Deserve a medal for leaving the hotel on my own

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Geo: 30.0571, 31.2272

Had a sleep in, bit nervous about venturing out of my room. Maybe I'll hibernate for a few days until my tour starts. Was woken up by constant beeping- its going to drive me crazy. Got a taxi to the citadel. The cars here are bombs, full of dents and polluting the air. The 20 minute drive was an experience- but no need to worry, the driver had a seatbelt to wear- I didn't! Cairo seems very dirty, crazy traffic, lots of near misses, seems like half the buildings are about to crumble, too many men around- hopefully because it is a Sunday.
Made it to the citadel okay. Egypt's rulers once lived here (among the dust and rubble?). There are three mosques here and building began in 1176. The main one attraction is Mohammed Ali mosque, which has a huge chandelier in the middle and lots of lights. Quite pretty inside. First mosque I've even been to, so far, so good. Had lunch at the cafe and ordered a hamburger- 1 piece of meat and two slices of shriveled cucumber, out with the cucumber and in with the tomato sauce. I really hope this food will agree with me. The citadel was a peaceful place, didn't notice the beeping of cars.
On the way back to the hotel saw lots of men smoking sheesha. There are men everywhere, hardly any kids or women- feels quite uncomfortable. Just near my hotel we drove past KFC!! That's where I'll be going for dinner.
Sat on my balcony, breathed in polluted air and wrote in my journal. Went for a walk along the Nile. Am sick of men saying 'Welcome' as they obviously look me up and down. Today has been cloudy, but now the sky is blue. Sat in bed eating KFC and watching local soaps. Few more observations;
- bus drivers don't close the doors so you can jump off and on wherever you like
- there mustn't be coins here, have lots of notes worth nothing
- most money is really old and dirty

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Photos

01 Mohammed Ali Mosque
This is the outside of the mosque.

02 View from Coptic Cairo
The suburbs of Cairo.

03 Inside
Inside the mosque.

04 Inside
The niche of the mosque.

05 More mosques
Two nearby mosques.

06 The Nile
This is the view 1 block from my hotel.

07 Cairo Tower
The Nile with the Cairo Tower.

08 Traffic jam on the bridge
It was so much quicker to walk than catch public transport.