Egypt's capital blends the old with the new.
Frenetic Cairo is a city of striking contrasts: sensual belly dancers and ancient relics, medieval bazaars and contemporary art. In the November issue of National Geographic Traveler, Anna Sussman pilots a journey unearthing Cairo's hidden treasures, authentic finds, and sleek new attractions.
48 Hours in Cairo
Text by Anna Louie Sussman
Eight experiences that span history in Egypt's dynamic capital.
Fast and furious, filthy and fascinating, Cairo is known to locals as Umm al-Dunya, or "Mother of the World." Multiple strata of history shingle the city, home to anywhere from 11 to more than 20 million people, depending on who you ask. Lately, she's been looking to host a few more, upgrading the Cairo International Airport and building the 550-million-dollar Grand Egyptian Museum, due to open in 2011 near the Pyramids. Indulge in some leisurely era-hopping: Take in 5,000-year-old artifacts, wander the medieval suqs, then fast-forward to a sushi dinner at a white-hued restaurant by the Nile.
1. Dally with Antiquity No one leaves Egypt without gawking at the Pyramids of Giza, built about 4,600 years ago, and their enigmatic guardian, the Great Sphinx. Meet the mummies at the Egyptian Museum—and then go back for more. "Visit the Egyptian Museum twice," counsels Max Rodenbeck, Middle East bureau chief for The Economist. "The second time, you're used to the hassle and the crowds, and you can just find the most beautiful things."
2. Scour the Suqs In the heart of the Khan el Khalili, Cairo's most famous bazaar, Saladin Abdelaziz of Atlas Silks custom-makes traditional hand-embroidered robes and caftans from the finest silks and cottons. "Everyone goes to him," says socialite Zizette Serry. Al Khatoun (3 Mohamed Abdo St.) behind Al-Azhar Mosque sells classic Egyptian craftwork, like hammered copper bowls and block-printed textiles, updated to modern tastes. The truly intre-pid will enjoy browsing Friday's raucous Suq al-Goma'a (take a taxi to Sayyeda Aisha, south of the Citadel), an enormous flea market that sprawls into the City of the Dead, a labyrinthine neighborhood of tombs now occupied by the living.
3. Inhale Tradition Take a break to smoke the sweet, fruit-scented tobacco that burns atop a shisha, or water pipe. Although the streetside caf&s are filled with paunchy men whose numbers double if there's a soccer match on TV, women pick up the pipe as well at places like Al Fishawi in the Khan. William Wells, the owner of Cairo's top contemporary art space, Townhouse Gallery (10 Nabrawy St.), recommends Sequoia (end of Abu el Feda St.), a chic Nile-side restaurant and shisha bar on the island of Zamalek.
4. Catch the Sunset Cairo is never more magical than at sunset, when the pollution that ordinarily hangs gray over the city is suffused with pink and orange. Rent a felucca in front of the Four Seasons Hotel Cairo at Nile Plaza, and enjoy the view from the water. Or, settle in with a cocktail at the newly opened El Mojito, on the roof of the Nile Hilton.
5. Shake it to the East Despite increased conservatism, the lusty art of Middle East dance is alive and well. Liza Laziza at Le Méridien Pyramids resort and Dina at the Semiramis InterContinental hotel are the city's best; call ahead to reserve a table near the front.
6. Tuck in to Local Fare Cairenes often eat at home, or on the run, grabbing a sandwich or a plastic container of koshary, a maelstrom of macaroni, rice, lentils, fried onions, and tomato sauce. "For a real baladi [local] experience," says Nicha Sursock, one of Cairo's leading restaurateurs, "go to Abou Tarek." This three-story koshary emporium at 40 Champollion Street fills up with families and couples gathered around shiny metal tables. For the city's best Indian meal, head to the expensive, intimate Moghul Room, at the Mena House Oberoi hotel. If you're not retiring to a room there, be sure to gaze at the illuminated Pyramids on your way out. The Citadel restaurant in Al-Azhar Park, perched high over the city with great views of Ottoman-style mosques, serves Middle Eastern cuisine, with grilled meats a highlight.
7. Diversify your Wardrobe For Middle Eastern embroidered clothing and accessories modernized to fit seamlessly into a contemporary closet, museum consultant Lyn Younes frequents Mounaya Gallery (16 Mohamed Anis St.) and the Siwa store (17 Ahmed Heshmat St.) on Zamalek. Mounaya stocks a wide selection of wares from around the region, including jewelry and handbags from Lebanon, handpicked by the shop's elegant owner. Siwa sells exquisitely hand-embroidered caftans, as well as organic olive oil and gourmet foodstuffs, all from Siwa, a remote and pristine oasis near the Libyan border.
