The capital of Egypt, Cairo is a mix of ancient and modern in a frenetically paced busy city with over 16 million inhabitants. This chaotic city is an experience in itself and just moving around you are almost overwhelmed by the contrast.

Cairo has mainly two seasons; these are hot and very hot. I would definitely advise visiting in the hot season from September to April as the rest of the year the city can become almost unbearable. Also try to avoid the major Muslim festivals as you will find a great number of shops, museums and business shutting for at least half of the day.

The oldest part of Cairo – Coptic Cairo – has been inhabited for more than 2000 years. This is the original Roman built Babylon and the center of Christianity within Cairo. Here you will find a number of churches and synagogues mixed amongst Roman remains. Islamic Cairo contains many of the great Mosques of the city and has a wealth of bazaars and tiny streets to explore.

Apart from the very obvious attractions of the nearby pyramids there are also a lot of interesting places to visit in the city itself:

Cairo has a huge range of shopping and the Khan el-Khalili souk (bazaar) is a definite must see, but there are more modern shopping centers with air conditioning if you want to escape the heat.

The Egyptian museum is a must see with a huge range of remains from Ancient Egypt as well as Roman and Grecian artifacts amongst its most notable 120000 objects.

The city of the Dead whilst not sounding the most inviting is in the truest sense a living cemetery with many of the larger tombs being used as homes by the poorest of Cairo’s inhabitants.

The Nile may offer you a welcome break from the pollution and pace of Cairo, here you can take a sail boat ride and enjoy a feeling of space somewhat hard to attain in the city.

Cairo’s mix of ancient and modern is amazing with tower blocks next to traditional mud brick houses and donkey drawn carts slowly moving down roads next to cars of all types, the city has to be one of the most interesting in the world nad a great place to explore.