A Weekend in Cairo
If you have a long weekend in Cairo or may be just 2 full days, this post will help you get options and choose the best way to spend it. Of course seeing the pyramids is a no brainer, but which ones to see and where to actually spend your time and money. Whether to see them in the morning or the night sound and light show or both. The other parts of Egyptian history: its museum, Coptic Cairo and Khan el khalili. There is a lot to see if you are into history or art or both. This post also includes the local Egyptian vegetarian food and where to get it.
Best time to visit Cairo: April-May is the shoulder season and hence the best time to spend a weekend in Cairo as there are fewer tourists, temperatures are still not soared to the 40s, highest it goes during this time is typically early to mid thirties; and everything is cheaper than the high tourist season in winters including room rates, even souvenirs.
What to see:
Start with the Pyramids of Giza, one of the 7 wonders of the world. While most of the people see only the great pyramids of Giza and even pay to go inside these, I recommend not spending to go inside the pyramid. Instead pay a little extra and see the Solar Boat museum. Some interesting work of engineering and thought there – the pieces of the boat (which is expected to transport humans from this life to another) have hieroglyphic symbols to connect the pieces. Made from 7000yrs old cedar wood.
Sphinx
Next on the itinerary is Sphinx. In the Sphinx complex you’ll find two temples along with the pyramid – the mummyfying temple and funeral temple where the rites are done. Amongst the things to see there, are the ascending steps to the funeral temple which were symbolic of going up towards the heaven after death.
Pyramids of Saqqara and Dahsur: these are the pyramids worth visiting from inside due to the enormous density of hieroglyphics and paintings inside.
Egypt National Museum: It is a huge museum and 3 most important things to see here are Tutenkhamen Mask, Mummy room and the royal casks found in pyramids of Giza and Luxor. It also has a hall where you’ll find a ton of artefacts which probably have been recently excavated and yet waiting for the final section they need to go to or something.
The Papyrus Institute
Egypt is not all history, mummies and architecture. You might enjoy the idea of seeing how paper was made from a papyrus tree bark and buy a painting as a souvenir of your Egypt visit. I recommend Papyrus Institute as that was where I bought it from but in my experience, the national centers for art of any kind and in any country are not often the best deals you’ll find and you may want to check Khan-el-Khalili market to find the original papyrus paintings. Another thing to note is a lot of hawkers and shop owners near the tourist sites will sell you these paintings but most are not on original papyrus, rather banana bark, so be wary.
Khan el-Khalili is a famous market, also called souq in arabic. It is located in the historically rich center of Cairo. First established in the 14th century, it is one of the main tourist attractions. So if you have a weekend in Cairo, do make time to visit this souq which is home to many Egyptian artisans and workshops involved in the production of traditional crafts and souvenirs. This is one place you can buy Egyptian souvenirs from.
Authentic Egyptian Vegetarian Food: Try Abou Tarek’s Koshary. Koshary is an authentic Egyptian vegetarian meal that you can enjoy in Cairo apart from foul medames and falafel wraps.
Internal Travel in Cairo and Nearby
I recommend getting a cab with a driver to take you around Cairo and to Pyramids of Giza, Saqqara and Dahsur. You can read here about whether you need a guided tour or self tour for these pyramids.