8. Go Alternative An eclectic and eccentric crowd populates the Greek Club (28 Mahmoud Bassyouni St.). "Journalists and card-carrying expats are regulars," says Negar Azimi, an editor of Bidoun, a magazine about Middle East arts and culture, "but get drowned out by the awesome collection of lefties, Kifaya [an opposition street movement] sloganeers, bloggers, and actors."
Fast Facts Cairo's attractions are spread out among different neighborhoods, but taxis are cheap. Leave plenty of time to get around, because the traffic can be brutal. In summer, temperatures can head past 100˚F, but you'll still want to dress modestly, especially in mosques: shoulders and knees covered (for both women and men).
Text by Katie Knorovsky
Before you set out for the Land of the Pharaohs, prime yourself with Traveler's picks for blogs, podcasts, maps, and other essential resources.
Blogs
Canadian Maryanne Stroud Gabbani moved to Egypt in the late 1980s with her husband and children and now spends her days guiding horseback trail rides through Egypt. Her reflections zigzag through all aspects of daily life, from molokheya (which she says could be called the Egyptian national dish) to celebrating Christmas Egyptian-style. Plus, she journals her experiences on horseback and chronicles Cairo street scenes with daily photos.
Cairo-based Hannah Allam, a correspondent for McClatchy newspapers, provides polished commentary on regional news headlines, reviews of intriguing Arab art exhibits, and profiles of community activists.
Tap into the local scene through this Web portal featuring news, celebrity gossip, chat rooms, travel basics, and more.
Listings of upcoming live music—from rock to flamenco—as well as movie showtimes, new art exhibits, and detailed restaurant descriptions.
The "premier Egyptian news and views portal," Cairolive.com launched in 1996 as Exodus Egypt to cater to the Egyptian émigré community worldwide. Editors compile and summarize news from the Egyptian press as well as local viewpoints. Skim through the reader-submitted questions in "Ask Al-Zaieem" for tips to help plan your trip.
Baheyya: Egypt Analysis and Whimsy
An independent-minded Egyptian woman shares commentary on politics and culture as well as musings on literature, art, and issues of social justice. Be warned: Some postings provide a grim (and graphic) look at the Middle East.
A clearinghouse of Egyptian bloggers, sorted by language or topic.
Let Flickr take you on a tour through Cairo with this diverse collection of photos captured by amateur and professional photographers from around the globe.
Podcasts
The Egyptian Tourism Authority's interactive language tool teaches useful Arabic phrases and words to help English-speaking travelers navigate day-to-day situations, from catching a taxi to bartering in the suqs.
With these intermediate Arabic lessons, you'll master idiomatic expressions, like what to say when someone sneezes, as well as sports terms and how to ask for help.
Learn Arabic from host and blogger Mohammad Saleh Kayali. The 20-year-old Syrian college student has created several mini-lessons about Arabic culture and language, covering both conversational skills and formal grammar.
A group of 30 American students enrolled in colloquial Egyptian-Arabic classes at Egypt's American Research Center immerse themselves in Cairo's complexities for two months while studying Arabic. Hear excerpts from their language classes and highlights from their travels.
Zone out with National Geographic's free downloadable 18-minute atmosphere video clip, and watch Cairo slowly wake up as the sun crests over the Nile.
Recorded live at Cairo's Mosque of the Healers, guide Emil Shaker and the mosque's Imam, a sufi master, lead a tour through the Ar-Rifai Mosque. Once inside the Royal Tombs, the Imam sings in Arabic for a moving and spiritual experience.
Arthur Edwards's Royal Podcasts
Armchair-travel through Cairo like royalty as British journalist Arthur Edwards shadows Prince Charles and his wife, Camilla, on a trek through the land of the pharaohs to the Egyptian Museum and Al-Azhar Mosque.
Newspapers
Keep up on current events with the English-language weekly version of the widely read Al-Ahram, Cairo's daily paper, founded in 1875. In addition to local and international news coverage, the publication includes listings of cultural offerings, a travel section that touts nearby getaways, and a regular column by Zahi Hawass, the world-famous Egyptian archaeologist and National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence. Check out "Snap Shot" for quirky bits of Cairo lore.
Featuring Egyptian viewpoints on local businesses, politics, culture, and news, this independent newspaper's launch in 2005 made it the first English-language daily in Egypt. Quick links at the top of the homepage give easy access to Cairo restaurants, museums, galleries, hotels, and more.
