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Cairo
Information
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Geography
& Climate
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Covering
an area of 215 sq km, Cairo was mainly
built around the Nile River. With most of
the city on the eastern bank, it stretches
for over 40 km, in length, across the
Nile, south to north, making it the
largest metropolis in Africa. Climate in
Cairo is known to be quite hot, during the
summer it can average around 37 deg.C with
a little humidity. During winter,
temperature drops to 18 deg.C by day, and
sometimes down to 8 deg.c by night. The
best time to visit Cairo is during the
months of Spring and Fall, namely March,
April, October and November, when the
weather is just perfect. The city is
generally sunny and rain is uncommon, if
so, it is concentrated in and around
February. During March and April hot dusty
winds (known as Khamaseen) blow from the
western desert at speeds reaching 150 km
/hr. As far as pollution is concerned,
Cairo is defiantly on the “unhealthy”
list. Pollution in Cairo consists mainly
of dust, lead, carbon monoxide, noise and
the 60 million people walking around.
Environmental Awareness is only new to
Cairo, and just recently unleaded fuel has
been introduced. The recent Egyptian
Environmental Affairs Agency, along with
the US AID, are hoping to improve the
situation. Until then Cairo shall remain
to be the fourth most-polluted city in the
world.
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Arts |
Modern
Arabic literature, is said to been shaped
through the writings of Yehhia Haki,
Yousef Idris, the blind Taha Hussien,
Gamal Al-Ghitani, Sekina Fouad and
ofcourse the Nobel Prize Laureate Naguib
Mahfouz. Mahfouz’s writings about
Old-Cairo, the social lives of the lower
class, the cafe’s, the alleys, have not
only won him international recognition,
but have altered all together the style of
Modern Arabic Prose. Naguib Mahfouz’s
books are translated to all languages and
could be found almost everywhere. Music in
Cairo is always in the background, whether
you’re out shopping, dining or sight
seeing, there’s bound to be a taxi
driver, or shop owner, blasting his
cassette player so everyone can here. A
voice you’ll definitely get to know, is
that of Um Kalthum, the most celebrated
female singer in the Arab world. She was
73 years old when she died in 1975, and
was given one of the largest funerals in
history. Her voice is not only the voice
of Cairo, but the voice of all of Egypt.
Everyone from the humble cafe owner, to
the rich business man, craves this
lady’s deep strong voice. If you don’t
get a chance to hear her, do buy a tape or
two, you won’t regret it. Another
classical legend is Abdel Halim Hafez, who
is her male counterpart. Again his epic
songs about love and dispair fill the
Cairo air. Unfortunately, Hafez died young
at the age of 48. On the other side the
new rhythm of Amr Diab, Mohamed Mounir and
Hakim represent the pop side of the
Egyptian music. A massive drop from Um
Kalthum and Abdel Halim, nevertheless taxi
drivers and the younger generations love
them. Modern Art in Cairo goes in
mysterious ways. Many of the celebrated
painters and sculptors have nothing to
offer but conventional and academic work.
In the more private galleries however, a
recent circle of contemporary artists has
been born. Ranging from collage to
installations, their work is new, Egyptian
and interesting. Try going to down town
private galleries like Mashrabeya, Karim
Francis, and Cairo Berlin for the more
intriuging exhibitions. Some contemporary
Egyptian Painters are, George Al-Bahgoury,
Adel Al-Siwi, and Hassan Soliman. Cairo,
is the belly dancing capital of the world.
You can catch some belly dancing shows at
any of the five-star hotels, and the night
clubs at Al-Haram St. You might even want
to squeeze in some belly dancing lessons.
Furthermore, there is the male oriental
dance performed with wooden staves in a
mock fight. There is also the Sufi dance,
which is done by some adherents of a
Muslim mystical order, and is more a form
worship than a dance, dancers spin round
and round wearing colorful clothes.
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Religion
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Cairo’s
population consists mainly of Sunni Muslims (95%),
and the rest are Coptic Christians. In Cairo, as
well as in all of Egypt, the two communities enjoy
an easy coexistence, despite the fact that
intermarriage is prohibited.
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Language
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The
official language of Cairo is Arabic. On the
streets locals speak colloquial Egyptian Arabic,
which differs from the written classical one .
English and French are also quite common and are
widely spoken as a second language. Communication
with locals should be no problem as they are used
to dealing with vast amounts of tourists. Signs
are available in both Arabic and English so that
shouldn't be a problem either.
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Activities&Nightlife |
Aside
from visiting the Pharaonic, Islamic or Coptic
Sites, there are a few essential activities one
can’t miss when on a visit to Cairo. In our
activities sectioned we have focused mainly on
activities that are best performed in Cairo, and
are not really available anywhere else. In other
words we have disregarded bowling, billiards and
the like in exchange for more authentic
activities.
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Felucca
Rides |
When
in Cairo, you’re bound to notice feluccas
sailing up and down the Nile with their huge white
sails. A felucca is an ancient Egyptian
traditional sailing boat. In the past they was
used for both transport and trade. Today, felucca
rides are reserved for tourism and entertainment.
