Cross Egypt Challenge (or simply CEC) is an annual cross-country endurance

motorcycle A motorcycle (motorbike, bike; uni (if one-wheeled); trike (if three-wheeled); quad (if four-wheeled)) is a lightweight private 1-to-2 passenger personal motor vehicle Steering, steered by a Motorcycle handlebar, handlebar from a saddle-style ...

and scooter rally conducted throughout the most difficult and challenging roads and tracks of

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

. The rally is open to amateur and professional riders from around the globe. The distance of the rally ranges between 2500 and 3000 km but with a different route every year. Participants usually ride from 200 to 500 km per day.

History

Cross Egypt Challenge started in the year 2011 when one night in

Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...

, Ahmad Elzoghby, Founder of the Cross Egypt Challenge, was enjoying a normal evening with his cousins when one of them suggested they should take a trip to Sharm El Sheikh – on their scooters. The idea of traveling to another city by scooter intrigued Elzoghby. Few days later, at another get together with his cousins, he proposed a daring idea. “I thought if we could go to Sharm Elsheikh, we could go anywhere else, scooter rallies are organised all over the world, but nothing like this had ever been done in Egypt. And there is no reason why we should not have an event like that here; we have the space, a beautiful country and great places to visit.” The declining tourist numbers after the revolution worried Elzoghby and the Cross Egypt Challenge seemed a good idea to generate international media interest. “After the revolution, the global media focussed mainly on the problems Egypt was having, creating the impression that Egypt had stopped being safe,” he explained. “Yes, we are facing big challenges but for the most part Egypt is a safe place to be. I wanted to show the world that it is possible to travel across the country on a scooter and arrive safely.” The international media loved the idea, and stories were carried by the likes of BBC, National Geographic and Discovery Channel. After the success of the challenge in its first year back in 2011, Elzoghby and his team decided that they would turn the Cross Egypt Challenge into an annual event.

2011 Edition

The first season of Cross Egypt challenge took place between October 14 and 22, 2015, and was a 9 days ride from the shores of the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...

in the North of Egypt to the temple of

Abu Simbel Abu Simbel is a historic site comprising two massive Rock-cut architecture, rock-cut Egyptian temple, temples in the village of Abu Simbel (village), Abu Simbel (), Aswan Governorate, Upper Egypt, near the border with Sudan. It is located on t ...

, on the southern borders of Egypt with a total distance of about 1700 km. 15 riders from 3 different countries took place in the 2011 season in which 14 were able to complete the challenge successfully. The challenge began at the site of the modern

Bibliotheca Alexandrina The Bibliotheca Alexandrina (Latin, 'Library of Alexandria'; , ) (BA) is a major library and cultural center on the shore of the Mediterranean Sea in Alexandria, Egypt. It is a commemoration of the Library of Alexandria, once one of the larg ...

in the ancient city of Alexandria, passed by the

Great Pyramids of Giza The Giza pyramid complex (also called the Giza necropolis) in Egypt is home to the Great Pyramid, the pyramid of Khafre, and the pyramid of Menkaure, along with their associated pyramid complexes and the Great Sphinx. All were built during the ...

in Cairo, and crossed the

Nile River The Nile (also known as the Nile River or River Nile) is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa. It has historically been considered the longest river i ...

and the

Suez Canal The Suez Canal (; , ') is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, Indo-Mediterranean, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia (and by extension, the Sinai Peninsula from the rest ...

on the way to the eastern Egyptian border at Taba. The riders head south to the cities of Neuwebaa and

Dahab Dahab (, , "gold") is a small town on the southeast coast of the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt, approximately northeast of Sharm el-Sheikh. Dahab can be divided into three major parts. Masbat, which includes the Bedouin village of Asalah, in the nor ...

before reaching the world famous resort city of Sharm El Sheikh. They then took a ferry across the Gulf of Suez to

Hurghada Hurghada (; ', ) is a coastal city that serves as the largest city and capital of the Red Sea Governorate of Egypt. Hurghada has grown from a small fishing village to one of the largest resort destinations along the Red Sea coast, stretching c ...

and continued their journey to the legendary city of

Luxor Luxor is a city in Upper Egypt. Luxor had a population of 263,109 in 2020, with an area of approximately and is the capital of the Luxor Governorate. It is among the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited c ...