Content for its now-defunct daily print newspaper was formerly controlled by the Egyptian Ministry of Information. In 2003, the publication went exclusively online (and uncensored). Now you can skim through stories online that were originally censored.
Magazines
This popular monthly current affairs magazine is Egypt's oldest English-language publication of its kind (since 1979) and helps locals and travelers alike navigate Middle Eastern culture, from investigative features and social commentary to restaurant and theater reviews.
A glossy lifestyle magazine for the jetsetters of the Arab world, Enigma's articles showcase trendy vacations and edgy fashion for its well-heeled readers. Irreverent columnists challenge traditionally conservative Egypt with a modern outlook on society.
The alumni magazine for the American University in Cairo mixes campus news and alumni profiles with compelling features, such as striking photo essays on Cairo.
Published by the American Chamber of Commerce in Egypt since 1985, this is the magazine for English speakers doing business in Egypt. Articles track market and corporate news with monthly features on finance and the "executive life."
Egypt's only independent business magazine offers business advice, topical analyses, and market news to a mix of Egyptian and expatriate readers.
Maps
National Geographic MapMachine
Log on to National Geographic's MapMachine to get a road map, a satellite view, or a whole slew of theme maps revealing the region's trends in weather, natural disasters, natural resources, population density, and more.
This zoom-able satellite map of Cairo gives a bird's-eye view of major sights and surrounding areas.
This enlarged map of Cairo has clearly marked street names.
Greater Cairo is broken down into four enlargeable chunks with tourist-friendly descriptions of each area.
Print a copy of the map to the Cairo Metro, the first and only subway system in the Middle East and Africa.
An overview of greater Cairo's major sights. Click on the attractions for photos and descriptions highlighting each site's historical context.
Books
Midaq Alley, by Naguib Mahfouz (1947)
This superb slice-of-life tale from Egyptian Nobel laureate Mahfouz is set in the seedy back alleys of 1940s Cairo, where the lives of an eccentric cast of characters intertwine, including a coffeehouse owner, an orphan drawn into prostitution, and a man who earns his livelihood disfiguring people to help them become more successful beggars.
The Yacoubian Building: A Novel, by Alaa Al Aswany (2002)
A vision of faded art deco glory, the Yacoubian Building is home to a fascinating group of modern Cairenes living in downtown's smog. The bestselling novel's taboo-breaking sexual frankness, religious extremism, and political corruption caused immediate scandal in the Arab world upon publication.
A Café on the Nile, by Bartle Bull (1998)
Bull artfully chronicles an old-fashioned adventure of espionage and valiant acts starting at Cataract Café on a barge in Cairo and journeying on safari in pre-World War II eastern Africa.
The Man in the White Sharkskin Suit: My Family's Exodus from Old Cairo to the New World, by Lucette Lagnado (2007)
Lagnado evokes the cosmopolitan glamour of mid-century Cairo as she remembers it when she was a young Egyptian Jewish girl whose father consorted with British officers and Egyptian royalty at French cafés instead of spending time at home with his family. Forced to flee their beloved homeland in 1963 during the Nasser regime, Lagnado's family escapes to Paris and ultimately winds up in Brooklyn—armed with 26 suitcases filled with trinkets from their former lavish lifestyle.
Movies
Death on the Nile (1978)
When Linnet Ridgeway, a rich heiress, is murdered on the Nile aboard the S.S. Karnak, Belgian sleuth Hercule Poirot must solve the mystery before the ship reaches port. Agatha Christie wrote this classic whodunit while staying in Cairo's Victorian-era Old Cataract Hotel.
Sphinx (1981)
Archaeologist Erica Baron (Lesley-Anne Down) finally arrives in Cairo for a long-planned trip to search for the lost tomb of an Egyptian king. She witnesses the murder of a local expert and suddenly discovers she has become the target of assassins. With Cairo and the Valley of the Kings as a majestic backdrop, Baron finds herself smack dab in the center of a thrilling adventure.
Prince of Egypt (1998)
DreamWorks interprets the biblical story of Moses leading God's people out of Egypt and to the Promised Land in this animated musical. Opening with Moses and Ramses (the future Pharaoh) racing each other playfully through the streets of Cairo on chariots, the animations present a gorgeous, albeit idealized, sense of ancient Egypt.
The English Patient (1996)
The star-crossed affair between a Hungarian explorer and a married English woman plays out against lush Cairo settings (though not actually filmed in Cairo)—the legendary Shepheard's Hotel, the twisty alleyways of a suq—in Anthony Minghella's swoony adaptation of Michael Ondaatje's novel.