Sights—The Sphinx and the Great Pyramids of Giza; the Citadel; the exotic Khan el-Khalili bazaar; the Ibn Tulun Mosque; the Mosque of Sultan Hassan.
Museums—Tutankhamen's treasures at the Egyptian Museum; royal family collections at the Manial Palace Museum; rare Islamic tapestries, carpets and armor at the Museum of Islamic Art; art and architecture at the Gayer-Anderson House.
Memorable Meals—A nighttime Nile cruise with dinner and entertainment; fine dining and panoramic views at The Revolving Restaurant; traditional Egyptian fare at Felfela; seafood or beef at Justine's.
Late Night—Middle Eastern cabaret with dance performances by accomplished belly dancers at a five-star hotel; salsa dancing at clubs across the city, preceded by an evening performance of Sufi dance at the Citadel.
Recreation—Horse and camel riding at the pyramids; felucca sailing on the Nile; overnight excursions into the desert around Cairo; sipping tea at a traditional coffeehouse.
Especially for Kids—Dr. Ragab's Pharaonic Village, which re-creates ancient Egyptian life; Al-Azhar Park, with a small playground and large grassy areas; Cairo Puppet Theatre (performances are in Arabic, but enjoyable for children of all ages and cultures).
Cairo is divided into quarters and neighborhoods, and knowing where these areas are is the best way to orient yourself. Downtown is on the east bank of the Nile River and centers around bustling Tahrir Square. The street called Corniche el-Nil runs along the eastern bank of the Nile. Islamic Cairo refers to the medieval quarter of the city, east of downtown. The famous Khan el-Khalili bazaar, the Citadel and many prominent mosques are found in this area. Old Cairo refers to the oldest part of the city, to the south of downtown. About 9 mi/15 km northeast of downtown Cairo is Heliopolis, with several chic shopping streets and the airport nearby.
Technically, all areas west of the Nile are said to be in Giza. Mohandiseen and Dokki are just across the Nile from downtown Cairo. The pyramids and the Sphinx are located in the southwestern part of Giza, about 6.5 mi/10 km from downtown.
There are two islands in the section of the Nile that runs through central Cairo. Gezira Island is the site of many luxury hotels and restaurants, with Zamalek, a cosmopolitan and relatively upscale neighborhood, at its northern end. Just south of Gezira Island, east of Old Cairo, is Roda Island, usually called el-Manial.
Some maps employ the Arabic words midan (square) and sharia (street). We use the English equivalents. Also, you should be aware that transliteration of Arabic into a Latin alphabet yields many variations. Place names may be spelled in a variety of ways, for example, with either an el- or an al-.
Ancient Egyptian civilization stretches back several thousand years, but the city we know as Cairo did not exist during the time of the pharaohs. The first developments in the area were Persian and Roman fortresses built in Babylon (the area referred to as Old Cairo). A city called Fustat was founded near there following the Arab conquest of Egypt in AD 642. The foundations of modern Cairo were laid in 969 when the Fatimids, a Shiite dynasty from Tunisia, founded El-Qahira.
Salah al-Din (Saladin) gained control over the city in 1171 and established the Ayyubid dynasty, which converted the country from Shiite to Sunni (orthodox) Islam. The Mamelukes, a group of soldier-slaves, seized power from the Ayyubids in 1250. Power changed hands again in 1516, when Egypt became part of the Ottoman Empire. Trade with Europe flourished during this period. Beginning in the 1600s and continuing to the mid-1700s, Cairo was the center of commercial and intellectual exchange. However, a series of devastating plagues and famines in the late 1700s weakened the country economically and socially.
The iconoclastic Muhammad Ali took power in 1805, establishing the country's first royal dynasty. He battled the Ottoman rulers in Istanbul and gained nominal independence for Egypt in 1840. After vying with the French for political and economic control of Egypt, Britain eventually gained the upper hand in the late 1800s. Cairo was renovated with wide tree-lined boulevards and pleasant gardens and buzzed with social activities during "the season," which lasted December-March. This glamorous period came to an end when World War II's battles reached Egypt's Mediterranean shores.
The end of the war brought Cairo prosperity, as well as a tremendous population explosion, which began to tax urban resources. In the 1970s, President Anwar Sadat's policies created a plethora of government-owned businesses, which dominated the economy. Legal reform and a privatization program during the 1990s led to increased foreign investment and the availability of more foreign goods. Today, Cairo is the largest city in the Middle East and Africa, as well as the political and cultural capital of Egypt.
In the 21st century, Cairo, like the rest of Egypt, has grown increasingly polarized between the secular government of the ruling party and the fundmentalist, often violent and outlawed Muslim Brotherhood. The surprise in the election of 2005 was not that President Hosni Mubarak won a fifth term but that candidates sympathetic to the Brotherhood won 76 seats in Egypt's parliament, the Majlis.
Cairo also has felt the effects of tensions in the Middle East. In 2005, suicide bombers attacked near the Kahn al-Khalili bazaar and the Egyptian Museum, and police and Sudanese refugees clashed, leaving more than two dozen dead. In 2006, police collided with demonstrators again, this time supporters of two judges appearing before a disciplinary board for accusing pro-government judges of helping fix the November 2005 election.
Lean back! is something you'll hear from your camel handler. Camels stand up by first extending their long hind legs, then their front legs. It's the other way around on the dismount. So unless you want to pitch forward, hit the sand and hear an angry camel gurgle loudly at you—lean back.
One of Cairo's treasures is the Community Service Association (CSA) in the expat suburb of Maadi. It hosts a variety of classes and Wellness Wednesday health lectures, and organizes trips, charity events and much else. Want to know the most kid-friendly places in Cairo? Which stables treat their horses most humanely? Who the good dentists are? Call the CSA (phone 358-5284 or 358-0754).
Cool off in the summer Cairene-style, with an iced karkadi (hibiscus tea) or a glass of fresh-pressed mango or orange juice at one of the city's hundreds of juice bars. Check out the bags of fruit hanging in front to know what is in season, and if you're worried about stomach troubles later, ask for your juice without ice (bidun talg).
