Advertisement
You don’t visit Cairo. You’re attacked by it. The heat, the 20 million people, the traffic & the smog all hit you as soon as you leave the airport. However after the chaos with the volcanic ash, I was delighted to be anywhere other than Ireland. From buses to London, to flights to obscure Polish towns my mind had been racing with alternative ways to start the trip.
There was a traditional Egyptian welcome on arrival at the hostel: Egyptian tea, ridiculously strong Egyptian cigarettes... and a long hard sell about all the tours they organised! Confident in my unfailing ability to get horrendously lost in any city in the world yet still eventually find my way, I immediately decided against the city tours. I considered the trips to Aswan and Luxor for a while but decided against them as I figured it would be far cheaper if I organised it myself.
The next day the first thing that hit me was the relative lack of tourists on the streets. The skyline is dominated by international chain hotels and the city is obviously one of the world’s major tourist attractions. But I guess we don’t even represent a dent
in the massive population. Either that or I was the only foreigner stupid enough to walk anywhere...
After reading about a public bus to the pyramids I went about deciphering the city’s bus system. My complete lack of Arabic combined with the complete lack of signs or bus stops wasn’t the ideal start. I eventually found the highway on-ramp where you had to stand before effectively jumping in front of the bus in the vague hope it would at least slow down enough for you to jump on. About 30 minutes and 2LE (€0.30) later I was at the pyramids! Aside from negotiating past the fake ticket inspectors & and fake tourist police it ended up being pretty hassle free. Definitely one of those things you just have to see.
From there it was on the Egyptian museum. The place is literally crammed to the rooftops with artifacts. Tutankhamen section definitely the highlight. Unfortunately strictly no cameras allowed inside!
Cairo's not even a Pharaonic city and there’s way more to the city. Coptic Cairo is the oldest part of the city and it’s the heartland for the city’s Christian population. The walled district is littered with churches
Al-Azhar Park
View of Citadel and even a synagogue. Islamic Cairo is a complete change again with bazaars everywhere, a mosque every 5 minutes and women everywhere in full veils even quite a few Hijabs. I went into two mosques, the oldest one Al-Azhar and Al-Hakim. The latter was far more impressive, gleaming white marble everywhere and almost completely empty. I was worried I’d fell incredibly out of place but people were friendly as long as you’re respectful. The courtyard of the mosque was one of the most peaceful places I’ve ever been.
There’s a park near Islamic Cairo called Al-Azhar Park which has to one of the world’s great city parks. Really nice gardens and there are panoramic views all over the city including the citadel. I was too early for sunset but I was lucky enough to arrive during the call to prayer. The whole city came alive with a 1000 minarets singing like a choir. So far the call to prayer has just been an annoying wakeup call but this was absolutely amazing!
The last day I spent wandering around pretty aimlessly. There’s a real feeling of faded grandeur in the downtown area. Countless European style buildings line the grand
avenues of the downtown area, and even more so in Garden City which is mostly embassies now. There’s no surprise there’s a European feel as the city’s master plan in the 19th century was inspired by the Paris’ makeover and the French planner Haussmann was even a consultant.
Cairo’s not a city you’ll immediately love. You may even hate it (at first I certainly thought I would). But it's definitely worth looking past just the pyramids!
Advertisement
Tot: 0.125s; Tpl: 0.011s; cc: 12; qc: 61; dbt: 0.0723s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.2mb
Denis
non-member comment
Dude...
Great piece of writing my long lost friend! The photos are beautiful and I'm delighted you went to see the Tutankhamen. Fiona will be thrilled to hear you've seen hijabs and berkhas.