Discussion
Following on from the Dublin thread, who's been to Cairo? I went there recently just on a day trip whilst in Sharm and was not sure what to make of the place. Maybe it's just me becoming a travel snob but come on, do the residents not care at all for what they have there?
Take for instance the Sphynx. I was stunned to find that not 500 yards from the Sphynx is everyones favourite fried chicken supplier. There are tat-shops galore, for me it totally ruined the experience. How on earth could the authorities have allowed modern construction so close to these ancient wonders?
Cairo did manage to redeem itself with the Egyptian Museum. You'd need a week there to see everything and it was simply awesome. There was so much that we didn't have time to see because we focussed on Tutankhamun's treasure. It's hard to put into words how stunning this treasure is and something I'll certainly never forget.
If you've been to Cairo, what did you think?
Phil.
Take for instance the Sphynx. I was stunned to find that not 500 yards from the Sphynx is everyones favourite fried chicken supplier. There are tat-shops galore, for me it totally ruined the experience. How on earth could the authorities have allowed modern construction so close to these ancient wonders?
Cairo did manage to redeem itself with the Egyptian Museum. You'd need a week there to see everything and it was simply awesome. There was so much that we didn't have time to see because we focussed on Tutankhamun's treasure. It's hard to put into words how stunning this treasure is and something I'll certainly never forget.
If you've been to Cairo, what did you think?
Phil.
Cairo has always been on the Pyramid's doorstep, you just have to take photo's from one direction to get the desert look. Did you get to look at Cairo's town walls? Almost all of the outer smooth stone layer (with the exception of the top levels of the Great Pyamid) were removed to make the town walls.
>> Edited by FourWheelDrift on Tuesday 1st March 13:54
>> Edited by FourWheelDrift on Tuesday 1st March 13:54
The area around Cairo is very poor, if by creating tat stalls and fast food vendors it brings more tourist money into the place thenthey will do it. It is harder to refuse this stuff when such a large amount of the local population is living hand to mouth. Of course approving it would likely earn the officials a nice bit of wonga. Not saying it's right because it's not. At the end of the day, tat or not, many people will go to see the pyramids because of what they are. Getting rid of the stalls etc would not likely generate any extra income to cover the losses.
titiany said:
I spent four hours in Cairo.
Locked in a cell at the airport with 16 others.
So no, I don't like it, and I shall never go back.
Katy x
What was that for, did you buy a souvenir that was a suspected piece of Egyptian antiquity? They are hot on them not leaving the country.
PJLarge said:
Take for instance the Sphynx. I was stunned to find that not 500 yards from the Sphynx is everyones favourite fried chicken supplier. There are tat-shops galore, for me it totally ruined the experience.
It was a shame to see that
but it didn't ruin it for me at all. I was a little dissapointed with the sphinx and pyramids though, they were not as large as I had imagined from seeing them on TV and in mags. Still very interesting though, I'm glad I have seen them first hand, it won't be a trip I will be repeating though. PJLarge said:
Cairo did manage to redeem itself with the Egyptian Museum. You'd need a week there to see everything and it was simply awesome. There was so much that we didn't have time to see because we focussed on Tutankhamun's treasure. It's hard to put into words how stunning this treasure is and something I'll certainly never forget.
Phil.
the Egyptian museum was indeed very fascinating, a great experience to be able to see all the artefacts.
FourWheelDrift said:
I spent four hours in Cairo.
Locked in a cell at the airport with 16 others.
So no, I don't like it, and I shall never go back.
Katy x
What was that for, did you buy a souvenir that was a suspected piece of Egyptian antiquity? They are hot on them not leaving the country.
No - I was never supposed to be in Egypt - I had been rerouted because of a missed connection. It was for immigration purposes - they took all our passports, tickets and baggage passes away and locked us up!
So I didn't really get a chance to judge Cairo, but I'd had enough by the time I was out of there.
Did you actually go inside the Pyramid? Don't bother, a huge anticlimax since there is nothing in there. 99% of your time is spent climbing up and down a wooden runway. The street hawkers are amusing, and sad in a way, traffic is quite chaotic but slow, and they have an aversion to headlights at night.
Lived / worked there for over 8 years: first time from 1989 to 1995 (in Zamalek - island in the middle of the Nile) and second time from 1999 to 2002 (in Maadi - aka 'Cairoville, USA').
It's an interesting and exasperating place: lots to do, see and experience - and lots of problems and challenges. I had some great times there - and a few lousy ones as well.
For a major capital city (population 12 - 18 million, depending on whether you believe the official or unofficial estimates), it has to be one of the safest places in the world in terms of personal security. There were plenty of young and not so young expat ladies who would not think twice about walking home alone at 2.00 am in the morning - and never encountered any hassle. Try doing that in virtually any other city you care to name.
It's an interesting and exasperating place: lots to do, see and experience - and lots of problems and challenges. I had some great times there - and a few lousy ones as well.
