Details on Cairo - a big and bustling city.
This is a big city and covers a tremendous area.
It can take a long time to get from one place to
another due to traffic. It can be a good idea
to spend one night at Giza near the Pyramids and
Sphinx although this area can be easily reached in
about an hour from downtown Cairo so it is not
essential.
Cairo Hotels: There are many wonderful first
class hotels in Cairo. We stayed at the Four
Seasons First Residence and the downtown Four
Seasons is also a wonderful hotel. There
are also many other good hotels but these two are
truly exceptional. The Four Season Residence
is connected to a very modern and attractive mall
with every type of store you can imagine. This is
very handy during your stay and the small restaurant
it the courtyard of the mall offers wonderful meals,
great desserts at very reasonable prices.
Giza Hotels: Le Meridien Pryamids was a
wonderful place to stay. A comfortable very
contemporary hotel with nice rooms and good
restaurants and bars. The pool area is wonderful
with the pyramids in the background. The Mena
House Oberoi with the pyramids in the background. The Mena
House Oberoi is an older hotel right across the
street from an entrance to the Pyramids. This
was an old palace so it has a more traditional
ambiance and character.
Food: You can be very comfortable during your
stay. We found a TGI Fridays and many American
eating establishments plus the Four Seasons of
course had food that was very western. In fact
it was not a problem at all to find foods that
Americans are used to eating anywhere. It is best to
exercise caution and not use ice or eat salads or
eat foods that are not cooked.Safety: I do
think that you should visit Cairo on a planned tour
and not take taxis and try to get around
independently. We did walk from Le Meridien to the
Pyramids and there are "tourist" police everywhere
and they escorted us all the way. The taxis
are tiny, they are everywhere. However, although I
do not fully understand the situation it appears
anyone can drive a taxi and it is a common way to
get around the some of the red tape logistics of
purchasing a car. So you do not really have good
control on who is driving you around. I never felt
in any danger on our trip but I was much more
comfortable in my nice air-conditioned van with
driver and guide.
Dress: No problem here. You see
everything you can imagine. If you are
visiting mosques or churches then appropriate attire
is necessary as with any where else in the world.
Shopping: There is plenty of shopping here
for everything you can imagine. No matter
where you go there will be things to buy. A
Cartosh is a very popular thing to purchase. This is
your name spelt in hieroglyphics on a pendant.
If you go to Egypt these will be presented to you
everywhere. |
I
We are not going to explain
or name all the
different temples and items pictured. My goal is
to simply
give you a visual picture of the awe inspiring antiquities
that you will see.
