Well I've spent three days in Cairo. I'm glad I came but even more glad to be leaving tonight.
I had a guide for the three days, which made getting around and seeing everything much easier.
On the first day, I had some trouble contacting my guide - he had his cell phone off (sounds like someone I know). So I wandered around the area near the hotel. The Nile Hilton is right on the Nile River. I expected much more river traffic, but only small boats can navigate this portion. Finally I reached my guide and he took me to the old part of Cairo. We stopped for something to drink, and I had a warm milk, coconut, nut concoction. It wasn't that bad, but not as good as a gin and tonic.
The traffic in Cairo is horrible. Pedestians have no right of way. There aren't even any crosswalks. You just walk between the cars across 6 or 8 lanes, and pray. By the third day I became a pro.
There were many stores and street vendors in the old city trying to sell me everything I don't need. Adel, my guide, told me just to ignore everyone. We stopped at a local restaurant for an Egyptian lunch, which for me was chicken soup and roasted chicken. We then went back to the hotel, since he had a class at 5pm. That evening I stayed in the hotel, not really willing to face the Cairo traffic alone at night.
On day 2 we headed for the Pyramids in the morning. What an impressive sight. It reminded me of the first time I saw the Grand Canyon or Machu Picchu. (I know I've said this before, but pictures will be uploaded eventually.) There are three large pyramids and a few smaller. A lot of the stone facing has been destroyed over the years, but you can still climb up a way, which I did.
We then headed for the Sphinx, which was also very impressive. I think I have about 100 photos of both. I wish the sky was a little clearer, but smog is a major problem here. We then went to town for a Pizza Hut lunch. I won't even eat there in the USA.
Adel left for class, and I was supposed to go to the Egyptian Museum in the afternoon. However, I wanted to change my flight, leaving Cairo two days early. This became a major problem, since Iberia does not fly from Cairo to Barcelona any more. I only had one flight coupon, so I was told I could only get to Madrid. Well after two hours, I convinced Iberia to reissue that flight coupon. I think they just didn't want to do any work.
We did get back together and visited the oldest university in the world (according to Adel). It is also a mosque and beautiful inside. We then went to the old Jewish section of Cairo (of course the only Jews there now are the tourists). The streets were packed with vendors and gift shops, and millions of tourists. There was nothing I needed to buy, so we took some time and had mint tea and watched the people.
Well that killed the afternoon. I went to the hotel pool and read for a while, before a nice fish dinner in the hotel.
Day 3 we went to the Citadel, and visited a few mosques there. Each one was very different, but all full of tourists. By the way, the admission to most of the sites was about 50 Egyptian pounds, or $10, the locals pay 2 Egyptian pounds, or a quarter.
In the afternoon we went to Nasr City, to a large modern shopping mall - one of the nicest I've ever been to. The prices were outrageous though, a t-shirt for $40. We then returned to the hotel.
In the afternoon, I visited the Egyptian Museum. They might complain that a lot of their artifacts have been stolen by other countries, but they had more than enough for many hours of viewing. Mummies - humans and animals, sarcaphagus, coffins, jewelry, and the best was the King Tutankhamun exhibit. The amount of gold in his tomb was amazing. He had about 20 gold necklaces and at least 15 rings. Then the famous gold mask covering his head. That´s so his spirit can recognize his body when he comes back to visit.
Back at the hotel for another 5 hours, I sat by the pool, prepared this post, had dinner and left for the airport at 9:00pm. Needless to say, the traffic was bumper to bumper for miles, but I got there in time.
I'm glad I visited Cairo, and I will be glad when I get to Spain. I know my cousin Sara will also be glad I'm leaving Egypt.
I had a guide for the three days, which made getting around and seeing everything much easier.
On the first day, I had some trouble contacting my guide - he had his cell phone off (sounds like someone I know). So I wandered around the area near the hotel. The Nile Hilton is right on the Nile River. I expected much more river traffic, but only small boats can navigate this portion. Finally I reached my guide and he took me to the old part of Cairo. We stopped for something to drink, and I had a warm milk, coconut, nut concoction. It wasn't that bad, but not as good as a gin and tonic.
The traffic in Cairo is horrible. Pedestians have no right of way. There aren't even any crosswalks. You just walk between the cars across 6 or 8 lanes, and pray. By the third day I became a pro.
There were many stores and street vendors in the old city trying to sell me everything I don't need. Adel, my guide, told me just to ignore everyone. We stopped at a local restaurant for an Egyptian lunch, which for me was chicken soup and roasted chicken. We then went back to the hotel, since he had a class at 5pm. That evening I stayed in the hotel, not really willing to face the Cairo traffic alone at night.
On day 2 we headed for the Pyramids in the morning. What an impressive sight. It reminded me of the first time I saw the Grand Canyon or Machu Picchu. (I know I've said this before, but pictures will be uploaded eventually.) There are three large pyramids and a few smaller. A lot of the stone facing has been destroyed over the years, but you can still climb up a way, which I did.
We then headed for the Sphinx, which was also very impressive. I think I have about 100 photos of both. I wish the sky was a little clearer, but smog is a major problem here. We then went to town for a Pizza Hut lunch. I won't even eat there in the USA.
Adel left for class, and I was supposed to go to the Egyptian Museum in the afternoon. However, I wanted to change my flight, leaving Cairo two days early. This became a major problem, since Iberia does not fly from Cairo to Barcelona any more. I only had one flight coupon, so I was told I could only get to Madrid. Well after two hours, I convinced Iberia to reissue that flight coupon. I think they just didn't want to do any work.
We did get back together and visited the oldest university in the world (according to Adel). It is also a mosque and beautiful inside. We then went to the old Jewish section of Cairo (of course the only Jews there now are the tourists). The streets were packed with vendors and gift shops, and millions of tourists. There was nothing I needed to buy, so we took some time and had mint tea and watched the people.
Well that killed the afternoon. I went to the hotel pool and read for a while, before a nice fish dinner in the hotel.
Day 3 we went to the Citadel, and visited a few mosques there. Each one was very different, but all full of tourists. By the way, the admission to most of the sites was about 50 Egyptian pounds, or $10, the locals pay 2 Egyptian pounds, or a quarter.
In the afternoon we went to Nasr City, to a large modern shopping mall - one of the nicest I've ever been to. The prices were outrageous though, a t-shirt for $40. We then returned to the hotel.
In the afternoon, I visited the Egyptian Museum. They might complain that a lot of their artifacts have been stolen by other countries, but they had more than enough for many hours of viewing. Mummies - humans and animals, sarcaphagus, coffins, jewelry, and the best was the King Tutankhamun exhibit. The amount of gold in his tomb was amazing. He had about 20 gold necklaces and at least 15 rings. Then the famous gold mask covering his head. That´s so his spirit can recognize his body when he comes back to visit.
Back at the hotel for another 5 hours, I sat by the pool, prepared this post, had dinner and left for the airport at 9:00pm. Needless to say, the traffic was bumper to bumper for miles, but I got there in time.
I'm glad I visited Cairo, and I will be glad when I get to Spain. I know my cousin Sara will also be glad I'm leaving Egypt.
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