This mythical city is the
largest metropolis of the Arab world and the African continent. Weighed down
by its 16 million inhabitants, it beats records of traffic jams, noise,
pollution and dust. Today like yesterday, the city, swarming with life,
fascinate by its mosques, its old districts, its museums, and the mixing in
the same place of three civilizations - antique, Christian and Moslem.Cairo
is one place that is not set up for the backpacker crowd. The town is
sprawling, and information, maps and trust are hard to come by. If you don't
find a hotel with a friendly helpful staff, your visit will be more
challenging than you could imagine. Although transportation in Cairo is
relatively cheap in comparison to the rest of the world, I still found taxis
to be annoying and a hassle. Unlike many cities I have been in, many taxi
drivers here have no clue where things are at, or even the names of roads.
Even with an address written in Arabic, there still may be trouble. I have
showed an address to a driver, he says "Ok", I get in, and he starts asking
ME directions! On the day I left, it was 4 am and I negotiated a taxi to the
airport for a reasonable fare. After I and my bags were in the taxi, he went
down the road and stopped someone to ask directions to the airport!!! When
he discovered where it was, he spent the entire rest of the journey hassling
me for a higher fare! But,
Cairo is a very safe place. Families with little kids are out late into the
night walking through the streets or sitting in the parks visiting with
their neighbors. I never felt afraid or threatened no matter what hour of
the day or night. No one groped me even on a crowded bus or train. Try that
in an American city!
To hold back the great flood of
people which ruches into on Cairo, the government undertook since 1978 the
construction of 7 new cities in edge of the desert, equipped with running
water and sewers, of schools and dispensaries. The demographic growth
accelerates: 4 million inhabitants in 1967, 16 million today. In some
popular districts, the density reaches more than 150 000 inhabitants per
km2. The expressways multiply while the pyramids of Giza disappear little by
little behind a hedge of buildings.
