Islamic Cairo
Written: May 17 '00
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Product Rating:
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Pros: We got to see more of the city, including places that most people don't see
Cons: I would have liked a couple more days in Cairo
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| azielinski's Full Review: Cairo |
At the end of two weeks of running around all around the Nile Valley, I spent one more day in Cairo. This was not enough. I had wanted to see the sights of Islamic Cairo and Coptic Cairo but had to choose one. A small group of us decided to see Islamic Cairo.
Although we stayed at a different hotel when we first arrived in Cairo, for this part of the trip, we stayed at the New President Hotel. This hotel is located on the island of Zamalek (the city is on both banks of the Nile as well as some islands in the Nile). Zamalek is a very nice area of Cairo. The hotel was clean and safe and had more of the avocado fixtures that we all enjoyed during the 70’s. Outside of the hotel, taxis were available for hire.
We got a taxi for the day, so we could go to where we wanted to go and not have to worry about getting return transportation at each stop. There were four of us and we negotiated a price of £60 (total) for the day.
Our first stop was the Citadel. This is a fortress that once housed the government of Cairo. There are several museums and some mosques. We were only interested in the mosques.
We went into two mosques and wandered around the garden areas. (Check your guidebook for detailed info on what you are looking at. The layout is a little confusing.) We also took a wrong turn and ended up by the army museum but passed on that.
We got back to our cab to find that the driver had been joined by the dispatcher (in addition to the driver’s son, who was his interpreter). After the Citadel, we had expressed and interest in going to the City of the Dead.
The City of the Dead is a cemetery. Rather than being made up of graves, through, it is made up of tombs (meaning little courtyards and houses that housed the bodies of people long dead). Between the over crowding in the city, poverty, and the fact that after an earthquake several years ago, there were many refugees – people have moved in to these tombs and have homes there. Frankly, it is not somewhere I would want to live but it is a thriving community. The people are poor but they have their shops and markets right by their homes. They have electricity. (I didn’t ask about other city services, like sewers.)
Anyhow, we were driven through the City of the Dead and the dispatcher insisted on treating us to coffee/tea and sweets at a little café in the City. The café was right in the market area and it is easy to forget that this was once a cemetery. It is very lively.
Cate was interested in buying some papyrus and wanted to go back to the store that we had originally seen two weeks before. The dispatcher wanted to take us to another place that he knew of. We kept insisting on the store we wanted. There was a lot of back and forth and he actually took us to the place he wanted to take us to but we didn’t buy anything there (Cate was after a very specific painting) and eventually we got to the shop we wanted. (If you are interested, the shop we went to is: Khattab Center, 38 Pyramids Street, Giza.)
Armed with our papyrus, our last stop was the Cairo Tower. I will tell you right off that it is kind of cheesy. However, it gives you a chance to see all of Cairo spread out before you. As the city is very large, that is a nice thing. Also, if you are lucky, you will be able to make out the pyramids of Giza. Some of those photos did come out.
***Tips***
When we were negotiating the taxi, since there were two men with us, the taxi driver and his dispatcher only dealt with them. Cate and I were completely ignored. This could have been very annoying but we decided that it was pretty funny (more on that later).
You must be covered to enter the mosques and their courtyards. When you get there someone will check you to make sure you are decently covered. If you aren’t they will give you a rather hideous green caftan like thing to wear over your clothes. They only have a few so you may have to wait to get your chance at the caftan. Decently covered means trousers or a skirt that goes below your knees. It also means that your shoulders and upper arms are covered and that no cleavage is showing.
You also need to take off your shoes to enter the mosque and the courtyard. You can leave them at the door or take them with you. They will be safe at the door but there are several other doors you might want to throw them in your bag.
When we went papyrus shopping we eventually got to where we wanted to go, after much argument with the cab dispatcher. Cate and I did all the talking and our male friends wanted no part of this. The dispatcher tried to make them his allies but failed. The end result of all of this was that we went were we wanted to shop and got exactly what we wanted. After that the dispatcher and driver ignored the men and looked to the females in the party for instruction.
The air in Cairo is bad. Visibility is also bad. Partly it is pollution. Partly it is dust and sand. You are near the desert.
In Egypt people will tell you shwhya, shwhya (sp.). It means slowly, slowly. Partly it is because of the heat. Partly it is because they don’t race around like we tend to. It is kind of nice.
Recommended:
Yes
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azielinski
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Location: Boston, MA
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Just started a new job...I'll be writing again soon.
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