Cairo is the most magical place I ’ve ever been to, lets start with the Pyramids of Giza.They are almost 6000 years old and perfectly preserved.Of the three great pyramids of Khufu, Khafre & Menkaure in that order of size respectively, we chose to enter Khafre’s, the entry price is around 10 egyptian pounds.
I would not suggest this be tried by people with Asthama or claustrophobia.The entry slopes steeply downwards and you walk on a narrow plank crouched down through an extremely narrow opening, and when you do reach down there’s nothing to see bcoz the sarcophagus has been removed, unlike the Valley of the Kings where some sarcophagi still remain for public veiw.
But the pyramids are breath taking, awe inspiring.Some people even claim that they were built by aliens.
The other place I loved was the market of Khan-e-Khalili, where they sell everything -spices, perfume, alabaster statues, T-shirts and what-not. The place to chill after shopping is Fishawi in the Khan market , a cafe where locals & tourists both hang out.
Its never been closed for 200 years, day or night except for Ramzan. Smoke a sheesha , have a ’shai’, haggle with vendors who come up to you selling sunglasses, ottomans, watches and tissues, tissues, tissues.
You’ll find loads of food joints at the mouth of the market.The egyptians eat well, very well...shwarmas, seekh kebabs, a bread thats a type of a roti, salads and another sheesha(but veggies may find it a wee bit diffucult). Downtown Cairo is hip & happening, egyptian girls are trendy and wear enough make up in one evening to last me a week.
The main income of the country is tourism. Hotels abound and you’ll find one for every budget.There’s Panorama for like 40 E pounds per person for bed & breakfast.I wouldnt recommend Bostan (45-60 pounds) as they are a tad rude and screwed up our return home (read about that in my alitalia review).
But the language problem is acute, most hotel people speak english but the shop owners don’t, as a rule. For 5 star property the Hilton is great, higher rooms have a view of the sphinx and the pyramids. We took a desert safari to the White & Black deserts.
Tour operators all around Cairo will arrange it for you, it should include transport, staying and meals.We paid about 120 U.S. dollars each for 3 days 2 nights, including first class train fare.
One word to women travellers, the men here have strange ideas about women and I have gotten winked at, leered at , ogled at.
Be wary , don’t befriend strangers who offer to help you find a hotel, restaurant etc.More of these thinge in Luxor review.Btw we went in december when the weather was cool bordering on cold.
AVOID in summer unless you love getting scorched.