; the world largest open-air museum, where they rode down the avenue of the sphinxes to reach the magnificent temple of

Karnak The Karnak Temple Complex, commonly known as Karnak (), comprises a vast mix of temples, pylons, chapels, and other buildings near Luxor, Egypt. Construction at the complex began during the reign of Senusret I (reigned 1971–1926 BC) in the ...

. The team continued to

Aswan Aswan (, also ; ) is a city in Southern Egypt, and is the capital of the Aswan Governorate. Aswan is a busy market and tourist centre located just north of the Aswan Dam on the east bank of the Nile at the first cataract. The modern city ha ...

and further south to end the journey in front of the most famous temple of Ramses II,

, on the shores of

Lake Nasser Lake Nasser ( ', ) is a large reservoir (water), reservoir in southern Egypt and northern Sudan. It was created by the construction of the Aswan Dam, Aswan High Dam and is one of the List of reservoirs by volume, largest man-made lakes in the wo ...

2012 Edition

The 2012 season of Cross Egypt Challenge began on October 12, 2012 and lasted for 8 days. The season witnessed a 2400 km route starting from Egypt's capital and the home of the famous

Tahrir Square Tahrir Square (, ; ), also known as Martyr Square, is a public town square in downtown Cairo, Egypt. The square has been the location and focus for political demonstrations. The 2011 Egyptian revolution and the resignation of President of Egypt, ...

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

then head toward the coastal city of

before going west to the city of Marsa Matrouh. From Marsa Matrouh, the riders rode south and explored the most fascinating oases of the Egyptian Sahara; Siwa, Bahareya, Farafra, Dakhla and Kharga before arriving to the final destination,

, the world's largest open-air museum. The 2012 season had 25 riders 10 different countries. 24 in which were able to complete the challenge successfully.

2013 Edition

The 2013 season started on November 8, 2013 and lasted for 9 days. The total distance of the 2013 route was 2400 km and started from the Mediterranean city of

; passed by Egypt's capital,

, made stops at the Western Desert Oases of Bahareya, Farafra, Dakhla, and Kharga, then head east towards

, and Sokhna before ending the journey in

at the foot of the

. 44 riders from 11 different countries took place in the 2013 season of Cross Egypt Challenge.

2014 Edition

The fourth season of Cross Egypt Challenge started on November 14, 2014 and lasted for 9 days. The 2014’s 3000 km route started from the Mediterranean city of

; passed by Egypt's capital,

, made stops at Ain Sokhna, El

Gouna Gouna is a village and rural commune in Niger Niger, officially the Republic of the Niger, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is a unitary state Geography of Niger#Political geography, bordered by Libya to the Libya–Niger border, ...

Marsa Alam Marsa Alam ( ' , Classical Arabic ) is a tourist List of cities and towns in Egypt, town in south-eastern Egypt, located on the western shore of the Red Sea. It is described as a "popular" tourist destination. Marsa Alam is a relatively recently ...

before crossing the Egyptian Eastern Desert towards

and

, then made went deep south to

at the southern borders of

before heading north by the Nile Valley towards Assiout and then ending the journey in

under the

. 52 riders from 11 different countries took place in the 4th season of Cross Egypt Challenge, 48 of which were able to complete the challenge successfully.

2015 Edition

The 2015 and fifth anniversary season of Cross Egypt Challenge started on October 23, 2015 and lasted for 9 days. The 2,725 km route began from the Mediterranean's largest coastal city,

then passed through the Capital -

- en route to the

Red Sea The Red Sea is a sea inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. Its connection to the ocean is in the south, through the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait and the Gulf of Aden. To its north lie the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and th ...

