If spring time has come and you're planning a trip to the mystical land of tales of ancient tales and legends, Egypt, then you should keep in mind a few health precautions to ensure the fulfilment and enjoyment of your lifetime fantasy and dream to visit Egypt.

Vaccines:

I must tell you it's highly advisable that you take the following vaccines, as they're the most important & necessary. :

• measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine,
• diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis vaccine,
• varicella (chickenpox) vaccine,
• polio vaccine,
• flu vaccine (your annual dose)

Also there are vaccines recommended to people who like experimenting local food, drinks & water, or those who're going to be staying at a friends place.

• Hepatits A : This one you should take whether you're staying at a hotel or someone's place. It's a virus that can be transmitted through contaminated foods or drinks.
• Typhoid : Get this one if you're planning to stay at someone's place.

Also here are some extras :

• Rabies vaccine : If you're an adventurer who likes to get involved in activities such as camping in the desert or hiking. Also for kids, it might be necessary, should they get bitten while interacting with some animal.
• Yellow fever : For those coming from certain countries this vaccine is required by the authorities in Egypt. Mainly these countries include : Angola, Cameroon, Brazil, Argentina and others.

What about food and drinks?

To all those risk-takers and fans of exploring different cultures, please read very well, what I'm about to write.

It's highly advisable, that you eat only well cooked food, that's served to you hot. Stay away from food presented to you at room temperature. I don't recommend that you eat from any food carts or street vendors. About eggs, they better be hard cooked , not raw or runny. As for veggies and fruits, don't go for them unless they've been peeled and washed by yourself or whoever's with you.

Now let's talk about water and drinks. Ready? Don't come close to tap water, please, unless you're going to wash your face or take a shower. Only drink from sealed water bottles, as it's surely disinfected. Make sure any coffee or hot drinks you're going to have are prepared using water that's been disinfected. Make sure the milk you drink, if you decide to do so, is pasteurized.

Should I take any meds with me on the trip to Egypt?

Not really. We have all kinds of pharmaceutical products here. If you start having diarrhea all of a sudden, some hours after a meal, go to the nearest pharmacy and ask for Flagyl 500, Amrizole 500 or Antinal capsules. One capsule every 12 hours for 3 days will be more than enough. As for colics, Visceralgine tabs is one of the best products in my opinion.

Also we have :

Panadol: for headaches and fever
Cataflam: for all kinds of pain as well as headaches and fever.

Don't let the Mosquitoes bite 

The problem with mosquitoes is they're annoying and not just that. Most importantly they can cause you a lot of health issues via transmitting diseases which have no vaccines or antidotes, so its extremely vital to have a tough defense mechanism against that troublesome flying bloodsucker. Don't you agree.

Use products in which DEET is the main active constituent. In Egypt, the most popular product is Off spray, which you'll find available at all pharmacies and retail stores. It's currently 70 pounds, by the way.

So, let's say you got bitten by a mosquito. What do you do? Apply any cream product containing Hydrocortisone, such as Betnovate, Dermovate, Cutivate or Momenta, which acts as an anti-inflammatory. Another option or additional treatment would be Calamine lotion which relieves the itching sensation, largely. Apply it to the bitten areas of your skin, and hopefully you'll get better within a short period of time.

Finally, it's very important, to carry with you, a list of the doctors and health centers located proximally to where you'll be staying, in Egypt. Check the list of meds not allowed by the Egyptian ministry of health by contacting the Egyptian embassy at your country, prior to coming. Bring a collections of pharmaceutical OTC products that always come handy when you're facing a medical problem, with which you're familiar.

What should I wear?

That completely depends on the season during which you're visiting Egypt. If its summertime. Don't bring any heavy clolthes with you. Light stuff only. Shorts, shirts, sleeveless chemises, thin pants. That's all cool. Also sunglasses and a sunscreen with an SPF that's at least 15, would be quiet necessary, so keep it in mind. We have quiet high temperatures, during the day, yet at night the heat drops down and the weather gets really nice and relaxing.

On the other hand, the winter's moderately cool here, with some relatively chilly days, so I suppose and heavy jacket and some pullovers would be abundant.

Inside Cairo's Timeless Suburbs

Many tourists visit Egypt every year with goals that include visiting historical sites, the beautiful nature, the museums and trying the yummy food. That's all fabulous and worth flying for days to see - without a doubt - but how about a cultural walk in Egypt's old streets. Am talking about streets that date back to the 1900s and maybe way before that.

I'm going to tell you about some of the most wonderful and interesting neighborhoods in Egypt, some of which were built decades ago and if you ever go to the Egypt make sure you spare one or two days just to take a walk in one or two of these neighborhoods that I'm going to talk to you about. Hope you enjoy the trip.

Zamalek

How can one possibly describe the beauty of Zamalek? It's both an island surrounded by The Nile from every angle, connected to the rest of Cairo by bridges, and at the same time it's quiet and exciting luxurious neighborhood pumped up with life, energy, the best restaurants, cafés and bars as well as fashion stores.

During the reign of Khedive Ismail the island of Zamalek was designed to be a place to embrace exotic plants from all over the world. Today, you can observe the essence of 19th century architecture imprinted on the very soul and appearance of each building in this beautiful neighborhood.

Should you ever go there, I highly recommend you visit the Cairo Opera house and El Sawy cultural wheel centre which are among the major venues of music and different performing arts.

