After the excitement of pyramids wore off, the rest of the trip went downhill very fast. In a short time one learns how expensive Egyptian hospitality is. They have mastered the art of first offering hospitality and then making sure you pay for it by buying expensive stuff from them. I understand the trick very well, but some how still knowingly fall for it for the fear of offending people around me. Every one is telling me, as honest muslims, how the other person was doing 'monkey business', selling me overpriced imitations, overchargimg me for services etc. Heck, I am even paying 1-2 usd in 'bakhshish' for every free call they offer to make for me, and its not the person whose phone i use but the one sitting next to him who asks for it. May be some of them are genuinely friendly and hospitable, but i became wary of " this is my Egyptian hospitality, brother" very fast.
The metro is far away, and poorly networked. half the taxis are without meter and you have to negotiate for everything Nothing is really walking distance, and few people speak English, so i finally started using taxis to take me around. I managed to cover most of the attractions that Cairo has to offer, but with the exception of the Egyptian museum, there was very little of interest. Yes, going through the first mosque in Africa, and some old churches and synagogues, and tehrir square where the Arab spring began, was interesting, but there is no information, brochures, descriptive plates, or tour guides around- one had to rely on what the taxi driver knew. I went on the nile river cruise- which could cost 1 usd or 10, depending on how much you negotiate - with a group of culturally synthesized college students, with the girls wildly gyrating in belly dancing moves on Egyptian pop music, fully covered in 'hijab'.
City is generally cheap, as petrol costs only 50 cents usd per litre, so even after paying for Egyptian hospitality, it was not really expensive, but i was tired of all the negotiations, communication problems, heat , dust, noise, pollution and and a disturbing lack of sense of history in this ancient civilization. It was a one pony trick of pyramids holding it together. I had had enough of this place and i was looking forward to get back to Europe sooner than i had imagined.
After the excitement of pyramids wore off, the rest of the trip went downhill very fast. In a short time one learns how expensive Egyptian hospitality is. They have mastered the art of first offering hospitality and then making sure you pay for it by buying expensive stuff from them. I understand the trick very well, but some how still knowingly fall for it for the fear of offending people around me. Every one is telling me, as honest muslims, how the other person was doing 'monkey business', selling me overpriced imitations, overchargimg me for services etc. Heck, I am even paying 1-2 usd in 'bakhshish' for every free call they offer to make for me, and its not the person whose phone i use but the one sitting next to him who asks for it. May be some of them are genuinely friendly and hospitable, but i became wary of " this is my Egyptian hospitality, brother" very fast. 
The metro is far away, and poorly networked. half the taxis are without meter and you have to negotiate for everything Nothing is really walking distance, and few people speak English, so i finally started using taxis to take me around. I managed to cover most of the attractions that Cairo has to offer, but with the exception of the Egyptian museum, there was very little of interest. Yes, going through the first mosque in Africa, and some old churches and synagogues, and tehrir square where the Arab spring began, was interesting, but there is no information, brochures, descriptive plates, or tour guides around- one had to rely on what the taxi driver knew. I went on the nile river cruise- which could cost 1 usd or 10, depending on how much you negotiate - with a group of culturally synthesized college students, with the girls wildly gyrating in belly dancing moves on Egyptian pop music, fully covered in 'hijab'. 
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