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Cairo Travel Guide: 3,867 reviews and 8,922 photos
Eh... Cairo! I just LOVE Cairo, I could go back there on and on and never get bored!
Cairo has the same surface area like Belgrade, but there are 6 times more people! Here we have about 2,5 million, and they have 18 million!!! I really wonder where do all these people fit!!! As it doesn’t seem THAT crowded! Actually, almost not crowded at all, it was quite normal. I thought Cairo is much bigger in the surface area!
Since we arrived in the evening this time, we started our tour by night.
We walked across the bridges, there are many pretty ones, my favourite being the one with the lions (like in Budapest!) Since it can get very warm in Egypt, many people come to stand on the bridge as there is a breeze and chilly air, so it became a city custom. There are many people hanging on the fence of the bridge, chatting, laughing or simply looking at the Nile.
As we were the only foreigners, everybody stared, but nobody was rude or annoying (like in Hurghada for example), they were all smiling and nodded and waved, it was cute!
Egyptian people are VERY FRIENDLY, it's one of the places (together with Romania and Greece) where I’ve felt so welcome and well accepted there. Egyptians are very warm and hospitable, generous, smiling, willing to help and do anything for you, they treat you with a lot of attention and care, very kind and nice. No matter if they are with their personal worries or not, they will always put that behind and try to smile and have fun! It reminds me of my people, a lot. I have seen so much poverty in the outskirts of Cairo and out of the city, but I never saw gloomy faces and nervous, upset people! And later as I talked with some Egyptians, they told me that they try to laugh and make jokes of everything, including themselves, perhaps to forget about sorrow easier.
I especially love the view from the Cairo Tower! A tall, slender building on the El Gezira island on Nile, right in the heart of the city, surrounded by BEAUTIFUL parks with beautiful plants and many palm trees! I ADORE palm trees!
There is a telescope on the top of the tower, at the terrace, and the view and impression is FAR BETTER than from Eiffel’s tower in Paris (at least to me!)I was so impressed with the view,and how beautiful Cairo is,the river Nile and all the mosques(they glitter with neon-green lights from minarets during the night, it is so beautiful!)The best view was in the dusk,when the sun has just set,and all the lights began to appear easily,but the sky was still blue.
I’ve noticed many couples,it seems to be the lover’s favourite spot.
There is a lovely restaurant at the top of the tower,it’s in motion,as its floor circulates, and you get to see all parts of Cairo as you sit!
Later we went for a boat ride on the river Nile, in the small local boat.There are huge boats for tourists with the program of belly dancing and traditional Egyptian folklore,but I didn’t want to go where. Instead we went to the small boat for the locals,with traditional music,too,very colourful and with lots of pillows,all in oriental design,and with us were about 10 other Egyptians.It was wonderful!It was so fresh on the boat,the river was magical,and all those lights,breeze and stars above made a great atmosphere.We made several turns around the islands and it was unforgettable!
Then we went to Khan El Khalili bazaar,and there I found so many people who speak my language!I discovered that by chance,as I spoke in Serbian to my mom,and some guy from the shop heard it and replied,and so we spoke in Serbian!Then it happened again,and again,and I was really SHOCKED!Well,I suppose it’s because there are many people from Serbia who visit,especially it was so before from the Tito-Nasr-Nehru period - I remember one guy at the pyramids who asked where are we from, and when I told him he shouted“Tito i partija!!!Tito i Nasr!!!” :) which means “Tito and the party (it was a communist slogan in ex-YU);Tito and Nasr!” Also,there are many students from Egypt in Belgrade.
A walk through bazaar was very exciting!I ADORED it!I love places where I can see real people,I hate fake,artificial tourist places.And on the bazaar you could see all of Egypt’s population,all kinds of people!From rich to poor,youngest to the oldest…And they all circulate in chaos,but in perfect order somehow!There are tiny shops one next to the another,you can’t distinguish where one stops and where another one begins. The merchants are very friendly and kind, and like to bargain, but I’m a dunce in this (I feel embarrassed!), so I left it all to my mother!
