Cairo is loud, ancient and gloriously alive — a city where a 4,500-year-old wonder sits at the end of a metro line. Arabic greetings open doors here; bargaining opens wallets (carefully).
- See the Pyramids of Giza at opening time — beat the heat and the buses. Skip the "official guide" offers at the gate; your ticket is all you need.
- Get lost in Khan el-Khalili — the 600-year-old bazaar. Bargain with a smile: "ghali!" (expensive!) is half the fun, mint tea breaks are the other half.
- Meet Tutankhamun at the Grand Egyptian Museum — the full treasure collection in one breathtaking new building beside the pyramids.
- Drink tea in a downtown ahwa — Cairo's traditional cafés: dominoes clacking, shisha smoke, strangers who become conversation partners in minutes.
- Take a felucca on the Nile at sunset — a wooden sailboat, the call to prayer drifting across the water, the city glowing. Unbeatable for the price of a coffee back home.
Egyptians are legendarily talkative hosts — "ahlan wa sahlan" (welcome!) is the national sport. Practise your Arabic with a speaker below before you go.
