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suggestions for one day in cairo....

suggestions for one day in cairo....

Old Apr 19, 2012, 1:51 am
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suggestions for one day in cairo....

so here is my situation....i'll be in cairo for one day for a meeting....my flight reaches around noon & i'm meeting my clients for dinner later that evening....so i'll have about 5-6 hours to kill during the day which could be used for a quick trip to see the pyramids....then my flight leaves early morning on the following day....

i'm staying at the le mridien heliopolis so my guess is that i should have checked into the hotel & would be ready to leave to go see the pyramids by 2....would this give me enough time to get & spend a couple of hours there before closing time????

also, is there a cruise/boat ride on the nile that i can take in the evening after my meeting, which i would expect to be done with by 9pm????
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Old Apr 20, 2012, 12:40 am
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any cairo experts out there????
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Old Apr 20, 2012, 12:52 am
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Yes, but it would be tight. Le Meridien is close to the airport, about a 20-minute taxi ride to the main Nile-front area, then another 30 minutes to the Pyramids. You have heard how back traffic can be, though this trip will be on highways, of sorts, so shouldn't be too risky in terms of delays.

If you don't plan to return to Cairo, then of course I would recommend seeing the Pyramids once in your life. (An hour or two there was enough for me to get the basic gist.) Though an alternative would be just to go to the city center (famous Tahrir Square area) and walk around, including the old souq back streets, which are interesting.

There are Nile cruises, though you would probably be just as well off finding a cafe, either a local place or one of the riverfront outlets at a hotel, on the Nile front and having coffee or shisha watching the views.
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Old Apr 20, 2012, 1:37 am
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Originally Posted by mecabq
Yes, but it would be tight. Le Meridien is close to the airport, about a 20-minute taxi ride to the main Nile-front area, then another 30 minutes to the Pyramids. You have heard how back traffic can be, though this trip will be on highways, of sorts, so shouldn't be too risky in terms of delays.
thanks....even the hotel said it would take about an hour to get to the pyramids....

Originally Posted by mecabq
If you don't plan to return to Cairo, then of course I would recommend seeing the Pyramids once in your life. (An hour or two there was enough for me to get the basic gist.) Though an alternative would be just to go to the city center (famous Tahrir Square area) and walk around, including the old souq back streets, which are interesting.
i have no clue when i will be back in egypt so this would be a good opportunity to see the pyramids....if i can get a couple of hours there then i feel that would be worth it....am i correct in assuming that????

Originally Posted by mecabq
There are Nile cruises, though you would probably be just as well off finding a cafe, either a local place or one of the riverfront outlets at a hotel, on the Nile front and having coffee or shisha watching the views.
shisha sounds good....i think i'll just do that....thanks again....
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Old Apr 20, 2012, 11:39 am
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Originally Posted by Keyser
i have no clue when i will be back in egypt so this would be a good opportunity to see the pyramids....if i can get a couple of hours there then i feel that would be worth it....am i correct in assuming that????
If I were in your position, I would definitely do it.

Of course, it depends who your clients are. . . if it were a job interview, I might not take the risk, but if you can withstand a risk of a delay, all the better. (In fact, if they're typical locals, they they will probably be 1-2 hours late for dinner anyway. )
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Old Apr 21, 2012, 6:12 am
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It really depends what you are interested in. I'd personally go and look at the stunning Islamic architecture (mosques, madrassas) in the Khan El Khalili area. Visiting the pyramids allows you to tick off the "been there" box, but you'll already have seen them in pictures lots of times.
And a lot closer to the hotel!
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Old Apr 22, 2012, 1:46 am
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Originally Posted by mecabq
If I were in your position, I would definitely do it.

Of course, it depends who your clients are. . . if it were a job interview, I might not take the risk, but if you can withstand a risk of a delay, all the better. (In fact, if they're typical locals, they they will probably be 1-2 hours late for dinner anyway. )
thanks....will definitely do it....not a job interview....they are clients who are flying me out there for a meeting so a delay won't be a problem, even though i don't expect there to be a delay....

Originally Posted by muscat
It really depends what you are interested in. I'd personally go and look at the stunning Islamic architecture (mosques, madrassas) in the Khan El Khalili area. Visiting the pyramids allows you to tick off the "been there" box, but you'll already have seen them in pictures lots of times.
And a lot closer to the hotel!
i have been to mosques all over the world, including mecca, medina, jakarta, istanbul, oman, etc....so seeing another mosque in cairo won't be as interesting as seeing the pyramids....
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Old May 1, 2012, 5:05 am
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thank you everyone for all your suggestions....we ended up spending about 3 hours at the pyramids & then had dinner at one of the restaurants by the nile....very good experience....^^
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