Cairo

Cairo is the largest city in the Arab world with a polulation of over 20 million, around one fifth of all inhabitants of Egypt. It has grown rapidly with a creaking infrastructure (it makes London traffic look reasonable) and terrible polution. The economy has suffered badly from the pandemic and more recently the war in Ukraine. Tourism is a major source of income which was only just recovering from the political unrest when the pandemic hit.

We spent three nights in Cairo, taking in the top sites and enjoying the local cuisine. Local restaurants don’t serve alcohol. International hotels have alcohol licences – Egyptian wine is an “acquired taste” while imported alcohol is very heavily taxed. We used Uber to travel within the city – a fraction of the prices in London, the same driver cancellation frustrations but the added challenge of reading a number plate in arabic script.