Sunday, November 07, 2010

STROLLING IN CAIRO

CAIRO - FEBRUARY 2010


"NILE, GARDENS & RESTAURANTS"


"ROAD TRAFFIC"



"STREETS OF CAIRO"


"EGYPTIAN MUSEUM - A fabulous museum inaugurated in 1902 and with 120,000 items in its collection, including twenty seven royal mummies and the Treasure of Tutankhamon..."


"PAPYRUS"


"CITADEL AND NORTHERN CEMETERY - The Northern Cemetery, a.k.a. the City of the Dead, is a true curiosity. Though it is a cemetery, many living people reside there... It must be related to the idea Egyptians had, dating back to early pharaonic times, that graves are rather places where life begins..."


"AL RIFAI MOSQUE - The Royal Mosque was constructed in two phases over the period between 1869 and 1912, when it was finally completed"



"ISLAMIC CAIRO"


"AL-HUSSEIN MOSQUE"


"KHAN EL KHALILI - The market was built in 1382 by the Emir Djaharks el-Khalili"

58 comments:

Trotter said...

Hi Everybody! After Algeria 2009, Blogtrotter moved eastwards and landed, for the first time (the World is not such a small one), in the Land of the Pharaohs... The first impression one gets of Cairo is far from being an interesting one... And even if the Hotel was nice and we had a delightful dinner and chat with the Blogitse couple, Cairo is not exactly a city you would love to spend your holidays at… Anyhow, there are some unmissable sites that you can only visit if you are in town, thus the stay is unavoidable… So to start, I’ll show you the mess; the best will come later... ;). Enjoy and have a great Sunday and a superb week ahead!!

SusuPetal said...

Oh, did you meet BLOGitse!! Nice. She's from Finland, like me.

I've never been to Cairo, down in Luxor instead.

Lakshmi said...

Ive heard so much abt Cairo..but seeing your pics, I do think I shd visit it..look fwd to the next in yr series

Anonymous said...

Egypt is one of my favorite places. I enjoyed seeing your photos. Brought back some very good memories.

Paz

joo said...

Egypt is favourite holiday destination for many Poles and I saw plenty of photos from Cairo, but yours are otstanding - I can really feel atmosphere of this wonderful city!
Have a great week:)

Joy said...

I must say this was not what I expected to see of Cairo. How very interesting! Love the colours.

Have a great Monday!

Many thanks for visiting Norwich Daily Photo and leaving your comment. Come visit again tomorrow!

rochambeau said...

Hi Gil,
The Land of the Pharaohs really isn't what I expected. Not at all. THat is why I'm happy you posted these photos. Very interesting!

Hi to Mrs. T!

xox
Constance

Mariposa said...

Cairo looks like a city that is bursting with life and buzzing with business! Well I'm sure it was an experience =)

Rakesh Vanamali said...

The streets bear a very 70s look!

Interesting. This is very different from the usual blogtrotter showcase and I'm looking forward to the installments!

diane b said...

I'd love to visit that museum. The Mosques look great with their many spires /minarets

Ashira said...

Love the mosques! Thanks for showing me some sun today - Moscow is grey and rainy!

Unknown said...

I would love to go to that museum, this is a place so rich with history. Happy week ahead Gil :O

seema gupta said...

I too have read and heard lot about this beautiful city. wish i could also visit this place once in my life ya. great arcitecture work .

regards

Gledwood said...

O wow I've always wanted to see Egypt. The museum looks like the main railway station in Chennai.
Your blog looks amazing. It was your name that attracted me from Gattina's. I used to have a hamster nicknamed Trotter Donkey because she ran her wheel ALL the time ... (quelle surprise!)
Anyway great blog. See ya later!
Gledwood
in London

Shionge said...

Somehow after seeing all your lovely photos, me wanted to go Cairo now :D HHHEHEH....thanks.

Ash said...

I've always wanted to visit Egypt. Gorgeous photos.

Unknown said...

Egypt is fascinating and I've got to be there!

P.N. Subramanian said...

Oh now we are out of Sardinia. Nice pictures of the mosques. The museum is too large. I am excited for you could see the treasures of Tutankhamen. Thanks.

indicaspecies said...

Having made 2 trips to Egypt, these sights do look familiar to me and bring back those memories. I'll be looking forward to more. Have a lovely day Gil.:)

BLOGitse said...

hahah, looks too familiar! :)
Two years there and 7 months here - feels like that life was ten years ago!

