Sights and sounds of Cairo
Jan 06 '01
I was lucky enough to go to Cairo several years ago and it was an experience that I won't soon forget.
While the city over all is hugely crowded and noisy, the people are among the most friendly that I have had the pleasure to encounter.
The hotel selection is above adequate and the activities are varried from the mundain to the exotic.
I arrived at Cairo International Airport and was promptly met by a swarm of taxi drivers who offered services from transport to the hotel where I had reservations to hiring out as guide and driver for the duration of my stay.
I stayed at a grand old hotel that had seen it's hey day in probably the 1930's or so and kept the motif since then. The name escapes me at the moment, I believe that it was the Cosmopolitan. The rooms were clean and air conditioned with high ceilings and private bath. The dining room was spacious and offered an excellent morning bufet and dinner selections from burgers to traditional Middle-Eastern foods and delicacies. I highly recommend the stuffed baked pidgeon (it's a bit greasy but extremely good)and all of the staff were plesant, courteous and helpful
(even to a somewhat surly jet lagged traveler such as I was upon arrival)
I have been warned not to drink the tap water (and don't forget that ice cubes are usually tap water) but I didn't have to worry about that often as bottled water is easy to find and quite reasonably priced.
A sunset sail up and down the Nile is an amazing site not to be missed and you can easilly find a ride along the shore in the middle of the city.
Khan Al Khalili is one of the largest and possibly oldest market areas in the middle east (most definitely in Cairo and almost as certainly in Egypt) If you are looking for something you can almost certainly find it here. Bring US dollars with you in small denominations as you can get an amazing discount that way as well as reducing the haggle time. Most shops will haggle or even barter over price for ages and it is expected as well. Cairo has expanded so much that it now takes in the valley of the kings as well where you can see the Sphinx, the pyramids, and many other wonders. When you go be ware of the cammel guides. One of the favorite ploys is to get you to get on the cammel for a photo and then have it stand up. Some of the less scrupulous ones will take the picture and not let the cammel down again until you have given him a tip or agreed to a tour of the valley on cammel back.
There is security evrywhere looking very military. They are called by the name of tourist police and the purpose of them is mainly to keep the tourists safe from getting mobbed by vendors and the like. The history of Islam and civilization weighs heavilly here in Egypt and Cairo and there are many museums open to the public as well as some of the mosques.
Local guides are easier to find than sand at the beach, most are reputable but it is advised to not pay until after the day is over and you are back at the hotel. Egypt is quite westernized in it's tollerance and even has a brewery. The standards are so so and the beer varried widely from batch to batch but it is aceptable over all if you want to try it. It is called STELLA and carries the motto "That which does not kill us makes us stronger." Import beers as well as spirits are a bit expensive and easiest to find at the large chain hotels such as the Mariot.
The dessert can get chilly after the sun goes down so bring a light jacket but make sure to bring a good hat and sun screen as well to reduce chance of rapid sun burn during the day (it's like a microwave sunburn during the summer months if you are fair complected)
Arts and crafts of all sorts are offered at almost each turn and the method for most of the sellers is "come into my store and let me give you one of my cards"
Between the history, the prices, and the people I found Cairo to be one of the most facinating places that I have seen in my wanderings across the world so far (but then again I still have a lot of area to cover outside Europe and the middle east).
P.S.
If for some reason you run into problems or troubble the US embasy happens to be located in Cairo as well as embasies of most other countries.
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Member: Will Young
Location: Bellevue, NE
Reviews written: 205
Trusted by: 32 members
About Me:
36, voracious reader, lover of good wines and beers and bad puns
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