Egypt Post and Mail
The 1,500 Egypt Post offices are open from 8:30am to 3:00pm, but the larger ones in Cairo stay open 'til
6:00pm. They all close on public holidays.
Postcards to countries outside the Middle East cost EŁ1.25 and will take about a week to arrive, and
within Egypt a letter costs 20pt and should be delivered within 2 days. Airmail letters between
Egypt and Western Europe can take a week, or to Australia allow two weeks at least. There are various
express-mail services ranging from same day delivery within Egypt (EŁ5) to anywhere in the world
within 48 hours for EŁ50.
When sending mail by Egypt Post it might be a good idea to get an Egyptian you know to write the delivery
country in Arabic. As a broad generalism the post in Egypt is not quite as reliable as you might be
used to in Australia, so it may be as well to allow extra time for delivery and to even be prepared
for some mail to be lost.
The most convenient arrangement for sending letters while on Egypt tour is to post them from your hotel -
use blue postboxes for international airmail and the red ones for domestic post. Stamps can be purchased
at post offices or the hotel shops, although the latter will charge a little extra.
There is a registered mail service only available from post offices which costs ŁE1 extra.
If you want to send a parcel, take it to a major post office before you have completed wrapping it for
customs inspection, weighing and wrapping.
Receiving letters can be more difficult because many postal workers don't understand English well
enough to produce predictable results from mail sorting - so if you are expecting something then be a
little creative and ask the attendant to check things like M for Mr as well as the normal letters of
your names.
There are the usual private courier firms such as Fedex and DHL in the big cities, and their rates are
quite a bit more expensive although their service is very reliable.
Revised: 8th October 2004
©2004
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