's resort Sokhna before going South to visit the amazing resort cities of Sahl Hashish and

on the Red Sea shore. The challenge then headed west to the

Nile valley The Nile (also known as the Nile River or River Nile) is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa. It has historically been considered the longest river i ...

to visit the ancient city of

, the world's largest open-air museum city, and the capital of Ancient Egypt where the participants spent two days in celebration for the rally's 5th anniversary. From

the riders headed North-west to explore some of the most fascinating oasis of the Egyptian

Sahara The Sahara (, ) is a desert spanning across North Africa. With an area of , it is the largest hot desert in the world and the list of deserts by area, third-largest desert overall, smaller only than the deserts of Antarctica and the northern Ar ...

(desert). A total number of 3 oases were explored en route before the final leg of the 2015 season of Cross Egypt Challenge took place between Bahareya Oasis and

to end the new season at the most sacred place in Egypt, under the

2016 Edition

The 2016 season of Cross Egypt Challenge returned back to the Egyptian western desert after 2 years of absence and included a 2,700 km route finished in 9 days. The 2016 route Started from

at the shores of the Mediterranean Sea and went through the Egyptian western desert, the Nile valley, the Egyptian eastern desert and the Red Sea Riviera before heading back north and finishing the season in the most sacred place in Egypt, under the

2017 Edition

The 2017 season of Cross Egypt Challenge featured a great route that span over 8 stages and 2,500 km. The 2017 route started from

and went through the Mediterranean coast, the Red Sea Riviera, Egyptian eastern desert, Egyptian western desert and the Nile valley before finishing the season in the most sacred place in Egypt, under the

2018 Edition

The 2018 season of Cross Egypt Challenge featured a fantastic route that span over 7 stages and 2,475 km. The 2018 route started from

2019 Edition

The 2019 season of Cross Egypt Challenge featured a fantastic route that span over 7 stages and 2,320 km. The 2019 route started from

and went through the Mediterranean coast, the Nile Valley, Egyptian eastern deserts, and the Red Sea Riviera before finishing the season in the most sacred place in Egypt, under the

. Cross Egypt Challenge is considered the only organized cross-country rally of its kind in the entire region and combines the best of adventure travel and

extreme sport Action sports, adventure sports or extreme sports are physical activity, activities perceived as involving a high degree of risk of injury or death. These activities often involve speed, height, a high level of physical exertion and highly speci ...

. Each season of the endurance rally introduces a new route throughout the most famous spots of Egypt. Tens of adventure riders fly to Egypt yearly to take part of the famous challenge.

List of participants

2011 participants

2012 participants

2013 participants

2014 participants

2015 participants

2016 participants

2017 participants

2018 participants

2019 participants

Television coverage

* October 2011: Aljazeera Documentary Channel produced a full-length documentary about the first season of Cross Egypt Challenge. However, due to production issues at the channel, the movie was aired in June 2014. The film crew followed the riders of the first season as they travelled through Egypt on their scooters and documented their journey from day to day and from town to town. Link to the full movie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHEljtydvpE * September 2011: National Geographic radio conducted a radio interview with Ahmad Elzoghby of Cross Egypt Challenge to speak about the initiative and what their plans for the future are. Link to the full episode: https://web.archive.org/web/20150810163427/http://radio.nationalgeographic.com/radio/ng-weekend-archives/1139/ * November 2014: Egyptian TV station CBC broadcast a short documentary about the 2014 season of Cross Egypt Challenge Link to the documentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RonYqHddY3w * December 2014: Interview with Ahmad Elzoghby, founder of Cross Egypt Challenge to speak about the recently finished 2014 season of Cross Egypt Challenge on Sabah ON morning show on Egyptian TV station OnTV. Link to the interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDG50FrJmdw * February 2015: Famous Egyptian sport program "Doos Banzeen" on Mehwar ChannelDoos Banzeen on Mehwar Channel
- February 13, 2015 dedicated an episode about the 2014 season of Cross Egypt Challenge. Link to the episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYAgaDirv0o

Incidents

Australian rider died in 2016