Cairo - Egyption Museum & Cairo Bazaar

May 2006

Click on any photo to see a larger view of it or a slideshow of the photos

While we were lying at the pool we asked one of the waiters what a taxi into Cairo to see the Egyptian museum would be. "Is it our secret?" was his reply. As it turned out, his father was a taxi driver and he, we discovered from his father, a qualified lawyer! So on our third day we hired his father for half the day (for GBP £10!!!) to visit the Egyptian museum, the bazaar and, of course, a shop. The museum and Tutankhamen's treasures where AMAZING. Firstly the amount of things he had for his comfort, his trip to "the other side" and his treasures to take along, and then, the room where his gold jewellery, caskets, golden chariots and masks were on display. Looking at these was an experience in itself. Again, WOW!!!

Next we went to explore the bazaar, Kahn el-Khalili, built in 1382 and reconstructed in the 16th century. Being a Sunday, a lot of the shops and stalls were closed but, as we were not really looking to shop, this did not bother us. One thing we had read about and wanted to see were the spice shops. We found two of these and going into them was a visual and smelling experience. They were not just full of spices but also medicine, western, eastern and other, teas and a variety of other products which we did not really recognise. We paid these shops a few visits as the smells of the spices were just wonderful.

Then on our drive to the shop en route back to our hotel we saw the great mosque (Citadel) in the distance. I was about to take a photo out of the window when our driver / guide said I should wait, there was a better viewpoint where he would stop, on the busy highway! That sums up the driving in Cairo. He did indeed take us to a shop which, as he had promised, was not a rip-off shop. We only bought a T-shirt but it was about a quarter of the price we had seen elsewhere BEFORE haggling!!

Back at our hotel we spent the rest of the afternoon back on our lounges at the swimming pool. Once the sun had cooled later in the afternoon, we went for a walk to buy more water and ice-cream and to take yet more pyramid photos (-: It was difficult not to keep taking photos as the Pyramids were everything and more than we expected and hoped for.

Our last day was just until we were picked up to go to the airport at noon so we had a leisurely breakfast, every morning we were treated to a sumptuous breakfast buffet, and then some more swimming and lounging at the pool. What a great way to see the pyramids!