text: Arrival and orientation
  The Egypt volunteer program begins on the first and third Saturday of every month. You need to arrive in Cairo on the Friday before your chosen start date. The Egypt work week runs from Sunday to Thursday, with Fridays and Saturdays free.
  Cairo, Egypt’s sprawling capital, is set on the Nile River. At its heart is Tahrir Square and the vast Egyptian Museum, a trove of antiquities including royal mummies and gilded King Tutankhamun artifacts. Cairo is the capital and largest city of Egypt. The city’s metropolitan area is the largest in the Middle East and the Arab world, and 15th-largest in the world, and is associated with ancient Egypt, as the famous Giza pyramid complex and the ancient city of Memphis are located in its geographical area.
  Cairo has the oldest and largest film and music industry in the Arab world, as well as Egypt’s oldest institution of higher learning, Al-Azhar University. Many international media, businesses, and organizations have regional headquarters in the city; the Arab League has had its headquarters in Cairo for most of its existence.
  Program placements are located in and around Cairo.
  You’ll be hosted in a homestay where you’ll live with a local family or other participants. It is an exciting chance to learn the Egyptian way of life, meet local people, eat local food, speak the local language and engage in local customs and traditions. The families and the local hosts receive money from your program fee for support, food and board. This is an opportunity for you to directly see your fees having a positive impact in the community and going back into the local economy. Living is basic yet comfortable, and all homestays have electricity, WiFi and running water. Participants can expect to share a room with other participants of the same gender, however in some homestays participants have their own rooms.
  Participants are provided with breakfast, lunch and dinner every day, with all meals served at your homestay. Breakfast and dinners tend to be smaller portions with mixed platters including Foul Medames (Fava beans) Falafel (Also Fava beans in its core) with other side dishes such as fries, eggplant, fried/boiled eggs, cheese, and pickles and tea. Lunch is the bigger meal of the three, and can include a range of meats, breads, rice dishes, salads and vegetables.
  Bottled water is readily available in Egypt and participants should budget approximately $5 a week for two liters a day. If you have any special dietary requirements, please let us know when you apply for the program so we can make arrangements for you.
  On Saturday, orientation is taking place in Cairo and runs for a full day. Orientation covers everything you need to know for your volunteer program in Egypt – an introduction to Egypt, Egyptian customs, rules and expectations, safety, travel opportunities in Egypt, and an introduction to your project and placement. The orientation will also give you a chance to meet other volunteers and swap contact details for weekend travel and socializing.
  Egypt (Arabic: مصر ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country linking northeast Africa with the Middle East. Cairo is the capital and largest city of Egypt, while Alexandria, the second-largest city, is an important industrial and tourist hub at the Mediterranean coast. At approximately 100 million inhabitants, Egypt is the 14th-most populated country in the world, and the third-most populated in Africa.
  Egypt has one of the longest histories of any country, tracing its heritage along the Nile Delta back to the 6th–4th millennia BCE. Considered a cradle of civilisation, Ancient Egypt saw some of the earliest developments of writing, agriculture, urbanization, organized religion and central government. Egypt’s long and rich cultural heritage is an integral part of its national identity, which reflects its unique transcontinental location being simultaneously Mediterranean, Middle Eastern and North African.
  Egypt is a recognised cultural trendsetter of the Arabic-speaking world. Contemporary Arabic and Middle-Eastern culture is heavily influenced by Egyptian literature, music, film and television. Egypt gained a regional leadership role during the 1950s and 1960s, giving a further enduring boost to the standing of Egyptian culture in the Arabic-speaking world.
  Essential country information
  Weather and climate
  Throughout Egypt, days are commonly warm or hot, and nights are cool. Egypt has only two seasons: a mild winter from November to April and a hot summer from May to October. The only differences between the seasons are variations in daytime temperatures and changes in prevailing winds.
  In the coastal regions, temperatures range between an average minimum of 14°C in winter and an average maximum of 30°C in summer.
  Temperatures vary widely in the inland desert areas, especially in summer, when they may range from 7°C at night to 43°C during the day. During winter, temperatures in the desert fluctuate less dramatically, but they can be as low as o°C at night and as high as 18°C during the day.
  Throughout the Delta and the northern Nile Valley, there are occasional winter cold spells accompanied by light frost and even snow. Egypt receives fewer than eighty millimeters of precipitation annually in most areas. Most rain falls along the coast.
  A phenomenon of Egypt’s climate is the hot spring wind that blows across the country. The winds, known as the khamsin, usually arrive in April but occasionally occur in March and May. The winds reach high velocities and carry great quantities of sand and dust. These sandstorms, often accompanied by winds of up to 140 kilometers an hour, can cause temperatures to rise as much as 20°C in two hours.
  Affordable Arabic Language Lessons
  Arabic language lessons can be arranged outside of your Internship/Volunteering hours and are taught by local Arabic teachers. lessons can be booked in advance:
  Free-time experiences & tours in Egypt
  Al Masar Experiences & Tours In Egypt
  Available exclusively to Al Masar participants, these must-do experiences and tours can easily be added to your trip!
  The price of these add-on are based on you having a Jordan Pass. If you decide not to purchase a Jordan Pass, you will need to pay the additional entry fee for the places you will be visiting while doing the tour.
  Trip to North Jordan (Um Qais, Ajloun and Jerash)
  Mount Nebo Trip to Dead Sea Lunch Dead sea
  Trip to The Baptismal Site of Jesus Christ and and Ma'in Hot Springs Without Lunch
  Two days Petra and Wadi Rum
  3 days (Petra wadi Rum and Aqaba)
  Egypt programs prices
  Duration | Program Fees |
  1 Week | $629 Equivalent to $89/day |
  2 Weeks | 839 Equivalent to $59/day |
  3 Weeks | $1049 Equivalent to $49/day |
  4 Weeks | $1259 Equivalent to $44/day |
  5 Weeks | $1469 Equivalent to $41/day |
  6 Weeks | $1679 Equivalent to $39/day |
  8 Weeks | $2099 Equivalent to $37/day |
  10 Weeks | $2519 Equivalent to $35/day |
  12 Weeks | $2939 Equivalent to $34/day |
  Important things to note
  All programs attract a Registration Fee of US$150 in addition to the Program Fee. This covers all pre-departure support services.
  Additional things to budget for include: Visa, flights, travel insurance (mandatory), vaccinations, criminal background check, public transport to and from your placement each day and return to the airport when your program finishes.
  Recommended spending money: Volunteers in Egypt generally find US$50 to be sufficient for basic weekly expenses..