile River is home to a host of parasites of which one in particular is very dangerous and very endemic.
The bug named Schistosomiasis is found in fresh water in the Nile.
The parasite can go through skin into the blood vessels where it will lay eggs which will then disperse to various organs causing internal damage.
Basically give up those dreams of swimming the Nile. Also be careful of water or tea served to you on a felucca as it could come directly from the Nile and not be heated properly. Bring your own water bottle or soda and drink from that. Politely decline offers by indicating your stomach has been upset or you are allergic etc.
It always saddens me to see the locals in the villages washing their laundry directly in the Nile. It is so unsafe.
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Posted by Megypt
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Popular Warnings or Dangers | Other Warnings or Dangers Tips | All Tips (426)
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 | Don't swim in the Nile.   |  | |
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 |  on March 4, 2005 |
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| Vaccinations | | |
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| on March 28, 2005 |
There is often discussion about whether one should get a Hepatitus A vaccination b4 going to Egypt. Simply the answer is a firm YES especially if you plan to eat in any restaraunts. Simply every professional medical site regarding this issue says that everyone needs to have it. Hepatitis A is rampant in Egypt. Many Egyptians have built up immunity to this but they can still be carriers and trasmit it easily through handling food. Here is a paragraph from travelmed.com regarding Hepatitus and Egypt. Hepatitis: All nonimmune travelers should receive the hepatitis A vaccine. Hepatitis E is endemic, with 28% of cases of acute viral hepatitis caused by this virus. The hepatitis B carrier rate is estimated 4% of the population. Hepatitis B vaccine is recommended for stays over 3 months and for short-term travelers wanting increased protection. Travelers should be aware that the risk of hepatitis B is increased by unsafe sex and the use of unsterile needles and syringes. The hepatitis C virus is hyperendemic in Egypt, with seroprevalence rates up to 67% in older villagers, 12%–15% in others. Travelers should be advised not to receive transfusions of blood unscreened for hepatitis B and C virus. Here is a link with recommended vacinations. I strongly urge you to at least get the Hep A one. ------- Posted by Megypt . |
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| Egyptian Money: 1's and 10's look similar. | | |
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| on March 4, 2005 |
When using Egyptian money be certain to read the English WORDS on the back telling you what the denomination is. It is very easy to confuse a 1 Egyptian Pound note with a 10. In Arabic the 1 looks similar to an English one but the zero is just a dot. It is easy to miss the zero when glancing at the money from the front side, making you think it is a 1 pound note. Also be careful to know the difference between piastres and pounds. Pounds are the big money and piastres are the change. 50 pound notes vs. 50 piastres. So be certain to read the words on the back in english before giving the money to someone. Egyptian currency has some remarkable pictures and is very beautiful. You will probably want to keep some for yourself. Especially the coins with the holes in the middle. Here is a website that has pictures of Egyptian currency. -------- Posted by Megypt |
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| Petty theft | | |
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| on March 17, 2005 |
Egypt is very safe, especially from violent crime but petty thievery can and does happen. Take reasonable precautions with your stuff. If you hire the taxi for the day and are going to store your luggage in it, be SURE to get the taxi number painted on the side of the cab and the license plate number. Also if possible, identification from the driver....his id number or something. I had my purse stolen from leaving it in a cab when I stepped out to take care of some business. Of course, this wasn't someone I hired for the day but still, had I gotten at least the cab number, I could have reported it to the police. It was my fault for leaving my purse the way I did. The driver might well decide that your luggage is potentially more valuable than the fee you are going to pay him. Let him see you writing this information down. ----- Megypt |
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| Bathrooms: Clean/not clean...it really matters! | | |
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| on March 4, 2005 |
I found this website that rates restrooms in various countries. I am including the Egyptian link. Actually, believe it or not, this could be a helpful bit of info. Seniors, travellers with disabilities and parents with children often need to know about access and I bet it is difficult to find this kind of information. There is a section to add your own tip so why not help out the seniors and people with disabilities and everyone else by noting a few locations and features next time you are in Egypt if you think of it. Egypt is not known to be 'disability friendly' at all and you couldnt pay me to enter some restrooms PS Try not to be freaked out by the fact that this site has some essays and a palm pilot service to help one locate restrooms.... ----- Posted by Megypt |
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| Entering Egypt`s form | | |
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 |  on November 8, 2005 |
This is not really a warning,,I justed wanted to show you the form needed to be filled out before reaching the customs.... you will be offerd this form on your way to Egypt......(on the flight),if not,when reaching the airport in Egypt you will find these forms placed on a desk before the customs. the green edged one is for the egyptians to fill in...the other orange edged one is for the non-egyptians. |
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| Don't drink the tap water/How to build immunity | | |
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| on March 26, 2005 |
Even though I have seen several websites say that the tap water is safe to drink and heavily cholorinated, for the short term traveller I recommend avoiding all tap water. This includes fountain drinks, juices from stands and ice. Drink bottled water which is readily available and very affordable. Otherwise you might get a case of King Tuts revenge and spend a large part of your dream vacation touring the restrooms. For people who will be living there and want to build up resistance for the water. Take your bottled water and put a 1/4 cup of tap water into it. Increase this amount every couple days and eventually you should be fine to drink it. I made sure to have an exterior filter hooked to my tap. Often you will have Egyptian locals offer you drinks at their house and it is hard to decline. A polite way is to only take hot tea or just explain that your tummy has been upset and you can only drink bottled items. The locals often don't realize that this is a concern for travellers because they themselves have resistance already built up. -------- Posted by Megypt |
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| Crossing the street a trip in itself! | | |
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| on April 21, 2005 |
If you are used to seeing people driving in a fairly organized manner. eg stopping when they are supposed to and allowing pedestrians their right to cross the street then you are in for a little surprise. In Egypt stop signs are more like decorations SO when crossing a big street be a little bit more careful. Your best bet is to wait till a local is going to cross then go along with them. If you cross alone (which really is not all that hard as some people make it out to be) just time yourself . If a car is coming really close don't take the risk to cross it as you might have done back home. Some people drive nuts here. Wait for a safer chance. In the end it's all fun . Good luck! -------------- Khadi |
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| upon arrival | | |
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| on August 22, 2004 |
Just a notification, when you have your passport stampd,passing the customs,you will have the coice of either taking a trolly for your luggage,or if you need a hand you will have to pay a sum of 5 pounds(arond 1USD$)for the person who handles your bags. This was on my last trip to Cairo on August 2004. |
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| Buying something ... (II) | | |
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 |  on December 2, 2004 |
Now when we have a price for the item you want to buy, the next step follows. You have to pay and he has to give back some money (maybe). Problem is they will often try to cheat you here, too. Most often is, that he says he would not have any money to make your change. Mybe you want to take something else for it (means, buy something more). Give him only the money, if he has the change ready. Elseif he may will take your note, let it vanish in his pocket and maybe hold his hand out again. When you tell him, you gave a say 50 pound bill, he will take a 20 pound bill out of the same pocket and tell you this is what you gave and that you owe him another xx pounds, So never leave your money out of your hand before you have the return money in the other one. Next have a good look at the return money: is it enough? Are they all Pounds or are some Piasters smuggled in? (For foreigners they do look kinda alike). Ok, now you take your object or whatever you buyed. If someone wrapped it in the meantime, you may want to unwrap it and have a look whether it is still the same. I know this sounds mean, but this are all things that have happened. |
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