One of my favorite memories as a kid was the week my family spent in Cairo between Christmas and New Year's. Having a long week to explore Cairo we ran out of tourist spots so we spent a wild day at the zoo. This being the 80's, a western family hanging out at the zoo on a Friday was quite a spectacle. Of course, the zoo keepers, keen for a little baksheesh, were eager to see us as well! I'm pretty sure my face was licked by every giraffe in the enclosure. In the cat house, we were pulled into the back room and shown to cage where the keeper, chair and whip, in hand opened the gate and literally pulled me by the arm to come in and see the giant, hissing lion. Yella!

I don't know if the zoo has been updated at all since then but at the time it had a very backwater charm to it.