Dsole said...

Gil, your blog is more like a travel guide everyday! thank you for your particular point of view!
It's been a long time since I didn't come up to here... I'm glad your still updating :)

Daniel Chérouvrier said...

Il y a un parfum de 1ère année au collège avec la découverte de l'Egypte.

A Lady's Life said...

Cairo seems quite exciting with all the shops and colors.
Life and bustle is always nice to see.:)

Gattina said...

I visited Cairo 1 1/2 year ago, what a traffic ! I found it very interesting.

eye in the sky said...

Cairo is among my dream cities, despite the said "clutter" around it. Your photos show the "mess" but it looked nevertheless interesting.

[G@ttoGiallo] said...

Thanks Gil, I love this town and hope you got more on Khan el Khalili...

april said...

It seems to be dirty and very much crowded, but intersting on the other hand.
Greetings from Cologne

alicesg said...

Wow you really travelled a whole lot. Love the market scenes and the beautiful scenery of the city.

Light and Voices said...

A gravesite is where life begins....interesting.
Joyce M

My Unfinished Life said...

wow!!...they city is really crowded...makes my delhi look spacious!!
aah the other khan market....the khan el khalili..would luv to check out this one too!!!!

Pat @ Mille Fiori Favoriti said...

Gil I was going to say that I would love to visit Cario one day, and then I read your comments here. It does look hot and steamy and crowded and noisy...hmm..just like NYC in summer! :)

The museum looked like an interesting stop in Cario and the mosques are very grand to look at.

I can not wait to see your photos of the pyramids!

Anonymous said...

Even after reading your comment Gil, I was still so fascinated by the photos. The spires look like the trees. :)

Pietro Brosio said...

Hello Gil! How many wonderful views and collages of Cairo! Nice the Egyptian Museum, the papyri, the mosques, fantastic the Khan El Khalili market. I notice the road traffic is heavy there!
Have a very pleasant weekend :-)

Lori said...

It looks like a bustling and busy place. I've always thought Egypt would be an incredible place to visit. Sorry I haven't stopped by in a while. Things have been so busy!

Emery Roth said...

Your feelings for Cairo may be mixed, but there some especially lovely compositions in this set. The big traffic scene (frame #2) makes the chaos into an ordered picture. Gorgeous water in the first set of images.

A Lady's Life said...

I love the ferry boat and I am glad to hear you are feeling better.
I have been off line waiting for a cable connection.
Now it seems all is in order.
Hope you have a great day! :)

Nikon said...

The streets seem so crowded, Gil!
Those last shots have quite a jam of humanity!
I like the museum and the mosque, though - and the cemetary is certainly interesting.

magiceye said...

thank you for the picturesque tour of cairo!

Cloudia said...

Photo essay?

Photo NOVEL!




Aloha from Waikiki :)

Comfort Spiral

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hpy said...

Including also a beautiful blue cat.

juka14 said...

Looks like a busy city...

Rune Eide said...

Cairo is obviously much more than Giza! Thank you the tour and the comments :-)

yyam said...

These are awesome pics! I've always wanted to visit Egypt actually! Thanks for sharing! Have a great weekend! :)

Joseph Pulikotil said...

Hello,

Lovely photos of an ancient city which had a great role to play in the history of the world.

You have captured very beautifully some of the interesting scenes in this great city.

Best wishes,
Joseph

Chuckeroon said...

Heh Heh, Trotter! No..Cairo is not for me. So I worked hard and finally managed to find Mrs T shining brightly in the mad throng.

Thanks for kind words. It's been tough for the last couple of years, and very hard over the past 6 months. I'm looking forward now.

Don't forget the promised beer at LHR!!!!

The Nomadic Pinoy said...

your post reminds me of my own trip to Cairo earlier this year. I find it crowded, congested & polluted.

PeterParis said...

Better than ever (which leans a lot)! You really feel the atmosphere!

Ron said...

Very nice post. I think I will experience your time there and that will satisfy me. Definitely not a place for me.

RNSANE said...

Cairo looks pretty chaotic and crowded but I would LOVE to visit the museum. The mosques look incredible, too.

I've been really under the weather, even hospitalized last weekend for three very long days. Mending slowly.

Cergie said...

Bouh ! Là c'est à peine plus d'un siècle qui nous contemple. Tu as dû apprécier la vie actuelle au Caire avec de bonnes choses à boire et à manger...