You can get a group together and rent one for 30LE
an hour. You’ll find feluccas across from the
Meridian Garden City Hotel, and the Helnan Shepard
Hotel. These feluccas are interesting in that they
are located in the heart of Cairo, and the scenery
can be quiet nice in the evening. The drawback
however is that the area is a bit noisy, and the
feluccas have a small restricted area which they
cannot leave. Another option is to take a felucca
from the suburb of Maadi, 10 km south of down
town. It’s a lot more peaceful there with the
surrounding greenery of the Nile. Another
advantage is that there is no restriction on Maadi
feluccas, so they can take you on longer tours,
all the way up to Helwan.
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Horse-back
Riding |
Another
trade mark of Cairo is to go horse-back riding in
the desert. If you take a left on Pyramids Road,
about one kilometer before you reach the Pyramids,
the same way you would go to the Sound and Light
Show, you’ll find a large number of stables with
foreign names to attract tourists. i.e. “AB
Stables” and “EuroStables”. Most of the
stables have really good quality horses, a lot
better than the ones you’ll find right by the
Pyramids. Many rich Egyptians who own horses keep
them here to be looked after. The prices range
from 20LE to 40LE depending on the horse and on
the stable. What’s nice about this place is that
it’s located at the edge of civilization, beyond
it are miles and miles of pure desert, so if you
like horses and are capable, you can enjoy an hour
of nothing but gallop. The best time to ride is
during sunset, and if you’re up to it, riding by
night is ecstatic. While riding be sure to ask the
guide to take you up the hill, where you can catch
a superb view of the Three Pyramids and the
Sphinx.
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Desert
Safaris |
Various
travel agents in Cairo organize jeep safaris into
the desert, where you can escape the immense noise
pollution of Cairo, and at the same time enjoy the
silence and mystical beauty of the desert. If
you’re not part of a tour you’ll need to
access a 4x4 in order to explore the desert. A
nice excursion would be to take horses from one of
the stables mentioned above and have a barbecue in
the desert, or maybe even arrange for spending the
night. The people at the stables should know all
about it. Spending a night out in the desert is an
experience you shall never forget, the stars, the
vast areas of sand, the silence, and to top it all
off, the chilly air of the desert by night.
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Dr.
Ragab Pharaonic Village |
Fifteen
Kilometers south of Giza, on the Nile bank, is Dr.
Ragab’s Pharaonic Village. The village is a
complete model to Egypt 4,000 years ago. Visitors
are taken on wooden floaters down a canal, with
Pharaonic life going on around them on both sides.
Men and women in Pharaonic costumes, fishing,
hunting cooking etc. Dr. Ragab’s Pharaonic
village is like getting in time machine and going
back 2 milleniums. Everything around you seems to
be ancient, and with the tall Papyrus and Lotus
plants surrounding you, you’re completely
isolated from the 20th century. You get to take a
tour inside typical ancient Egyptian mud brick
houses, you’re presented with the entire mud-
brick making process, the irrigation process as
well as the hunting process. An excursion to Dr.
Ragab’s village is extremely educational and
well worth the 40LE entrance fee. On your way out,
take a look at the papyrus galleries in the main
hall.
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The
Cairo Tower |
Located
on the island of Gezirah is the Cairo Tower. This
190 meter tower was constructed in 1961, and is
still Cairo’s tallest structure. The tower is
considered a landmark of the Cairo skyline.
There’s a reliable elevator to take you to the
top, where you’ll find an over-priced revolving
restaurant and cafeteria. The view from the top is
of course superb. You can see all of Cairo, the
domes and minarets of Islamic Cairo and the
silhouette of the Pyramids. Admission is for 10LE
and opening hours are from 9am to midnight.
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Al-Ahwa |
Although
not really an activity, we’ll still consider
Al-Ahwa as one. Al-Ahwa is the Arabic name for the
traditional coffee shop. In Cairo, these coffee
shops are basically everywhere. Egyptians of all
ages, old as well as young, love to sit and chat
on the Ahwa, with their sheesha in hand. The
sheesha is the traditional water pipe, or hubbly
bubbly as it is sometimes called, it is smoked
with apple flavored tobacco that gives off a
really tempting smell. Al-Ahwa and Sheesha smoking
are an essential part of the Egyptian culture and
lifestyle, not to try it would be a real
misfortune. You’ll find Ahwas virtually
everywhere, the more traditional ones are in
Islamic Cairo, namely Al-Fishawy Café. In the
suburbs of Heliopolis and Zamalek they tend to be
more commercial Ahwas for the tourists as well as
the Egyptian middle and upper classes, quality is
a bit better and cleaner there.
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Nightlife |
Cairo,
being the capital, probably has the best nightlife
in all of Egypt. Apart from the clubs and bars in
all five-star hotels, many discotheques and pubs
exist on their own in Cairo. Recently new pubs
have been opening, as well a large discotheques,
so you'll have a lot to choose from. As for the
traditional Cairiene outing, the belly-dance, the
bottle, the table these are available in most
five-star hotels, and in the casinos (casino here
means nightclub and not gambling) on Al-Haram St.
We must warn however that these nightclubs could
be expensive, and you might not enjoy them. See
going out for more info.
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