For a major capital city (population 12 - 18 million, depending on whether you believe the official or unofficial estimates), it has to be one of the safest places in the world in terms of personal security. There were plenty of young and not so young expat ladies who would not think twice about walking home alone at 2.00 am in the morning - and never encountered any hassle. Try doing that in virtually any other city you care to name.
I have a friend who studies at Newcastle but who lives out in Cairo (he goes back most holidays) and was chuffed to ribbons last summer when he invited me out to stay with his family. I went for a fortnight and got to experience his life in Egypt with him. I must say I loved the place and wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to anyone.
We went across to see the pyramids (on Diplomat papers so got in free as well
) and must agree with Mrs Fish here, they weren't as impressive as one was led to believe - it took Teemu to put it into context that these things are hundreds of years old and whilst not huge in todays terms are feats of ancient engineering. As for the sphinx, well I was personally a little upset to see it partially restored - it just looked wrong imo. The surrounding area was indeed covered in tatty shops, but then aren't most of our historical sites near natty town shops/burger vans/cafes... The pyramid site itself is left alone, but Cairo juts up against them so you can't expect a huge exclusion zone, especialy when they are such a tourist trap.
Cairo itself was a bit hectic and not to my tastes, but then I don't like any town having grown up in a small village and prodominaltly played in the country side. The driving is seeminly sucidal by our standards, but then everything is much slower over there (60mph seemed to be far too fast) but after a couple of days or so driving about I go the hang of it quite nicely (ironically I was the one with the driving licence and he was the one with the car
)
The best thing about Cairo/Egypt however are the people. I didn't/don't speak a word of the language, and those words I did learn I couldn't say due to lack of confidence, but not once in the entire two weeks was I made to feel uncomfortable by anyone. Compare that to when I arrived back into Newcastle airport to hear Englishmen having a go because "United Kingdom was at the bottom of the alphabetical list" and "the non EU visitors have their own line...". It shocked and upset me to see the vast difference and the intolerance that was so apparent at that time.
Now I'll freely admit when I arrived in Cairo I was met by Teemu, I was shown around and I could hide behind him the entire way and that for people who don't have a "native" the experience could be very different. For instance we went to restaurants he knew to be good, we didn't go to the bad side of town, no taxi drivers took advantage of us since he spoke Arabic easily...
Still, having mentioned this thread to him on MSN he said "what do you mean, it IS bad"
We went across to see the pyramids (on Diplomat papers so got in free as well
) and must agree with Mrs Fish here, they weren't as impressive as one was led to believe - it took Teemu to put it into context that these things are hundreds of years old and whilst not huge in todays terms are feats of ancient engineering. As for the sphinx, well I was personally a little upset to see it partially restored - it just looked wrong imo. The surrounding area was indeed covered in tatty shops, but then aren't most of our historical sites near natty town shops/burger vans/cafes... The pyramid site itself is left alone, but Cairo juts up against them so you can't expect a huge exclusion zone, especialy when they are such a tourist trap. Cairo itself was a bit hectic and not to my tastes, but then I don't like any town having grown up in a small village and prodominaltly played in the country side. The driving is seeminly sucidal by our standards, but then everything is much slower over there (60mph seemed to be far too fast) but after a couple of days or so driving about I go the hang of it quite nicely (ironically I was the one with the driving licence and he was the one with the car
) The best thing about Cairo/Egypt however are the people. I didn't/don't speak a word of the language, and those words I did learn I couldn't say due to lack of confidence, but not once in the entire two weeks was I made to feel uncomfortable by anyone. Compare that to when I arrived back into Newcastle airport to hear Englishmen having a go because "United Kingdom was at the bottom of the alphabetical list" and "the non EU visitors have their own line...". It shocked and upset me to see the vast difference and the intolerance that was so apparent at that time.
Now I'll freely admit when I arrived in Cairo I was met by Teemu, I was shown around and I could hide behind him the entire way and that for people who don't have a "native" the experience could be very different. For instance we went to restaurants he knew to be good, we didn't go to the bad side of town, no taxi drivers took advantage of us since he spoke Arabic easily...
Still, having mentioned this thread to him on MSN he said "what do you mean, it IS bad"
docevi1 said:
Still, having mentioned this thread to him on MSN he said "what do you mean, it IS bad"
Natural comment, other places can be better than the place we live in because they are different.
But then some places can be complete sh*tholes.
>> Edited by FourWheelDrift on Tuesday 1st March 16:53
They are on the other side of the city and are stepped. They are at least 1,000 years older than the ones at Giza. The hieroglyphics at the site are much less complex than those found at Giza and on other Egyptian statues and monuments.
They were far less busy with no hawkers or other nuisances present.
>> Edited by Eric Mc on Tuesday 1st March 18:30
They were far less busy with no hawkers or other nuisances present.
>> Edited by Eric Mc on Tuesday 1st March 18:30
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