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| One of the walkways at Al-Azhar, with the Citadel in the background |
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| View of a restaurant in the park |
Al-Azhar Park
Al-Azhar Park is one of my favorite places in Cairo. It is beautifully landscaped with wide paths and views of the citadel and the rest of Cairo. There is lots greenery, space, views, water features, restaurants and cafes and no crowds! (There is a very small entrance fee which probably acts as crowd control.) The restaurants have decent food and wonderful views. You can actually sit and relax. There is also a children’s playground, maybe the only one in Cairo open to public. In the end, the reason why I like it is because it is hard to find an expansive, green space in Cairo. My girls loved that they could run around! I have to thank my sister-in-law for telling me about it.
Pharaonic Village
I don’t consider it to be worth a visit but others may disagree. I suppose it is an option if you are desperate for more kid oriented activities in Cairo. It could have been great but the setting is just so so. The first part of the tour involves a boat ride on the river. The boat passes by replicas of statues of gods and monuments and then stops at various educational stations such as pottery making, papyrus making, furniture making, farms etc…The park’s mission is to educate the visitors on how ancient Egyptians lived. It’s a great concept but poorly executed. Our girls were bored and hot sitting on the boat. The second part was even harder on the girls. We walked around replicas of temples and houses with a guide. The girls were not interested. (Perhaps if your children are older, they may appreciate it more than our girls did.) It was so bad we had to cut the tour short. Our visit might have been more interesting if the arts and craft center was open. The girls then could have had a hands-on experience but because it was Ramadan, the center and restaurant were closed. Too bad.
Al-Foustat Ceramics Centre
Our driver suggested stopping and we were glad we did. The center showcases ceramics, brass work, gypsum, tiles and other crafts. You can watch the artisans at work. The center puts on exhibits and once the exhibits are concluded, one can purchase the handicrafts. It’s a shame that there wasn’t a store on site because the works were beautiful. The buildings housing the Ceramics Centre is ‘new’, officially opened by Mrs. Suzanne Mubarak in 2001. It is definitely worth a visit.
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| The hook! for the kids! |
Coptic Cairo
You wouldn’t think this would be a kid friendly activity but all you need is a hook! Visiting Coptic Cairo is actually quite pleasant. The alleyways are clean and car free – one of the few places where you can walk around in Cairo without dodging people, cars, donkey carts, garbage etc…
Coptic Cairo houses a church in which baby Jesus and his family purportedly hid while fleeing from King Herod. Our girls were fascinated by this story of baby Jesus and this kept their interest level somewhat high during our tour. The remodeled Coptic Museum is beautiful and worth a visit.
Egyptian Museum
It’s large, crowded, dilapidated looking and overwhelming. Not the guards necessarily but the people who work there did not seem too friendly. Just my observation. The museum has so much to share but it is hard to navigate all the pieces on display. It is also a shame that more care has not been taken in the way the artifacts are displayed. You will get more sense of wonder and enchantment if you visit the British Museum in London. Go anyway because this is the only time you can press your nose against the glass separating you from the absolutely gorgeous and beautiful golden mask of Tutankhamen and no one will arrest you. The other artifacts from his tomb are equally amazing, for example, the chariots, boats, etc. Our older girl was very interested in finding out what artifacts were found in the tombs and so she focused on that aspect at the museum. We didn’t stay long but she remained interested in studying the items from the tombs on display, including the mask of King Tut. The Royal Mummy Room is another great place to take the kids unless your kids are easily spooked.
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| View of the Cairo Tower from below. |
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| View of the Nile from top of the Tower |
Cairo Tower
We stopped by the tower, also known as Borj Al-Qahira, before dinner one early evening. What a treat! (We learned that it had been recently remodeled and the restaurant and café were under new management. We did not try the restaurant, although the idea of a revolving restaurant with a view, sounded like a fun experience.)
The lighting was gorgeous, the wind atop the tower was refreshing, the view was spectacular. We all had fun looking through the telescopes, spotting the pyramids in the distance and identifying landmarks we had visited. Loved it.
Felucca Ride on the Nile
Sailing down the Nile in a felucca is fun and relaxing for both kids and adults. We caught a felucca in front of the Semiramis Hotel. Two obstacles before you can enjoy the felucca. One, we had to cross the busy street in front of the hotel to reach the waterfront. This is a death defying experience. We would have never made it across if it weren’t for a policeman who took pity on us and stopped traffic just long enough for us to scoot across. It was a potential sacrifice on the part of the policeman…he could have been hit! The cars barely obeyed the policeman. Second, you have to bargain. It took my husband’s cousin, a native, at least twenty minutes to negotiate. It’s part of the experience. Once on the boat, enjoy the breeze off the Nile and the sparkling lights of the many hotels that line it.
Gezira Sporting Club
Located in Zamalek, it’s an oasis for families in the middle of bustling Cairo. It is a private club but I believe you can buy temporary memberships/passes. We knew some Club members and were invited in as guests. The girls loved going to the Club. There are tennis courts, a swimming pool (rumor has it not that clean), squash courts, restaurants, riding stable, golf etc and playground. We enjoyed sitting in the evenings by the playground, visiting with friends and family. The girls ran around where they pleased and we knew they were safe (well in and around the playground, they didn’t venture too far…). If you are looking for squash lessons (the best squash players in the world at the moment are from the Gezira Club!) or golf, check it out!
Other Ideas
You can hire horse drawn carriages in Zamalek. We did not. I wasn’t keen about being on a slow moving carriage in Cairo with kamikaze cars all around. (We did however ride the horse drawn carriages everywhere we went in Luxor.) You can also visit the Cairo Zoo, but as my sister-in-law put it, “Visit it for a cultural experience.”
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