Cairo: Day Three

On our last full day in Cairo we headed to the Kahn el-Khalili bazar. The bazar is massive and has different sections for food, fabric, perfume, clothing, and tourist kitsch. We were meeting two of Ben Egyptian colleagues for lunch at a restaurant called Nagib Mahfouz, which was delicious. We got there a bit early to have a wonder around before lunch. 

After lunch we went to a few mosques. I got to wear my headscarf again and they provided me with a floor length skirt as girls can't wear trousers in this mosque.

We then climbed the Bab Zuweila gate. This gate is part of the ancient wall that surrounded Cairo. It was built in 1092 and is in great condition. You can climb all the way up the spires in the picture below. We only made it two thirds of the way up as the last part involves climbing a metal spiral latter that did not appear to be that safe. 

 Here is the whole group. I like how I am awkwardly standing to the side. 

The sidewalk. We should have just walked in the road like everyone else. 

And that was our trip to Cairo. My advice is that Cairo is definitely worth visiting. It is in no way like visiting a European city, and even a far cry from how clean and nice things are in Jordan or Israel but just the history of the city alone makes it worth visiting. I would say that I don't think I would feel comfortable visiting Cairo by myself, unless I had a local guide to go around with. I never self unsafe but I was glad that I was with a small group of people. There are lots of very nice hotels and great restaurants which makes for a comfortable trip. Ben and I would happily go back to Egypt, but our next trip would be to Luxor if we go back.

Oh and this is a little video I took to better show what walking around Cairo was like