Overview to Cairo: Travel Guide and Tourist Information
- Cairo Information
- Getting around in Cairo
- Things to do in Cairo
- Where to stay in Cairo
- Cairo street map
Cairo, Africa’s largest city, reclines languorously on the banks of the mighty Nile. Dusty, swelteringly hot and hectic, it can be tough going for the unprepared traveler. But its unrivalled monuments and atmospheric old quarters make it a true traveler's must.
Cairo’s attractions are far too many and varied to list in full. Old Cairo with its ancient Coptic churches and ancient synagogue is enthralling, while the Museum of Egyptian Antiquities is like the city itself – massive, sprawling and too much for anyone to take in at once.
The brooding mass of the Islamic quarter contains the unmissable Muski, a dark, dense alleyway of stalls. Here, haggling with vendors in the vast bazaar of Khan el-Khalili counts amongst the world’s more exhilarating shopping experiences.
Just to the south lies the Citadel, home to the Rifai Mosque, the Mohammed Ali Mosque, and, especially, the massive Ottoman Mosque of Sultan Hassan. Beyond, lie the Cities of the Dead, where it’s believed that about half a million people squat amongst the tombs of the Northern Cemetery.
Out to the west of the city lies Giza, whose Great Pyramids and Sphinx need no introduction. Other pyramids include the Step Pyramid (and countless tombs) of Saqqara and the lesser known Pyramids of Dahshur.
Eating in Cairo can be quite an experience, too. Street food is obviously the cheapest way to get some food inside you, at any time of the day or night. Noisy and occasionally unsavory they may be, but the city's food stalls are never less than fascinating.
Mint tea, treacley black coffee and the shisha pipe are ever-presents. They can help pass the long sweltering afternoons, before the cool of evening descends and you head off to try and cram just a little bit more of this wonderful city in.