There is a song about New York being a city that never sleeps – well the same thing can be said about Cairo. It is one of the most vibrant cities in the world with 24-hour activity. The “official” population is listed at approximately 16,000,000 people – but with the constant daily influx from the country side, it swells to nearly 19,000,000. Located on both sides of the Nile, the city is nearly 6,000 years old with a rich cultural and historical heritage. Cairo is the main business and financial center of Egypt with many varied neighborhoods. It offers the best of Egypt and also some of the worst as well with major problems due to overpopulation and poverty. We traveled to Cairo this weekend for the annual CAC Christmas Bazaar. This Bazaar is sponsored by Cairo American College – one of the most established international PK-12 schools in Egypt. The bazaar is host to vendors from many different countries offering their handicrafts to eager buyers looking for a bargain.
Following the bazaar, we registered at our hotel (The President), an older hotel located in the Zamalek area (along with 2 other couples). Zamalek was once home to many of the embassies. Several have moved to new locations, but the area is still very pleasant with tree lined streets and many villas – unlike many neighborhoods in Cairo and Alex with are almost void of vegetation and lined with high rise apartment buildings. Friday evening, we ate at a Lebanese restaurant near the American and British embassies. Food was very good and plentiful. Pat and I shared a main course of grilled chicken along with salads, mezas and bread.
Weather in Cairo is warmer than Alex and it is very dry. Alex is going through a rainy season, with rainfall frequent and plentiful. Cairo, on the other hand, rarely has rain – tree leaves almost always have a dust coating on. We noticed a distinct difference in air quality between the two cities. Alex has much cleaner air than Cairo. In spite of the climate differences, Cairo is the place to be for Egyptians on the move.
After supper Friday evening, we went to the famous Khan El-Khalili for a little shopping and tea. We explored the area around the Khan, walking down winding streets and exploring all the little shops. The pressure to buy is very low key in these shops as opposed to the constant barrage in the Khan. The shopkeepers are pleased that you come by and are proud to show their goods – many of which are unique handmade items. As we ventured around these streets we were again struck by the hospitably and friendliness of the Egyptian people. We were the only Westerners in the area and while we were often greeted by stares, that quickly changed to smiles. We stopped at a street side fruit stand and purchased a kilo of tangerines for 3 LE (about 51 cents).
Saturday morning, we walked around the Zamalek area looking at the various shops and stores. Many of the stores are in buildings that one would never know was a store unless they walked in. In some cases, there are apartments on the first floor and the store might be on the 2nd or 3rd floor. Many of the shops we visited were furniture stores in which most of the furnishings are hand made items of solid wood. Many staff in the past have purchased many items of furniture to ship back to the states because of the high quality of workmanship.
We traveled back to Alex Saturday afternoon on the “fast train” from Cairo. The trip took only 2 hours and 15 minutes and it was nice getting back to the city by the sea. Traffic between the train station and the school was brutal. What is normally a 10 to 15 minute trip took nearly an hour. While Cairo certainly has it shortcomings (pollution, garbage, traffic jams, noise), it has many areas that are very interesting and attractive. Just 50 years ago, it was a city of only 2,000,000 and now it is bursting at the seams and continues to grow. We enjoyed our weekend in Cairo and look forward to going back down and exploring this fascinating city.
Following the bazaar, we registered at our hotel (The President), an older hotel located in the Zamalek area (along with 2 other couples). Zamalek was once home to many of the embassies. Several have moved to new locations, but the area is still very pleasant with tree lined streets and many villas – unlike many neighborhoods in Cairo and Alex with are almost void of vegetation and lined with high rise apartment buildings. Friday evening, we ate at a Lebanese restaurant near the American and British embassies. Food was very good and plentiful. Pat and I shared a main course of grilled chicken along with salads, mezas and bread.
Weather in Cairo is warmer than Alex and it is very dry. Alex is going through a rainy season, with rainfall frequent and plentiful. Cairo, on the other hand, rarely has rain – tree leaves almost always have a dust coating on. We noticed a distinct difference in air quality between the two cities. Alex has much cleaner air than Cairo. In spite of the climate differences, Cairo is the place to be for Egyptians on the move.
After supper Friday evening, we went to the famous Khan El-Khalili for a little shopping and tea. We explored the area around the Khan, walking down winding streets and exploring all the little shops. The pressure to buy is very low key in these shops as opposed to the constant barrage in the Khan. The shopkeepers are pleased that you come by and are proud to show their goods – many of which are unique handmade items. As we ventured around these streets we were again struck by the hospitably and friendliness of the Egyptian people. We were the only Westerners in the area and while we were often greeted by stares, that quickly changed to smiles. We stopped at a street side fruit stand and purchased a kilo of tangerines for 3 LE (about 51 cents).
Saturday morning, we walked around the Zamalek area looking at the various shops and stores. Many of the stores are in buildings that one would never know was a store unless they walked in. In some cases, there are apartments on the first floor and the store might be on the 2nd or 3rd floor. Many of the shops we visited were furniture stores in which most of the furnishings are hand made items of solid wood. Many staff in the past have purchased many items of furniture to ship back to the states because of the high quality of workmanship.
We traveled back to Alex Saturday afternoon on the “fast train” from Cairo. The trip took only 2 hours and 15 minutes and it was nice getting back to the city by the sea. Traffic between the train station and the school was brutal. What is normally a 10 to 15 minute trip took nearly an hour. While Cairo certainly has it shortcomings (pollution, garbage, traffic jams, noise), it has many areas that are very interesting and attractive. Just 50 years ago, it was a city of only 2,000,000 and now it is bursting at the seams and continues to grow. We enjoyed our weekend in Cairo and look forward to going back down and exploring this fascinating city.
