"Cairo" a Cairo Travel Page by SallyM

We arrived on 25 December, and any idea we had of escaping from Christmas by visiting a predominantly Moslem country had already been dispelled by the staff at the exchange offices at Cairo airport, who enthusiastically wished all their customers a Merry Christmas. The mini Santa’s Grotto outside the main entrance to the hotel selling chocolate chip cookies and other goodies, and the large Christmas tree in reception, continued the festive theme.

This was our first visit to Egypt, and with only 4 nights (and three whole days), we had a fairly hectic schedule. Two morning excursions, to the Egyptian Museum and the Pyramids respectively, were included in the price of our holiday and we took advantage of the optional afternoon excursions that followed these, to the Citadel and Memphis and Saqqara respectively. We did not however choose to go on the optional full-day excursion to Alexandria on the third day, as one of the attractions of the holiday had been the opportunity to relax in the historic Mena House hotel, which had been built to accommodate dignitaries attending the official opening of the Suez Canal.