Comfortable Cairo

Advantages: good location, clean and comfortable
Disadvantages: none

...The Dutch Golden Tulip hotel chain has two hotels in Egypt. One in Cairo and the other is a resort hotel on the Red Sea. On a recent visit to Cairo, I stayed at the Cairo hotel. It is a four star hotel and rooms start at about EUR65 a night. The hotel is located in Zamalek, an island on the Nile in a fairly quiet area (by Egyptian standards) with lots of shaded avenues and 19th century buildings, including many homes of foreign dignitaries. Zamalek is a great location to be in as there are several western chain fast food restaurants nearby (Pizza Hut, McDonalds, etc.) and a supermarket just around the corner. The hotel also has its own bakery with very good pastries and breads. It is an area that is popular with a lot of foreigners, particularly Europeans. There is also an internet café just across the street. While there is no...

zainabm 31.08.2006 · Read review
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Review of Golden Tulip Flamenco, Cairo

Cairo, The Pyramids and The Cairo museum

Advantages: Obvious - The Pyramids, The Sphinx and the Cairo museum!
Disadvantages: Very busy and very polluted but don't let that put you off

...need of a holiday I began to think about fulfilling my dream and visiting the Pyramids. However, being a single woman, travelling to Egypt without a companion did not seem sensible and as most of my friends have young children finding a travel companion seemed unlikely so I began to dismiss the idea. Then a friend lent me "The Alchemist" by Paolo Coelho, a modern fable about following your dreams (I intend writing about the book in an article soon) and it inspired me to find a way. Then a work colleague, also a single woman who loves to travel to out of the way places, introduced me to a travel company called Explore (see my article Lone Traveller - you can see the world) and on 20 November 1999 I was on the plane to Cairo. Arriving in Cairo at midnight and being driven straight to the hotel, my first real sight of the city was early...

indychick_uk 23.02.2001 · Read review
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Review of Cairo (Egypt)

Cairo - life after death

Advantages: the atmosphere and strangeness of the place
Disadvantages: don't go if you dislike heat, pollution and stench!

...I visited to Egypt in 1998 and stayed at the Luxor Hilton, travelling to Cairo on the overnight train which cost around £20 return per person at that time. The "sleeper" compartments of the train really just meant large reclining chairs and curtained windows! I remember it being comfortable enough though - one advantage being that you wake at around 8am having slept for most of the journey, and so feel somewhat refreshed - which is lucky because Cairo hits you right between the eyes! The almost suffocating choke of the city's pollution and dust was quite shocking after the relative peace of Luxor, which is still considered a "village" by many! The traffic is incredibly busy and crossing the road is to take your life in your hands! I took a taxi from the train station straight to the Giza Plateau to visit the Pyramids...

fallon005 17.08.2004 · Read review
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Review of Cairo (Egypt)

The less glamerous side of Cairo

Advantages: Amazing history, sun,
Disadvantages: Very polluted and stuffy at times!

...Once again I went travelling in 2001 as part of a charity group. This meant that I was able to see a little more than the average tourist does of the real Cairo and that area. Although I feel sure we only scratched the surface of life out there this is what I experienced. Attached to Cairo are three 'villages' Mottamdia, Macattum and Helwan. A mixture of badly built brick homes and corrigated iron huts, these places are the homes of the rubbish collectors of Cairo. The majority of the polutaion of these places is coptic. This is a type of orthodox Christian and becuase of their religion these people did not used to be able to work. So they became pig breeders collected the rubbish from the city to feed to their pigs. As things like metals and plastic became part of the rubbish the trade of these people changed. Now they sort...

livelifeandsmile 24.07.2002 · Read review
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Review of Cairo (Egypt)

A Day Trip To Cairo By Air from Cyprus

Advantages: See everything in one day.
Disadvantages: Do not go in August as the weather is too humid.

...I went to Egypt for one day by flying from Paphos to Cairo in August 2007. It took one hour to get there. I booked the trip with a travel agent in Paphos and it cost £200 cyprus per person travelling with Louis Travel. The air trip was a good flight and it included food (breakfast). The day was packed with lots of things to do. We arrived at Cairo and was quickly transported to a coach, which took us to our first destination - Citadel of Saladin. The coach drove through Heliopolis, an elite residential suburb of Cairo our professional guide pointed out places of interest and introduced us to the long history and rich culture of Egypt 'en route' to our first highlights, being a mosque called Alabaster Mosque of Mohamed Ali. We spent some time here inside the mosque walking around it. Our next stop was the Pyramids...

dee2206 03.01.2008 · Read review
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Review of Cairo Attractions: The Giza Pyramids