Emm said...

Aaaah, so Egypt is not just about the pyramids! Cairo looks like a really bustling city. I think I would have enjoyed the mosque, citadel and museum.

Emm said...

Aaaah, so Egypt is not just about the pyramids! Cairo looks like a really bustling city. I think I would have enjoyed the mosque, citadel and museum.

Trotter said...

Hi Folks! Finally Egypt and the mess around Cairo... It was time already to visit those forty century achievements... There is more to see than the Pyramids and the Museum, but time was short and traffic difficult; maybe one next time... ;)
Thanks for your reaction to this post; it seems that chaos draws your attention... ;) Have a great weekend! We are going to get into a security nightmare with the NATO summit here in Lisbon this Friday and Saturday... ;)

Susu,
Two lovely Finnish girls... ;) It was great to meet the Blogitse couple; they were kind enough to cross the traffic nightmare top come and see us at the hotel... Luxor – fabulous – will come next... and I’m waiting to see the other girl in sunny Lisbon this winter... ;)

Lakshmi,
I have no doubt that you should visit it! For a knowledgeable traveller, it is surely a must... and forget all the mess around it!!

Paz,
Great to bring you back some good memories!! That’s the best this blog can do... even for the author... ;)

Joo,
I’m sure it must be: not far and sunny during those dreadful winter months in Poland... and further to the Pyramids and the rest, it also has the beaches... ;)
Thanks for distinguish the quality of the pictures... I’m flattered... ;)
xoxo

Joy,
But this is Cairo; what you were expecting just came on the next post... ;). Anyhow, you can’t get rid of the traffic nightmare...

Constance,
You’ll find out that it is exactly what you expected; the point is that I started it from the other way around... a difference of perspective... ;)

Mariposa,
You described it much better that I could have done it!! And it was great that you took it out from my pictures... Sharp!!

Rakesh,
The rest will be more traditional to allow you to see the wonders that are there... And I tell you: there are lots of wonders in Egypt! Well, maybe not as many as in India... ;)

Diane,
The Museum is fabulous and the Tutankhamen Treasury in unmissable and unforgettable!!! Start packing... Well, after unpacking from any recent trip, you Trotter... ;)

Ashira,
Wow! Great to read you here again!! It’s misty and grey today in Lisbon also; it seems that the Heads of State and Governments from the North that came here for the NATO summit brought their countries’ lousy weather with them... ;)

M. Kate,
The Museum is unmissable and unforgettable, as I mentioned to Diane! So, you have better start packing... ;)

Seema,
I’m sure you’ll make it one day; it took me sixty years to get there, so no hope is ever lost... ;) And it deserves the trip!!

Gledwood,
Thanks for your visit and first time comment here. Hope you’ll come back and comment often!! Amazing that Trotter Donkey story!!

Trotter said...

Part Two:

Betty,
You always want to go everywhere; I love that feeling... It reminds me that it’s a lost of time being stuck anywhere... ;)

Ash,
You’ll have a fair view of some interesting spots on this blog, but it doesn’t replace the actual visit... ;)

Keats,
For a sunshine girl it will be the perfect setting; and as you’re used to the heat, you can go there anytime... Not me; only in winter... ;)

P. N. Subramanian,
Come on, did you miss Algeria? That’s incredible... ;) The Museum is fabulous, but they didn’t allow pictures inside...  This would be no great damage if they had a decent book published by the museum; well, they have books, but not that interesting...

Celine,
I can remember your trips to Egypt and the fabulous summer weather you got there... ;)). The rest will probably look even more familiar to you than these Cairo (alternative) pictures... ;)

Blogitse,
Two years isn’t that much; probably the seven months in Casa (amazing that there were already seven months there) look much more than the two years you spent in Cairo... You know, we have a saying in Portuguese (literally translating: «after me will come someone that will make me look better...) that can be applied to your town living experiences... ;))

Dsole,
Great to read you again; always a great pleasure!! Now tell me: what happened last Wednesday night Nov 17, 2010: 4-0 to the European and World Champions? That’s not fair... ;)

Daniel,
C’est vraiment ça; et je me rappelle du livre d’histoire qui avait une photo égyptienne dans la couverture... Beaux temps… ;)

Lady,
The market is quite crazy to get around; but the traffic is a true nightmare: worse than Lisbon today with the NATO Summit... ;)

Gattina,
Not for the first time, I assume: with ten trips to Egypt on your record, I can’t believe you only came to the Pyramids and Tutankhamen one and a half years ago... ;))

Eye,
Interesting definitely is!! And there some unmissable and unforgettable sites to visit there...

