Information about destination
Currency: Egyptian Pound-Livre Egyptian (LE) = 100 piastres. Notes are in
denominations of LE100, 50, 20, 10, 5 and 1. Coins are in denominations of 25, 20,
10 and 5 piastres.
Currency exchange: Available at banks and official bureaux de change. There are
five national banks and 78 branches of foreign banks.
ATM machines: Barclays has ATM machines at the following locations:
• Azarita Branch - 11 Sharikat Misr, Azarita Alexandria, Egypt
• Semouha Branch - Safwet Regal El Aamal Building 5 Fawzy Moaaz Street,
Semouha Alexandria, Egypt
• Louran branch - 23 Ekbal St., Loran, Alexandria
• Roushdy branch - 33B Siria St., Kirosiez Bldg.,, Roushdy, Alexandria
• Mansoura branch - 30 Khoulafa El Rashedien St. and Saad Zaghloul St., El Saraya
Tower, Mansoura, Dakahleya
• Port Said branch - 18 Kayetbay St and 26 July St., Port Said, Egypt.
There are ATM machines at the largest hotels around the city. City Bank has also
ATM in the different branches in Alexandria.
Credit & debit cards: MasterCard, American Express, Diners Club and Visa are
generally accepted.
Travelers cheques: To avoid additional exchange rate charges, travelers are
advised to take travelers cheques in US Dollars, Euros or Pounds Sterling.
Currency restrictions: The import and export of foreign currency is unlimited. The
import of local currency is unlimited. The export of local currency is prohibited. For
exchange rates: www.xe.com/ucc
Time Zone and DST: Egypt is two hours in advance of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT
+2) and operates Daylight Savings Time (+1 hour) from the last Friday in April until
the last Friday in September.
Electricity: Electrical current is 220 volts AC, single phase, 50 hertz. Wall sockets
are the round, two pin European type however the socket holes are often too
narrow to accept European plugs. Bring adapter plugs and transformers if
necessary.
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Language: Arabic is the official language in Egypt. Egyptian Arabic is a separate
dialect from the language spoken in other Arab countries, although standard Arabic
in written form is used for newspapers and literature. However, most hotels,
touristic and business facilities speak other languages such as English, French and
sometimes German, Spanish and Italian.
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