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Cairo Information

[Geography&Climate][Arts][Religion][Language][Activities&Nightlife]

 

Geography & Climate

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.

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.

Religion

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.

Language

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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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