"Cairo: exhilarating and exhausting" a Cairo Travel Page by MikeBird

I understand it is the biggest metropolis on the continent of Africa. When you're in the midst of it as we were ( albeit for just a few days) we certainly felt the buzz of this frenetic place.

We stayed in the middle of the city just off Talaat Harb street and a short walk from Downtown's Tahrir square. It was good to have the central location and we didn't notice the traffic noise because our hotel was set back from the road. The cars and buses seem to dominate the central part of the city.

Older forms of transport along the Nile are available for hire. As tourists strolling along the Corniche we were targetted by touts offering rides on their Felucca. We eventually gave in and we all really enjoyed the calming journey under sail. I'm sure we paid far too much but, never mind, it was a memorable, hour long, trip and very welcome to rest our feet after visiting the Egyptian Museum.

On the 3rd day in Cairo, to keep the younger members of the family happy and to give us a break from sight seeing, we paid for a day ticket at the Hilton to use the swimming pool and to chill out.

So, despite the crowds in Cairo, it is possible to seek some peace and quiet; the Felucca ride was very relaxing and so was the swim and the snooze in the sun by the Hilton pool. Good for summoning up the energy for the next part of our trip in Luxor.