“Cairo is a crazy city!” exclaims our cabbie, as he brakes, honks and weaves his way through the Egyptian capital’s infamous evening traffic. “People are always out shopping, and this city never sleeps,” he exclaims, before dropping us off, waving goodbye with a “bye bye Princess!” We chuckle at the endearment, a result of his English school education, we gather, from his conversation with us earlier. English-speaking folk are rare to find in Cairo, so we count ourselves lucky!
We venture out to Tahrir Square — Cairo’s famous landmark and centre point that is flanked by shopping streets and historic buildings like the Egyptian Museum and several glitzy hotels. It is also the city’s most prominent shopping area — the Talaat Harb Street is famous for clothing and leather goods and Qasr El Nil Street specialises in ladies’ wear.
On the history trail
As Egypt has a history spanning nearly 5,000 years, the over-a-century-old Egyptian Museum, with its nearly 160,000 objects, is the best place to begin. From the ancient Narmer Palette to the closely-guarded room with Tutankhamun’s treasures, the museum contains a massive collection from the Early, Middle and New Pharaonic kingdoms (c. 2960 BC) to the Greco-Roman period (c. 395 AD). Our guide introduces us to hieroglyphs and the wide pantheon of Egyptian gods and goddesses — Amun-Ra, Osiris, Horus, Anubis and others.
History lessons done, we take the dusty road to Giza to see the pyramids. On the way is the new Grand Egyptian Museum still under construction. Giza is less than an hour’s drive from Cairo, skirting the Sahara desert, and it’s a wonderful feeling as the magnificent Great Pyramids rise into view. The Pyramid of Khufu, the largest among the three, took nearly 20 years to build and was the tallest man-made structure in the world for more than 3,800 years.
Just a stroll away is the Great Sphinx that is 66 feet tall and 240 feet long. The pyramids and the Sphinx are closed everyday at 4 pm to prepare for the sound and light show that begins at 7 pm. We linger around to watch the Giza plateau come alive in a colourful rendering of sound and light at night. Huddled together under hired blankets, braving the desert chill, we watched the history of the pyramids unfold, as told by the Sphinx.
The other side
Along the banks of the Nile are the Cairo Opera House, many interesting museums and the 90-storeyed Cairo Tower that offers a breathtaking view of the city’s skyline. On Sunday morning, we made it to the Anglican All Saints’ Cathedral in Zamalek, which was first built by the British in 1876, and demolished twice and rebuilt with a unique lotus-shaped crown instead of a steeple.
Next on our itinerary — the Saladin Citadel, a medieval fortification, the most visited Islamic monument in Egypt, that’s situated on a spur that was artificially cut out of Muqattam Hills. Founded by Salah al-Din al-Ayyubi (Saladin) in 1176 AD, the Citadel was a sign of the coming of a new regime whose roots were foreign and tastes were military. And for almost seven centuries (from 1206 to 1952 AD), it was the seat of the Ayyubids, Mamluks, Ottomans and the Muhammad Ali dynasty.
The Coptic connection
Old Cairo is perhaps the most historic part of the city. It is home to the Coptic Christian community and the Coptic Orthodox Church, which traces its founding to Saint Mark the Apostle in 42 AD. Traditionally, the Copts trace their origin back to biblical times when Mary and Joseph fled to Egypt along with the Infant Jesus and lived there for a few years.
The most popular tourist attraction in Old Cairo is the Saint Virgin Mary’s Coptic Orthodox Church, also known as the ‘Hanging Church’, which does not have a foundation of its own, but is suspended over the gatehouse of the ancient Roman Babylon Fortress, hence the name.
Shop street
High-quality leather goods, wooden inlay handicrafts, cotton clothes, papyrus paintings, Egyptian perfumes and essential oils, alabaster artefacts and traditional Egyptian pastries are a must-buy. But you haven’t quite been to Egypt, if you haven’t tasted the cuisine — soft, warm, freshly-baked ‘aish baladi’, the Egyptian whole-wheat flat bread, served with olive oil or wine vinegar hummus and toppings, crisp fresh falafels that are the mainstay of vegetarians, succulent shawarmas in a variety of meat and melt-in-the-mouth pastries like the sticky sweet basbousa, kahk and crunchy-soft konafa and other delicacies at El Abd Patisserie are a must-try.
Egypt is an epiphany of sorts — for there’s more to Cairo than just the pyramids, with so much to see and explore in Luxor, Aswan and Alexandria too.
If history is your cup of tea, it can’t get more exciting, as excavations are still going on, with new discoveries like the recent unearthing in suburban Cairo of the 3,000-year-old statue of Psamtik I, the Pharaoh who ruled between 664 and 610 BC.
Yes, Egypt is full of surprises like these... And with a history that spans several centuries, that’s not surprising.
Travel tips
* Cairo has extreme climates, with the mercury touching 46 degrees C in June-July and dipping as low as 6 degrees C in January. The best time to visit is from March to April and from October to November.
* English speakers are rare to come by, and unless you can read or speak Arabic, finding your way around can be difficult. It’s better to hire a local tour guide from a reputed company, as they are well-versed in Egyptology.
* Smoking is not banned in Egypt, and it’s not unusual to find people smoking in elevators and cabs too. If you are allergic to smoke, do carry medication with you.
* Cairo has been subject to terror attacks recently. Before travelling, tourists are advised to check the prevailing political situation.
