Cairo – the Two-Faced Metropolis

I landed in Cairo city with a night flight and the first image of this huge metropolis was the endless sea of lights. With over 16 millions people, Cairo population overwhelms the city area, and creates a whole different world beyond the popular image of the Cairo Pyramids.

I had the opportunity to get to know the both sides – the Cairo extravaganza of the rich class, next door to the poor streets reality. My apartment was in the heart of the elegant island of Zamalek, just five minutes from a Cairo club of riding. Every Saturday (the official day off in Cairo) I was enjoying a delicious breakfast on the terrace of Marriott Cairo Hotel in Zamalek, surrounded by the families and friends of the rich people in Cairo city. A serene world, where Muslim women wore their hijab as just another accessory, along with make-up and tide jeans, and where men discussed about politics and travelling. My Cairo tours revealed the high-end Cairo hotels – the exquisite Mena House Cairo Oberoi, a superb property with spectacular views over the Pyramids, the five star properties of Sheraton Cairo, the two rich Hilton Cairo brothers giving hands over the Nile river – Hilton Nile and Hilton Ramses, the luxurious Grand Hyatt Hotel in Cairo, with its own cruise and the revolving restaurant with incredible views over the whole city, or the spectacular Intercontinental Cairo properties, crowned by the luxurious City Stars. I also ate traditional at the renown Abou el Sid, the best Cairo restaurant with authentic Egyptian food and decoration. I sipped cocktails on a Nile cruise at sunset, and I visited the imposing mansion of their famous singer Umm Kalthoum, the “Diva of the Arab song”. I sure learned that when it comes about high-class, Cairo city sure knows how to spoil its rich and famous society and splurging guests.

Between all these luxury nests, there is a different reality. When you pass along the side streets of Cairo city, hundreds of pictures are mirroring in your taxi window, recreating the true essence of this metropolis. A grey crowd of poor people, women covered with black niqab, men and kids wearing their long abayas, in front of small shops selling meat and koushari, smoking their shishas and talking, arguing, laughing or simply watching the world go by. And when you step into the Cairo Bazaar Khan el Khalili, is here that you’ll find the soul of this city, in this fantastic world of merry merchants willing to negotiate, flavoured shishas, precious metals and kitschy souvenirs, laughs, mint tea and exotic spices, a world that makes you dizzy and happy to experience.

It’s not enough to visit Cairo only to take a photo of the Pyramids and the Museum of Egyptology or going to sleep in a comfy Cairo hotel room after visiting the popular attractions, thinking they are all that Cairo means. Wander along its streets, smell its spices, capture on camera the smile of a little boy wearing a long dress, take a walk along the Nile promenade and listen the echoes from the mosque prayers when the sun goes down over the contrasting Cairo.