The main attractions of Zamalek also include:

• Cairo tower
• Museum of Islamic ceramics
• All Saints' Cathedral
• Faculty of fine arts

Maadi

How about I take you for a dazzling walk in another one of Cairo's outstanding suburbs, Maadi. Built in the early 1900s, it gained its name, in accordance to many old residents, from a story related to ferry boats that cross people from one river bank to the other.

Maadi, which is quiet famous for its vast green areas and calm atmosphere of peace and serenity, is home for many international expatriate and upper class Egyptians. Several embassies are located there such as those of Cuba, Argentina, Peru, Senegal and South Africa.

The planning of Maadi was carried out by Captain Alexander J. Adams, a retired Canadian army officer. The signature appearance of several houses, buildings and streets in the town, today, are the result of his perspective and ideas.

During the second world war, the main camp of the New Zealand's army forces was held in Maadi until the war ended.

If you ever go there, make sure take a walk in the Sarayat El Maadi area that is known for its the peaceful and luxurious. Wonderful trees everywhere, birds chirping, a great place to wake up go running or biking. It's just amazing. Also Street 9, where all the action lies, should be among your destinations there. You'll find the best cafés, restaurants, international cuisine or even bookstores

Heliopolis

Among the most affluent districts of upper Cairo, Masr El Gedeeda was constructed under the lead of Baron Empain, head of the Heliopolis Oasis company on 1905. It was originally planned to be a separate town from Cairo, but later on became a part of it.

Some of the most luxurious sporting clubs are located there such as Heliopolis sporting club, which was built a century ago.

It is home to several historical churches, mosques and a Jewish synagogue.

It is where Cairo international airport stands today, and when you're there make sure you take a picture of Baron Empain's palace that was designed in a South Eastern style inspired by Indian & Cambodian temples.

Many politicians and celebrities are Heliopolis residents. Athletes too, as well as foreigners

Garden city

Despite being located minutes from Cairo's busy and crowded downtown "Wust El balad", Garden City tends to be one of the calmest neighborhoods, you'll ever step foot in. It's as tranquil and magical as a mellow village in Western Europe. Perhaps that's related to Khedive Ismail's will to bring Europe to the pumping heart of Cairo & thus we have this beauty called Garden City today.

There you'll find several embassies such those of the UK, USA and Italy.

There is no doubt we've all watched a movie about mummies and their spooky tales or even heard about it. For decades theories and mystifying puzzles have been roaming around the one and only curse of the Pharaohs.

The gossip about this ever lasting debatable myth started around the 1920s upon the discovery of King Tutankhamun's tomb in the Luxor by British archaeologist Howard Carter. The mysterious deaths of two experts who were involved in the great finding, some weeks later, both by poisoning created the questioned link between being exposed to a mummy and losing one's life days after the confrontation.

Is there a scientific explanation?
More or less there have been attempts to understand this bizarre enigma by men of science and knowledge which led to some believing the alleged curse is nothing more than a trap of some sort designed by the ancient Egyptian to protect their mummified kings and queens, using certain bacterial strains, poison or perhaps even other methodologies.

Usually, there's a text inscribed somewhere on the tomb's inside in hieroglyphics explaining the fate of the intruder, should he or she decide to bother the peaceful king laying down there.

Not long after Howard Carter and his crew opened the tomb of King Tut, did the deaths amongst his team members start conquering the headlines of newspapers all around the world & thus triggering a flame of worldwide passion about Ancient Egypt and the curse of its kings.

The first unusual incident was reported when a messenger sent by Egyptologist, James Henry Breasted, to Howard Carter's residence, spotted a cobra snake inside his bird's cage, surrounding it. The bird was eaten, and thus that was one of the story, based on which the curse of the Pharaohs saw the sun and gossip began.

Six weeks after the opening of King Tut's tomb the first death among the team of discoverers, involved in the marvelous discovery took place. Lord Carnarvon, lost his life as a result of intoxication some days prior to a mosquito bite. Many thought this was a penalty or punishment for disturbing the peace of the tomb, and it's still unexplainable.

Here are the names of some of the victims of the mysterious curse. All of these deaths were connected to the fact that these people were exposed to King Tut's mummy, at some point.

• Lord Carnarvon: The silent partner and financer of Howard Carter's exploration and journey to find the tomb of King Tut.
• Georges Benedite : French Egyptologist known for discovering the tomp of Akethetep at Saqquara, passed away not so long after paying a visit to King Tutankhamun.
• Hugh Evelyn-White: an archaeologist who took part in the excavation of the king Tut's tomb. It's thought that he took his own life, as a result of feeling super frightened of the curse plus the fact that many of his friends who were on members of the discovery team had died earlier after the tomb was found. He was found, hung, with nothing but a letter left behind saying: "I have succumbed to a curse which forces me to disappear".
• Richard Bethell ( Carter's personal secretary) died on 1929 seven years after the discovery, as a result of a respiratory disease.
• Radiologist Archibald Douglas Reed who was responsible for carrying out an X-ray examination of King Tut's mummy before it was sent to the museum. This guy passed away three days after the examination.
• Gamal Mehrez, a former director of antiquities who died from a heart attack.

Well there you go. Don't say you weren't warned. Remember this. Sundays are the usually the week day on which the curse take its toll and takes a life of whoever comes to disturb the peace of a Pharaoh especially Tutankhamun, but also keep in mind, its not entirely accurate, for Howard Carter the leader of the big discovered lived a long life, and had a totally normal death. So worry not, unless it’s a Sunday and you're somewhere near King Tut. :P