July 17th, 2005
Central Cairo
The current heart of Cairo, the downtown region roughly centered around Midan Tahrir, stretching east to Ramses Station and south to Garden City, is relatively young - only in the mid 1800s was this area west of Ezbekiya to the Nile drained and developed. The architecture of the downtown cacophony of shops, restaurants, theatres, offices, apartment buildings, and hotels possesses an old-world elegance. Stand at Midan Talat Harb and you could almost imagine you were in Paris.
The area also boasts numerous museums and contemporary art galleries. The Egyptian Museum, with it’s monumental collection of antiquities, is located on Midan Tahrir and requires several hours to peruse the collection. The recently opened Abdeen Palace Museum displays a collection from pre-independence times. Bookworms will want to browse among the dozens of small second hand stalls at Ezbekiya, near Midan Opera, where there is a good selection of both Arabic and foreign language publications and magazines.
Giza
The area to the west of the Nile is technically a separate Governorate from Cairo, but inextricably linked to the city. The road leading west to the pyramids of Giza has numerous hotels, restaurants, nightclubs and residences. The Pyramids of Giza have drawn visitors throughout the centuries to gaze in awe at the "glory of the ancients".
July 10th, 2005
Old Cairo (Masr El-Kadima)
Sometimes known as "Coptic Cairo", this area provides an historical link between Cairo’s Pharaonic and Islamic periods. It is likely that the area was settled from the 6th century BC. It was here that in 130 AD, the Roman emperor Trajan erected Babylon Fort, the core of the old city. The area features several old Coptic churches as well as Ben Ezra Synagogue. The ruins of the old city of Fustat are also nearby including Amr Ben El-Aas Mosque, which is considered the oldest mosque in Egypt and Africa.
It’s a small area, which includes symbols of the 3 religions together, Islam, Christianity and Judaism. U can imagine that a lot of people go to the same area to pray whatever their religion is. It’s an area that represents peace and tolerance, when u visit it u feel a lot of relaxation besides taking u in a journey into the past. It’s about 10 minutes by car from the Egyptian Museum.
June 30th, 2005
Moulid of El-Hussein
Religious festival of color and music
El-Hussein Mosque
(El-Hussein Square)
Khan El-Khalili
Cairo
Neighborhood: Islamic Cairo
This is one of the most popular and colorful festivals of the year, gathering pace over a week and culminating in a leyla kebira (big night) on the last Wednesday of the Islamic month of Rabi el-Tani. People from all over the country come to El-Hussein Mosque to honor the Prophet’s grandson, who was killed in Iraq in 680 A.D. Tents are erected around the mosque for poets, entertainers and zikr (religious dances). Sufis attending the festivities parade through the streets, each sect with its own banners and musical instruments.
start date: 1/7/2005
end date: 31/7/2005
24 hours daily
June 28th, 2005
A branch of the worldwide series of Carrefour Hypermarkets was opened in Cairo more than 2 years ago to present one of the biggest services that all Egyptians and foreigners in Cairo need. It’s located on the Ring Road near Maadi. Another branch was opened in Alexandria a short time later and other 2 new branches will be opened next year in Cairo.
As a tourist u can visit Carrefour and u will be happy for the next reasons:
1- U can find anything u look for and can’t find anywhere else whatever that thing is.
2- Even if the thing u look for is available in other places, u will find it cheaper in Carrefour besides they have the best quality products.
3- There r lots of restaurants inside (Egyptian, American, Chinese, Lebanese and Italian).
4- There is a place for kids to have fun and even the elder people can find products, which are present in their countries, but here it’s cheaper.
5- A lot of tour companies make sometime for Carrefour during their day tour in Cairo to let their tourists have some relaxing time with fun and also do shopping. If u r an independent tourist u can go there also and there’s a big car park, which is free of Charge. Have fun.
