Cairo inside

With a little more time – and plenty of patience, Cairo is well worth an extra night or three. Egypt’s most frantic metropolis is often overlooked in the rush to reach the country’s antiquities further south, but it shouldn’t be, and with some careful planning you can tailor a few days just to your liking. Plus, it hardly ever rains in Cairo.

Museums

Obvious as it seems, most overlook The Museum of Egyptian Antiquities because of the crowds. The key is going late in the day or when the museum stays open late on some days. Anticipation mounts for the opening of the The Grand Egyptian Museum near the Pyramids (late 2021) – it’s so big and stuffed full of treasure you’ll need at least a day. Other favourite museums include The Gayer Anderson Museum showcasing the beautiful architecture of Cairo, the Egyptian Textile Museum with textiles from Pharonic through Coptic periods and the Museum of Islamic Art with its fine calligraphy and decorative ceramics.

Hotels

There are plenty of good hotels in Cairo. I love The Mena House Hotel, a stone’s throw from the Pyramids. The grounds are filled with fragrant frangipani trees and a beautiful huge swimming pool (empty during the day) but the main draw is the history of the hotel hinted at by the many black and white photos of Orientalists that cover the walls. Ask one of the staff to show you General Montgomery’s old suite with its beautiful lattice work balcony overlooking Cheops Pyramid.

Mosques

Cairo is known as the City of a Thousand Minarets. With good reason given there are over 4000 mosques in the city. You can climb the minaret in The Mosque of Ibn Tulun for great views of the Mosque’s great courtyard. The Mosque of Sultan Hassan rivals the greatest European cathedrals whilst the humble structure of The Mosque of Amr is Egypt’s oldest, founded in AD 640.

Shop

Cairo is renowned for its shopping although you can pick up some good silver in the Khan el Khalili bazaar, and traditional cushion covers in the Tent Makers Souk nearby. Many of the top hotels showcase exquisite and unusual jewellery by Egyptian designers and I always head to Lehnart & Landrock to stock up on historic black & white pictures in downtown Cairo.

Eat

Koshiri – the delicious street food snack is delicious and healthy and you can find it in most places. Egyptian mezze at Taboula in Garden City and stuffed pigeon at Zooba in Zamalek. The finest coffee and shisha is to be found at the Naguib Mahfouz café – a wonderfully cool and peaceful place amidst the throng of Khan el Khalili.

The Gayer Anderson museum is another lovely museum - as above but older and probably more interesting - the above is a polished curated collection, this is old and cluttery and fascinating.

She might be interested in the Cave Church but very much depends on timing.

Shopping wise if she asks - there's a good place to buy cotton bedding and bags in Luxor, and she'd probably really like to have a meal at Marsam Hotel on the West Bank (we don't sell as too small and basic) but full or history, archaeologists, great food, locals wonderful location etc etc).