"Cairo in a day" a Egypt Travel Page by ollyf

I wouldn't necessarilly recommend Cairo, but I'm glad I did it, because it was quite a rush.

I took a day trip from Cyprus during a holiday with my then-girlfriend. The Cyprus trip was a package deal and a day in Cairo was an optional add-on. I can't actually remember who the holiday was with, but I think it was the UK operator Thomson.

Anyway, it was an early start (up at 5am for an 8am flight), a quick hop over the Mediterranean (55 minutes) from Paphos to Cairo. Egypt from the sky could be described with one word: brown! It is a desert, after all, and the expanse of matt dust was striking. Even the buildings were exactly the same colour as the ground.

The day tour included the pyramids, sphinx, national museum, Nile cruise, shops, markets, lunch and dinner.

The pyramids and sphinx were awesome sights from outside, but visiting inside was simply a stifling hot, smelly, fast-moving conveyer belt of humanity. On the outside, you get besieged on all sides by hawkers and touts who can be rude, aggressive and persistent.

The national museum was fantastic, particularly the main attraction, the mummies. I wondered what our own Royal Family would think of the prospect of their dessicated remains being gawped at by tourists thousands of years from now! The museum apparently has some 120,000 exhibits, so you'd have to love in the city to have any chance of seeing the place properly. There were some great souvenirs to be had in the museum shops.

The markets were a nightmare. Every single step of the way you are set upon by literally dozens of hawkers trying to sell you anything under the sun, for any price in any currency imaginable. Even trying to stop for respite in a cafe doesn't work, as they don't respect your privacy while eating and constantly harangue you. In fact, stopping for food and drink is worse because you're a sitting target.

The Nile cruise was as nice as it sounds, with fantastic entertainment on board from belly dancers and whirling dervishes.

Food was fine but we were warned not to drink local water and not to eat anytjing not provided on the tour. Even so, I consumed something that brought me down with a bad case of Cairo Colon later!

In conclusion, it was an interesting day trip but I can't see myself choosing to return to Cairo - far too much hassle and traffic, and EVERYBODY who serves you with or tells you anything then proffers an open palm for tips - even the tour guide, who presumably is on a decent salary in the first place.