Bibliotheca Alexandrina.

Amidst all the ancient monuments and desert destinations in Egypt the ultra-modern library of Alexandria makes for a refreshing change of scenery. It is THE perfect spot to enjoy peace and calm in Egypt's second city. It's been designed to resemble the rising sun that glides across the sea, radiating the light of knowledge through the world. Fitting the theme, it's covered in a hull of glass and steel glistening in the sun. On the insight, a gigantic wall of enormous concrete slabs together with dozens of columns that resemble lotus flowers rise high into the sky and support the prominent glass facade. In here it's all dark, polished floors, wooden shelves and muted light. While outside on the corniche traffic thunders past with the usual relentless ferocity, one feels completely insulated form the real world in the monastery-like, almost sacral silence. The huge library hall is divided into myriad sections across huge balconies that cascade down below sea level, so just grab a book, pick your spot of choice and drift away. There's even wireless Internet and the cartography section on the lowest level is great for armchair travelling. What's your next destination?

http://www.bibalex.org/Home/Default_EN.aspx

First Cataract by Boat.

On a weekend escape from Cairo, Upper Egypt seems like a bucolic idyll of sorts. Although Aswan proper is for the most part your usual Egyptian town, you feel like in a completely different country once you've set sails for the West bank and the islands and islets around the First Cataract. Organise yourself a boat (motorized, feluccas won't get you anywhere near the cataract) from any of the small cruise businesses in town and just moments after departure you glide past reed-fringed shorelines, towering rocks and even the occasional beach. It's a bit like Stockholm on the Nile, minus the hipsters. There's plenty of bird life to be spotted, so bring your binoculars. Even if you are not a seasoned bird watcher or even twitcher, you'll be amazed about the abundance of different types of airborne creatures that hover above or hide in the undergrowth. Come evening, make sure you have a mint tea boiling and a shisha bubbling to get the most out of this chill-out paradise. While the sun sets and the city puts on its blinking evening attire, you wish you could just fall asleep and be carried away through the night.

Adrere Amellal.

We did the grave mistake to choose Adrere Amellal, Egypts first and foremost eco-lodge, as one of our first destinations. After a visit to this splendid, peaceful place in the remote Siwa oasis, everything else is but a sad reminder of how mass tourism and bad taste have tormented Egypt. Built entirely from local material, like salt bricks held together with mud, the lodge is heartbreakingly simple, yet luxurious in its labyrinthine layout and unmatched attention to detail. You get up in the morning to a moreish breakfast of plain omelette, fresh bread and divine olive jam, served on a covered patio overlooking the adjacent salt lake. Afterwards you depart for an excursion to Siwa town. This, unfortunately, is in a state of neglect, which makes the lodge appear like an improved (disneylandish?) version of the ancient settlement. Back at the lodge, a three-course lunch in the shade of a palm grove awaits with vegetarian dishes prepared with fresh ingredients from the lodge garden. Understandably, you will only reluctantly make your way to the meeting point for an afternoon excursion to the sea of towering dunes across the lake. Itineraries here are flexible, so you might as well stay, go for a dip in the sparkling, natural pool and while the afternoon away on a daybed. By nightfall, guests gather at one of the many dining spots scattered around the premises, only guided by lanterns and candles, to enjoy what is arguably the best food in Egypt, washed down with plenty of good Egyptian red wine. Think stuffed zucchini flowers, chicken in pomegranate sauce and date pudding for dessert...

http://adrereamellal.net/aplaceoutoftime.html

Lehnert & Landrock.

One of the advantages and indeed charms of downtown Cairo is the fact that you find century-old family businesses here that have long disappeared elsewhere. One such household name in the Egyptian art and retail scene is Lehnert & Landrock, the famous photography and publishing house in Sherif St, smack-bang in the heart of the city. It's on the ground floor of an unassuming building so you might be forgiven for haven mistaken it for a random bookstore. And while the selection of heavy art tomes and coffee table books in the front store seems a bit outdated, the real treasure is the back store with dozens of reprints of Lehnert's long-forgotten images of early 20th-century Egypt, which were only rediscovered in the 1980s. His oeuvre also includes beautiful photographs, especially portraits and rural scenes, from Tunisia and Algeria. Printed in either black-and-white or sepia and presented in simple wooden frames, these stills are a must-have for any Cairo apartment and go a long way to counter the awful furniture that your landlord in all likelihood has burdened you with.

http://lehnertandlandrock.net/

Kitchener's Island.

It's not Kirstenbosch and it's not Kew but the small botanical garden on Kitchener's Island is surely one of the most tranquil and well-maintained parks in all of Egypt. The approach by boat of felucca from the Aswan mainland adds much to the charm of this hidden treasure, the view of which is for the most part blocked by the much bigger Elephantine Island and its horrendous hotel tower. The botanical garden (and research centre) with its hundreds of exotic trees and shrubs from all over the world occupies the entire island and for the small amount of LE10 you can spend an entire day here, exploring the many palm-fringed paths, enjoying the sweeping views and shaded picnic areas. What once belonged to the infamous Lord Kitchener, who equipped the gardens with plants from places along his Empire campaign trail from the Cape to India, now serves as a much-loved weekend retreat for Aswan locals and tourists alike. Avoid the Southern tip of the island, though, as this is where hordes of hawkers want to sell you their wares.