The very first week after I moved to Egypt I met a guy named Sherif. I was walking around Tahrir Square in the center of Cairo with some friends, taking in the magical chaos of one of the largest cities in the world and getting accustomed to our new home for the next year. As […]
Cairo
Downtown Cairo’s Two Four Seasons Properties
NOTE: The hotel scene in Egypt can change drastically within a few years as some hotels improve, others decline, and some close unexpectedly for renovations. The Egypt Travel Blog has an updated and more current review of this property in our Best Hotels of Egypt for 2019 feature, which can be found here. Egypt can […]
The Khan el Khalili
Experiencing the Khan el Khalili always tops the list of things to do when visiting Cairo. While in any other Arab country you might just refer to the old city’s souk or bazaar, Cairo’s souq has its own special name because it is the undisputed souq of souqs. It is unique not only in size […]
The American University in Cairo
Many visitors to Egypt might be surprised to learn that one of Egypt’s leading educational institutions – and the top-ranked institution of higher learning in the country – is actually an American university, or rather The American University in Cairo. AUC, as it is known, was founded in 1919 by the Presbyterian Church’s mission to […]
Flashback: The Other Old Cairo
I tend to think of there really being two Old Cairos. The first is, of course, what most people who live in and visit Cairo refer to when they talk about Old Cairo. This would be the area of modern Cairo in which ruins and remnants from many of the city’s magnificent prior eras are […]
Cairo’s Chaotic Traffic
Visitors to Egypt have told me that they’ve seen equally chaotic traffic in places like India and China, but I’ve yet to witness an equivalent level of vehicular insanity anywhere else in the world myself. Most, however, are like me in swearing that Cairo’s traffic is the worst they’ve ever seen. But what’s so funny […]
Taking the Right Type of Taxi in Cairo & Giza
Cairo is one of the easiest cities in the world in which to hail a cab, as its crowded and chaotic streets are literally flooded with taxis. But there are two types of taxis always buzzing around, and tourists should always try to find the type that will reduce the likelihood of getting ripped off […]
The Nile Kempinski in Cairo
NOTE: The hotel scene in Egypt can change drastically within a few years as some hotels improve, others decline, and some close unexpectedly for renovations. The Egypt Travel Blog has an updated and more current review of this property in our Best Hotels of Egypt for 2019 feature, which can be found here. The Kempinski […]
The Semiramis InterContinental
NOTE: The hotel scene in Egypt can change drastically within a few years as some hotels improve, others decline, and some close unexpectedly for renovations. The Egypt Travel Blog has an updated and more current review of this property in our Best Hotels of Egypt for 2019 feature, which can be found here. The Semiramis […]
The [Old] Egyptian Museum
The Egyptian Museum, which holds the largest collection of ancient Egyptian artifacts in the world, is centrally located right off of Cairo’s now-famous Tahrir Square, one block over from the Nile River downtown. The museum authorities keep changing whether you can or cannot bring cameras into the building every few years. If you do bring […]