from a bridge over the River NileWith a population of more than 18 million, Cairo is a hive of activity. I am not concerned in the slightest whilst the revolution occurs around me, i am far more scared just trying to cross the road. A truly wild experience. My years of playing Frogger has finally paid off.
Despite its sprawling size, it’s not an unpleasant city – Central Cairo is reminiscent of Paris, with it’s suave cafes and sophisticated buildings and architecture.
Clearly there is still a sense of emergency in operation and my visits to both the Jordanian and Israeli Embassy were futile. Jordan stopped issuing multiple entry visas a month a go whilst despite taking almost an hour to get through rigorous security outside the Israeli Embassy, when i do manage to arrive at their office on the 17th floor in some unmarked and obscure building, it transpires that it has been closed since January.
Despite the close proximity of the pyramids at Giza, Cairo is not a pharaonic city, with it’s foundations laid in AD946.
Qasr el-Nil bridgeIf you only have a short time in Egypt, a visit to the Egyptian Museum is a must. This rose coloured building is cram packed with ancient treasures, although it is poorly lit and labels are limited. Admission is E£60 for an adult and E£30 for a student. A new museum is currently in construction in Giza to provide a more appropriate holding for the exquisite collection. You can easily spend all day checking out some 60 rooms on its two levels, and it is best to be selective.
Upstairs you can find the Tutankhamun galleries. Although a very insignificant Pharoah – he only ruled for nine years, his treasures found by Howard Carter are simply outstanding, with lavish jewellery, artefacts and his incredible death-mask made of solid gold.
Having procured student status, i opt to pay an extra E£60 (E£100 non-students) to visit the Egyptian mummies – straight out of Scooby Doo. To see the remains of Ramses II with his whispy white hair, or Ramsis V with his small-pox covered skull is quite something.
No photography is allowerd unless you are an Egyptian using a mobile phone.
How To Make An Egyptian Mummy
1) Remove brain by breaking through the ethmoid bone
2) Make a small incision on the left hand side of the torso stomach, liver, intestines and lungs. These can be dried out in canopic jars, but the heart (the seat of the soul) should be left in place
3) Lay the body out and surround and cover it in natron (a mix of salt and baking soda to dry out moisture from the body tissue
4) After 40 days remove natron and massage the body with sacred essential oils and unguents.
5) Spend 30 days to wrap around bandages and jewels (70 is an auspicious number associated with the god Osiris
Cairo Tower and the Opera HouseKhan Al – Khalili Bazaar is one horrendous sprawl packed with almost everything imaginable. The narrow lanes and alleys are not for the claustraphobes, but i manage to last about an hour. It’s also known as Islamic Cairo for its collection of old mosques.
mosque windowOld Cairo – originally Babylon, is small but interesting. Centred around the Coptic church and museum, it also hosts a few monasteries and a small souq. You can get there via the Metro and exit out at Mar Girgis.
old mosque in the Citadel
Coptic museum and church
outside an old mosque
and inside the aforementioned mosque
The Nile island Zamelek and Gezira is the place to be seen. Gezira is filled with parks, whilst Zamelek has some quality and expensive restaurants and bars. Maison Thomas offers the best pizzas in Egypt. Prices range from E£40 – E£75 plus tax.
Another good food option at much more reasonable prices is Kazaz with several branches around town. Large kebabs are less than E£10.
The pyramids of Giza lie in the city’s suburbs. There are normally regular buses heading out of Tahir square, but not at the moment. I take the Metro to Al Giza and get a microbus E£2 which takes you to Pyramid Way. A separate posting can be found by clicking here.
The Metro is clean, efficient and cheap; E£1 for each ride. In the middle of the Metro trains are two carriages for women only – no groping hands to deal with for female travellists.
Microbuses also serve the city for E£1 -3 if you can figure out where they are going.
Most pleasant of all is the lack of hassles from the people – i like the sense of anonymity, especially after being treated as a cash cow in Aswan and Luxor. I am even called back to have change returned on several occasions.
I am based at the lovely Pension Roma in the city centre, paying E£72 including breakfast and free Wi-Fi - my kind of place. It's situated at 169 Mohamed Fahid Street. My only complaint is the hard thin mattress. C'est la vie.
with so many people and traffic, pollution levels get seriously high
