Things to Do While Visiting Cairo
by Gretchen Kelly
Cairo is a city that most travelers feel they know even before they’ve been there. The city is ensconced in the public imagination: from fictional movies like The Mummy films and Raiders of the Lost Ark to images in the news of the hope and chaos of the Arab spring, you’ve most likely formed an impression of Cairo even before you’ve been there.
Cairo, Egypt
But Cairo defies stereotypes and classifications. This city of over 20 million is constantly changing and challenging expectations. The impending opening of the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) and the transfer of the legendary icons of King Tutankhamen from the Victorian era Egyptian Museum (known as the Cairo Museum near embattled Tahir Square) to their new location will shift the cultural treasures of Egypt’s capital and start a new chapter in the millennial-old history of Cairo.
Must-sees include:
1. The Great Pyramid of Giza Light Show
If you’re old enough to remember 1977’s The Spy Who Loved Me, you’ve seen Roger Moore’s James Bond at Cairo’s famous Sound and Light Show at the Great Pyramid of Giza. The show, which starts at sundown, has been thrilling audiences since it was started back in 1960. The booming voice that introduces you to the history of the Sphinx and the Giza Plateau’s pyramid complex is a bit corny but there’s something majestic about it, too. The plateau and its view of the pyramids and The Sphinx is also magical at night and you’re less likely to be hassled by local “guides.”
Called, “The Alabaster Mosque,” the massive dome and two famed minarets of the Mohamed Ali Mosque was built by 1848 and is coated within its interior and exterior walls with Egyptian alabaster. If the Mosque’s grandeur reminds travelers of the Blue Mosque or Hagia Sofia in Istanbul, there’s a reason. The Mohamed Ali mosque and its 52 meter-high dome were created by Yousif Boushnaq, an Ottoman Turkish architect. If you go, where modest clothing (no bare arms or shorts) and women should bring a long skirt and a head covering.
The famed Egyptian Museum near Tahir Square in downtown Cairo has been thrilling Egyptophiles since it opened in 1902. Although its most famous find, the Tutankhamen collection, will be moving to the Grand Egyptian Museum when it opens next year, much will stay behind, including the salmon pink neoclassical building where generations of Egyptologists including the discoverer of King Tut, Howard Carter, have passed. For lovers of history, atmosphere and the “Night at the Museum” feel of old vitrines and skylights, the Egyptian Museum will continue to be a landmark and a must-see.
Located in Old Cairo, the Khan-el-Khalili is a tourist attraction, yes, but it’s also a place where real Egyptians come to relax, have a cup of tea and a waterpipe, meet friends and enjoy the late afternoon when Cairo’s heat subsides and night comes on. There’s great, informal eateries, craft shops, spices and everything that springs to mind when you imagine a Middle Eastern bazaar. After shopping, visit the Bazaar’s El Fishawy Café (below) and revel in a Cairo that inspired Nobel-prize-winning author Naguib Mahfouz to write his famed Cairo Trilogy.
Opening in 2020 and much discussed and debated, the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) on the Giza Plateau is a spanking new home for the treasures of Tutankhamen and for many other artifacts currently housed in the old (1902) Egyptian Museum. The Museum will be state of the art and a must see for travelers to Cairo but if you’re a die-hard lover of Ancient Egypt, don’t miss a visit to the original old building, if purely for the Edwardian Mummy movie aesthetic.
This Khan El Khalili Bazaar favorite is close to 250 years old. It’s Egypt’s answer to literary and historic cafes like Venice’s Florians. The waterpipes abound here, along with staples like mint and almond tea. The café was a Cairo haunt of Nobel prize-winning author Naguib Mahfouz (The Cairo Trilogy).