Cairo

How can I attempt to sum up the unique qualities of a city like Cairo within the confines of a short review? Well the answer is I can't, not to the degree that I would like, but if this brief snap shot gives you some idea of the glorious diversity of this wonderful city then that is a worthy enough goal. It is a city that sits with one foot in the modern cosmopolitan world and the other in a timeless past and the two seem to co-exist and merge in a truly remarkable way. It is heaving with life, volatile, polluted and boisterous, with an intensity that both exhausts and invigorates the visitor. As I spent only a few days in the city I can only attempt to whet your ...  Read the complete review

Once again I went travelling in 2001 as part of a charity group. This meant that I was able to see a little more than the average tourist does of the real Cairo and that area. Although I feel sure we only scratched the surface of life out there this is what I experienced. Attached to Cairo are three 'villages' Mottamdia, Macattum and Helwan. A mixture of badly built brick homes and corrigated iron huts, these places are the homes of the rubbish collectors of Cairo. The majority of the polutaion of these places is coptic. This is a type of orthodox Christian and becuase of their religion these people did not used to be able to work. So they ...  Read the complete review

Think of Egypt and it conjurs up an image of the Great Pyramids. A spectacular testament to the ability of mankind. Steeped in history, they are the most revered and recognized Wonder of the Ancient World and have for centuries baffled countless numbers of tourists, archaeologists and scientists courtesy of their sheer being. I had been looking forward to visiting Cairo months beforehand and the journey itself was far from being without incident. I stayed in the southern Egyptian city of Hurghada. A relatively new resort quite isolated from the tourist areas of Luxor and Cairo, Hurghada draws tourists primarily for the coral reef located closely ...  Read the complete review

I travelled to Egypt with a company called Explore Worldwide who specialise in what they call "small group exploratory holidays". They are perfect for those travelling alone, as I was, or for those on a budget or for anyone who wants to go off the beaten track but still have some back-up in the form of a guide and a group of fellow travellers! Their web site is www.exploreworldwide.com and my trip to Egypt was the Nile Felucca Sailtrek, this is part 1 of my travelogue covering day 1 of the 10 day trip - if you want to read about the other places we visited please see my other opinions.I've wanted to see Egypt for most of my life, I'm not sure ...  Read the complete review

I spent 2 weeks working in this extraordinary city recently, and as soon as I arrived I found that any preconceptions I might have had were blown away. I imagined Cairo to be small-ish - it's enormous (home to 17m people). I thought it might be hostile and dangerous - it was heartwarmingly friendly. And I thought it would be a little...primitive - it isn't, and in parts it even looks like New York. Before telling you more, my first tip to anyone planning to spend time in Cairo is DON'T DRIVE! As a vehement car-hater this wasn't an issue for me anyway as I've made it to my 30s without ever sitting behind a steering wheel, but if you're ...  Read the complete review