Experience with the Sim block
Our experience coming to Egypt so far is mixed. The NTRA Telephony policy is to not block foreign Sim cards that are roaming. This doesn't seem to be the case. Our phones used Egyptian Sim cards last year and this year neither roaming or an Egyptian Sim card works.
Called the hotline with a borrowed phone and submitted a ticket and then proceeded to provide the information on WhatsApp. There is no timeline and it's already been 4 days without any answers. When I told them that my Canadian Sim card was blocked on the network they said that it will continue to be blocked until the ticket is resolved which is against their policy.
Be careful out there!