It's not a big city, it's a huge city. With a population of 6.98 million it is one of the most densely populated cities in the world, oh and don't forget the 10 million who live just outside the city. On hearing these sorts of figures my thoughts always drift back to Scotland; with a population of 5 million, how very small we are!
I stayed in the heart of Cairo and my goodness, it really was an adventure from start to finish. If i wasn't getting lost then i was getting chased by one of the friendly locals for yet another chat; it is a city in which you cannot stay still for long. The traffic can only be described as crazy, pedestrians quite literally take their life in their hands every time they want to cross the road (which is usually at least 4 lanes) as there is not a crossing to be seen in the city. I was petrified but soon realised if i didn't just do as the Cairenians do then i wasn't going to get anywhere..... i decided every time i crossed i would use a local as a buffer, it worked a treat! And the horns, well they were surely invented for this city; from morning until night the sound of the car horn is a constant hum in the background, it almost becomes melodic; a melody that lulls you to sleep at night and wakes you in the morning. Cairo is truly a 24hr city.
Old Cairo by night. I loved it. It is actually only a tiny part of the city but is the oldest and to me the most interesting. A maze of narrow cobbled streets with traditional coffee houses and old men sitting smoking shisha, it is what you imagine Cairo to be.
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