G@tto,
I’ve some pictures of the market, but nothing special... I was there at the end of the day and looking forward to get back to the hotel where the Blogitse couple were waiting for us... ;))

Ingrid,
Dirty is perhaps too strong; but there are some unclean parts of town, I would say... ;). Anyhow, there are unmissable spots there!!

Trotter said...

Part Three:

Alice,
The market scenes, I can agree with you; but the «beautiful scenery of the city» seems a bit weird for what I saw down there... ;))

Joyce,
That is truly a mystery; but it seems that the old Egyptians created that concept of life after death and prepared everything for the trip... So, probably no wonder that the living live together with the dead in the cemetery...

Star,
Come on, I also got some traffic jams in Delhi... even at 3:30 a.m. on the way to the airport, if I remember well... ;)
I can imagine you at the Khan markets... No credit card transactions allowed... ;))

Pat,
Oh dear, much worse than NYC in summer; and it was winter... ;)
The museum is absolutely awesome; and the treasures of the Tutankhamen tomb are magnificent...
The pyramids are already there on the subsequent post. Hope you enjoyed!!

Lynn,
The Muslim Cairo is gorgeous; I’m sorry I had no time to see the Coptic Cairo also... ;-(

Pietro,
I’m glad that you enjoyed all that!! The traffic is truly a nightmare and you always need hours to move from one side to the other side of town!!

Lori,
You thought it would be an incredible place to visit and you were absolutely right!! Thanks anyhow for coming to Blogtrotter Two even in busy times like yours nowadays!!

Ted,
It’s true that I have mixed feelings; well, actually maybe not mixed. Cairo is an awful place to live and I would never chose it as a home; but it is without any doubt that one MUST go there!! Thanks for the compliment on the ordered chaos... It has been my area of expertise lately... ;)

Lady,
Great to read you back on this post and glad to hear that you’re back online...

Paul,
Crowded and most of the time stuck for traffic... The museum is unmissable and the cemetery was a true experience: had never seen a thing like that!!

Magic,
My pleasure!!

Cloudia,
Photo essay? Photo novel? What do you mean? I remember those photo novels in the late 50s and 60s... Not nowadays... ;)

Trotter said...

Part Four and final, for the time being:

Hélène,
The blue cat in the papyrus was especially made for you... It will last forever... ;)

Juka,
Too busy, indeed...

Rune,
But Giza is an absolute must when you visit Cairo; actually one of the four or five things you have to do when you get there!

Yvonne,
It’s time for you to start packing!!

Joseph,
It’s amazing how the importance of the cultures and civilizations has been spreading and evolving throughout the world during the different times... Lisbon was also a capital of a great empire in the 16th and 17th centuries and this particular day is the capital of a giant of the modern times: the North Atlantic Treaty Organization will have its Summit in Lisbon...

Stuart,
Hope everything is getting better now!!
I was moving from Heathrow to Gatwick and from Gatwick to Heathrow last month, but couldn’t make a decent stop for the beer... Next time I’ll make it, for sure...

Nomadic Pinoy,
Thanks for your visit and first time comment at Blogtrotter Two!! Crowded, congested and polluted it is; but also with some unmissable places...

Peter,
Thanks! It has been taking time my trip back to Paris... ;-(

Ron,
OK! But there are some places you should see and that is only possible if you go there... ;)

Carmen,
Hope things are getting better now and that all pain is gone...
It’s chaotic, but you truly can’t miss the Cairo Museum...

Lucie,
Pas vraiment de bonnes choses à manger et à boire ; au moins je ne les ai pas remarqués… ;)

Emm,
Egypt is much more than the pyramids, but the pyramids are a must in Egypt... ;)

Light and Voices said...

I was lucky enough to see King Tut's items here in Chicago; but Cairo that would be the place to go and really, really, really, really see stuff. As always nice job on photos.
Joyce M

Trotter said...

Joyce,
The treasury is absolutely stunning!! And it's true that the right place to see it is in Cairo; or, even better, it should have been arranged to stay in the Valley of Kings, but would have created a dramatic security problem...