At one point some school girls passed by and gazed at me so much! One of them caressed my hair, smiled at me and said something in Arabic. I asked Khalid what it was, and he said she said I was very sweet, and called me “honey”. :) It was so cute!
Egyptian women are VERY BEAUTIFUL!!! And men are so handsome! Entire nation is extremely good looking! I haven’t seen ugly people. There were only less good looking ones. They have those amazing eyes, that look EXACTLY like the ancient Egyptian wall carvings and papyrus pictures. But pity that many women hide their hair under a scarf (even though it's not obligatory, they do it by their own free will). They dress normally (but never wearing short sleeves or short skirts), but they cover their hair. Christian ones don’t (there are 12 million Orthodox Christian Egyptians, Copts), and some Muslim women don’t, it’s optional. Still, most of them do wear it, and it’s so sad to see such beautiful ladies covering themselves beneath those scarfs. On our last evening in Cairo we stopped at Hilton Nile hotel as it was a meeting point with our group, and there was a wedding. My God, I have never seen such extremely beautiful ladies and gorgeous gentlemen, they were all so royal and impressive, with the dresses and suits I have never seen in my life, I thought such things exist only in the movies and dreams! Beautiful dresses like for the ballroom dancing, all girls looking like Cinderella :) but very exotic, elegant and with grace! Without covered head! And men, too, very charming, with style, I was breathless!
It is funny that the city of Cairo stops right in front of the pyramids! You drive through the city, at voila, at one sudden moment you face the pyramids in front of you, as if they jump out of the blue suddenly!
Anyway… After the bazaar we went walking around the city a bit, it was dark already, but everything was so vivid and colourful, many shops, lights, inscriptions in Arabic that I stared at stupidly like a cow, frustrated because I can’t read anything (but I have to praise, Khalid taught me the characters for numbers that evening, and from then on I could read the numbers, and I couldn’t be cheated in the supermarket. :))))
The people talk out loud on the streets (like Italians!) and are scattered all around like ants, as there are no traffic rules! Everybody crosses the street as they like, there are no pedestrian-crossings, and if you are a driver you have to watch carefully not to run over somebody, because there are people running under your wheels all the time! And permanent honk honk from the car sirens!
Traffic in Cairo! Oh, my goodness!!! Absolute CHAOS! Nobody obeys no rules… And amazingly enough, they get around perfectly! Also, we had a lot of luck, because 6th of October is their biggest national holiday, and they had 4 days off, so most of them left the city, and the traffic wasn’t as crazy as usually!
I also like Egyptians in Cairo because they are not vulgar. If a man likes you, he will let you know, but in such a subtle, elegant and gentleman-alike way, and he will never attack or ask anything of you (unlike Hurgada!), he will admire you from the distance. They like to show to women when they like them, but they aren’t cheap and impertinent! They are so cultural. And they surely don’t bore you! That’s what I like. Men in Cairo are very charismatic and don’t act annoying like those in touristy places, they have a class. They treat you with so much respect and let you breathe! Of course, the exceptions are those at the pyramids! :-)
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Comments (19)
Great page, Jelena! I've asked myself the same questions about Cairo's population. I like the way you presented the Egyptians. You are absolutely right.
Jelena, you have made an excellent page about Cairo and the people living there. Even though I have been to Egypt twice I have never been to Cairo. But next time I will absolutly go there!
Yes sir, smoking Shishs is a true Middle East experience. Great page.
Fantastic page about Cairo. Well done!
Looks like you had a lovely time! Thanks for sharing. Claire
Awesome Jelenushka
Very interesting tips on a fascinating city. I was in Cairo only once for three days, but have so much more there I would like to see. Thanks.
I am so happy you had good time in Egypt! At least somebody says something good in Arab country! Shokran ya Jelena for loving the custom and the people. You are welcome to any Arab country. I am feeling happy. ~Majed~
nice photos. going inside the pyramid looks like fun. hope to visit Cairo someday.
Your wonderful page shows your love for Cairo!