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Post and phones
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The
central post office
on Midan Ataba (daily except Fri 8am-6pm; during Ramadan daily 9am-4pm) and other main branches (daily except Fri 8.30am-3pm; during Ramadan daily 9am-3pm) are often extremely crowded. Mail can be sent to Ataba's
poste restante
(daily except Fri 8am-6pm, Fri 8am-noon; Ramadan 9am-4pm; Poste Restante, Post Office Ataba, 11511 Cairo). Go to counter #10 (signposted "Private boxes"), where they hold mail for a month, with no charge to collect - just be sure to bring your passport. They are prone to file letters under the wrong name, but it helps if your surname is underlined and highlighted on anything sent to you. Problems are less likely to occur if you have mail sent
c/o American Express
on Sharia Qasr el-Nil however, this service is only for holders of Amex cards or Amex travellers' cheques.
Although letters posted in the lobby of the Nile Hilton are said to arrive faster than those dropped in ordinary mailboxes (painted blue for overseas mail), airmail letters can still take two weeks to reach Europe, and three weeks to the US. However, Ataba's express mail service - opposite the Poste Restante - (daily except Fri 8am-7pm) promises delivery to Europe and the US in two days; items under 100 grammes cost ?E38-50, plus a dubious ?E5 charge for "customs-clearing". Any post office can send registered letters . It's quicker to buy stamps from hotel shops or cigarette kiosks, which charge about 5pt above normal rates (?E1.25 for a postcard/letter to anywhere in the world).
Parcels
can only be sent abroad from the Ramses Square post office, where unsealed packages must be inspected by customs before weighing and sealing. The overseas rate is about ?E4 a kilo. Anyone
receiving parcels
in Egypt should beware of
import duty
(for example, ?E40 on a pair of contact lenses). If you really want to be sure of receiving a pakage, DHL couriers have an office in Garden City at 21 Gamal el-Abu el-Maasen (tel 355-7301). Other useful information
for tourists (each section contains more specific sub-sections): |
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Egypt,
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