# Egypt in March **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 24, 2004, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/egypt-in-march/236206 "2004-03-24T22:17:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2004, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/egypt-in-march/236206/1 "2004-03-24T22:17:27Z")
Weatherwise, what’s Egypt like in March? Would it, for instance, be feasible to see the eclipse in March 2006 and then go see the Pyramids, Valley of the Kings etc? ---
**Author:** ![Early\_Out](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Early\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Early_Out)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2004, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/egypt-in-march/236206/2 "2004-03-25T12:03:34Z")
I give you [The Weather Underground](http://www.wunderground.com/global/stations/62366.html). They’ve got historical data for all sorts of places. Right now in Cairo, it’s 77 degress. Luxor and Aswan, being further south, are typically 10 degrees hotter than Cairo. You’d probably find the mid-summer heat crushing, but from Autumn through early Spring, it’s hot, but not unpleasant at all. Just remember that the Pyramids and the Valley of the Kings aren’t exactly in the same neighborhood! ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2004, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/egypt-in-march/236206/3 "2004-03-25T12:33:33Z")
Also note that - other than a tiny corner in the NW, the total eclipse doesn’t cross Egypt. See the map here: [http://sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse/SEplot/SEplot2001/SE2006Mar29T.gif](http://sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse/SEplot/SEplot2001/SE2006Mar29T.gif) Just in case you’re thinking, well it will be 95% total, which ought to be nearly as good - it won’t. Not even slightly. Make sure you’re in the zone of totality. I’m thinking of making a trip to see this one - it would be my fourth total eclipse, as I have been lucky enough to see them in 1999 (Hungary), 2001 (Zambia) and 2002 (Australia). They’re kind of addictive. 🙂 I’m not sure where the best place to see it will be - maybe, now that Gaddafi is so pally with Tony Blair, a trip to the desert of southern Libya, where the duration is longest… clear skies shouldn’t be a problem, either! Failing that, Turkey might be a good bet. I’m intrigued by Ghana too, but the weather might not be too good. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2004, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/egypt-in-march/236206/4 "2004-03-25T22:02:07Z")
Interesting. I understood that the eclipse was total right at the Libyan border - see [here](http://newton.physics.metu.edu.tr/~aat/TSE2006/Map4.jpg). As for Ghana, I was there in 1976, caught something and almost died. My idea is that while the eclipse itself is very brief, there are very many sites of interest in Egypt. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2004, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/egypt-in-march/236206/5 "2004-03-25T22:37:35Z")
Yes, you’re right - as I said, except for a tiny corner in the NW (ie on the Libyan border). I’m not sure how easy that area would be to get to… although that map you linked to shows a road along the coast right to the border. Interesting. ---
**Author:** ![ratatoskK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ratatoskk/32/2987_2.png) [@ratatoskK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ratatoskK)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2004, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/egypt-in-march/236206/6 "2004-03-25T22:55:16Z")
You should go, the weather will be perfect. I went 2 years ago in mid-February and it was great. At night in Cairo you might need a light jacket or sweater, but it’s warmer in Aswan, Luxor, etc., and by day you’ll be fine. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2004, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/egypt-in-march/236206/7 "2004-03-25T22:58:39Z")
I went to Luxor and the Valley around that time and it was excruciating. I lived in Cairo and the heat can be dealt with at that time of year, so the pyramids area won’t be too bad (except for the annoying vendors and “guides”). I don’t do well in the heat and found Luxor to be debilitating, and the Valley of The Kings to be even worse. Interesting, though. Take plenty of bottled water.