I lived for a year in Cairo in 2000. I returned on business for a week in January 2008. While I was stuck in meetings for most of the week, Jackie was out taking photos - here are a few highlights

View from my room at the Sofitel Hotel on Gezira Island in the middle of the Nile.

nile

While I was a teacher at the British Council in 2000 quite a few of my friends lived in houseboats on the Nile. Great location and an exotic place to live, however they were often very cold in winter and very hot in summer. At the time the number of houseboats was declining and the ones available were in a poor state of repair. However, by the looks of these ones by the KitKat mosque, they have been rejuvenated and are popular once again.

houseboats on the nile

I find 'Downtown' quite an interesting part of Cairo. Most of the buildings were built around the first few decades of the twentieth century in the Parisian style. Fortunately most of them are still standing and have not been demolished in favour of modern monstrosities

downtown cairo

Don't get blind drunk on 'fine old Egyptian drinks ' masquerading as popular western brands as it may actually happen.

booze

The Islamic quarter is famous for containing many old mosques as featured on the page of the same name on this site. But it may be even more famous for tourists seeking souvenirs as the location for the Khan Al Khalili, a maze of shopping streets.

khan al khalili man sheep streetscene old quarter, cairo bread on a bike old quarter, cairo fuul vendor

The Citadel with the Mohamed Ali mosque dominates Cairo

citadel, cairo

Of course on the edge of Cairo are the incomparable Pyramids at Giza

pyramids at giza pyramids and camel boy pyramid

A few miles south of the Giza Pyramids is the pyramid at Saqqara which is even older

saqqara

Coptic Cairo is a historic area containing many Christians and churches such as the Hanging Church - so called becasue it was built over the Roman water gate which permitted entry to the ancient city in Roman times.

church door coptic cairo hanging church coptic cairo

Another church in Coptic Cairo getting ready for Christmas

inside church coptic cairo

The Christian cemetery is still used and has, like the rest of Cairo, its own population of cats

cat in beret

No page of globalwanderings would be complete without a photograph of local food. Here is a bowl of Koshari, a mixture of beans, nuts, rice, macaroni, fried onions and mince with a spicy tomato sauce.

koshari

A soldiers beret provides a warm and comfy place to lie down.

cat in beret