Generally Chaotic

Advantages: Multiplayer, nice animation, quirky
Disadvantages: Pales into obscurity versus todays technology

...I decided to write a review of this seeing as I've never met anyone else who has ever heard of this bar my own brother. we used to while away the time on this simplistic army game. The game is named after one of the storyline's main General's. The conflict in question is between the blue forces of 'General Chaos' and the red troops of 'General Havoc.' The game is a very cartoony offering from EA, released in 1994 on SEGA Mega Drive. It is a mulitplayer compatible game and two players can play either co-op or against each other, and if I'm not mistaken, it was also possible to play 4 player with use of the special multiplayer pads. I no longer own this game and as a result am reviewing this from hazy childhood memory. The two main game modes are firstly a kind of 'campaign mode' where players compete against the computer for specific...

BZ2886 19.02.2009 · Read review
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Review of General Chaos (Mega Drive)

Cairo - A must see experiance - ONCE!!!!!!

Advantages: Must see wonder of the world, Once in a Lifetime experiance
Disadvantages: Poverty, begging, Driving conditions.

...If you get the chance to go to Cairo you must! It is an experiance like no other......Never again........ We booked our day trip to Cairo through a reputable tour operator whilst staying in Hurgahda and I am very glad we did. It is a place I have always wanted to visit but had my reservations for various reasons. Because we booked through a reputable company we were allocated our own personal guide for myself , my husband and my 8 year old son. The guide was fantastic!! The best advice I could give would be to wear comfortable clothing and footwear ,the tour took 19 hours in total including a 50minute flight either way from Hurgahda. Your can wear shorts and T shirt there are no restrictions on dress even though its is in large a muslem city. The men in Cairo are OBSESSED with half dressed women so beware!!! they are not...

NickyTate 28.09.2005 · Read review
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Review of Cairo (Egypt)

Sara Inn Cairo

Advantages: Location Location Location
Disadvantages: Breakfast not included

...Sara Inn may be a hostel but it certainly is a great place to stay. It is located very near the Sadat metro station close to the heart of downtown Cairo, near Tahrir Square. Let me begin with the air port pick up service that is offered. As opposed to many other hostels, this service is genuine by Sara Inn. Someone will pick you up and deliver you to Sara Inn for the stated price. Of course it is entirely up to you to give any bakseesh on top of that. You only have to pay once you have checked in at the hostel. The price is usually 50EGP. The driver only gets half of that so I suggest tipping the driver. The hostel itself is on the 7th floor. There is a lift so use it. If you dont take a taxi though, it may a bit difficult to find but I managed to find it. I asked around and there were people who were helpful enough to walk with me...

indianbear 26.01.2007 · Read review
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Review of Sara Inn Hostel, Cairo

Splendour of Egypt 7-21/5/05 CAIRO

Advantages: See the wonders of the ancient world
Disadvantages: Cairo is a very busy and noisy city.

...for a sucker, just use common sense, use alot of good humour and always be polite. We went to Egypt last May (7-21 2005) for 15 glorious days travelling with Bales Worldwide on their 'Splendour of Egypt'* escorted group tour - there were twelve of us - (with a tour manager from travelling with you from London and Egyptian guide throughout); 3 nights in Cairo, 1 night at Abu Simbel, 7 night Nile cruise from Aswan to Luxor, back to Aswan for 2 nights and then 1 night in Cairo before flying home. *This year the tour has changed, there are 4 nights in Cairo, 7 night Nile cruise, 2 nights at Aswan and 1 night in Cairo. You are now met at Cairo Airport by your tour manager/guide. CAIRO We arrived in Cairo after a five hour flight and while I was busy dying (I am a poor flyer) my mother had enjoyed herself chatting to a really nice Egyptian man...

winimae 04.06.2006 · Read review
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Review of Cairo, Egypt (CAI)

GENERAL Turkish Wine

Advantages: Better than Greek wine
Disadvantages: Four times more expensive than similar french table wine.

...Having made a hash of slotting my two last reviews into the right category, I found this no easier. I just want to talk about wine in Turkey - in general - and if you are contemplating a holiday there for the first time - what you might expect to buy. Firstly I went to Bodrum on a sailing holiday in October 2006 and had a fantastic holiday, sailing out of Bodrum, which is absolutely gorgeous - a gem in fact, with such friendly people. I actually didn't want to go, having worked in Turkey near the Iraq border twice before.How wise I was not to refuse to go (which was on my mind) "Toursit" Turkey is like that however, but wine is not available in general off the beaten track. If you are travelling by car or by boat - stock up when you get the chance!! The Turks have been making wine like forever. It is not a new tourist gimmick...

webfoot 16.01.2008 · Read review
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Review of General: Turkey