10 Best Things to do in CAIRO, Egypt | Go Local | Cal McKinley

Egypt is one of the great cradles of civilization, its history going back over 5,000 years, and its people would come to build one of the most extraordinary civilizations the world has ever seen, lasting almost 3,000 years. And to put that in perspective, the United States has only been around for about 244. Now as you can imagine, a place that has had over five millennium to develop its culture, its history, its food, it's going to be pretty interesting. There's so much to uncover in this place, I can't wait to take you through it. So without further ado, here are 10 awesome things to do in Cairo. Before we go any further, these are my really good friends, Matt and Afro. Matt is from Belgium and Afro is actually from Egypt, and they decided to join me on this leg of the journey, which was awesome, we had a great time. So you'll see them pop up here and there in the video. Anyway, let's keep it going. And right off the bat, we have number one, which is the Great Pyramid of Giza, which is an ancient tomb built for the Egyptian pharaoh Khufu, and is the oldest and last surviving wonder of the ancient world. It was constructed in 2560 BC, and this massive pyramid weighs over 5,750,000 tons, and took between 10 and 20 years to build. And to this day, it's awe-inspiring, but it's really important to think about what it looked like when it was first built. You know, we're seeing something that is thousands and thousands and thousands of years old. You know, originally the pyramid was covered with limestone casing stones, which were shiny white and completely smooth. So in theory, the sunlight would reflect off of the pyramid and it would shine visible for miles and miles around. When ancient Greeks first came across the pyramid, they believed that slave labor was used. How else could something so massive in scale be constructed? However, modern discoveries at worker camps nearby suggest it was actually built by tens of thousands of skilled workers, possibly up to a hundred thousand. Now, this is backed up by the fact that around two months out of the year, the Nile River floods, which means during that time, there are tens of thousands of idle workers, farmers, craftsmen, theoretically available for a project like this. However, this theory is still contested. Either way, there's no ignoring the fact that this is one of the greatest human achievements to date. That has not only stood the test of time, but it's inspired people to this day to visit and marvel in awe about how something like this could have been completed. Now numbers two and three, I'm actually going to kind of combine because they're right next to each other. And that is the Cairo Citadel and the National Military Museum. Now at the time of its construction in 1183 AD, the Cairo Citadel was one of the most ambitious fortification projects of its time. It would become the home of Egyptian rulers, military, and government officials for hundreds of years, from the 13th to the 19th centuries. It's built on a large hill overlooking Cairo. This dominating view over the city is part of what makes it so strategically important and virtually impossible to siege. Now once you pay the initial ticket price of 100 Egyptian pounds, you'll find a large mosque which is free to enter, as well as the National Military Museum. The latter of which is actually located in the area of the three Haram palaces, which is kind of funny if you think about it. There are several exhibits including the 1948 Arab-Israeli War and the 1956 Suez War, as well as several other military halls. And in the courtyard you can find tanks and planes, some of which were used during those. Not bad Cairo, not bad. So let's take a break from the monuments for a second to talk a little bit about the food, because Egyptian food is some of my favorite in the Middle East. And their food tends to be hearty, it tends to be rich, but at the end of the day it's still pretty simple. It's a very adaptable style of food that's kind of made from whatever's at hand. You know, they eat a lot of rabbit, a lot of duck, a lot of chicken, a lot of pigeon, which may surprise some of you. But that's actually why pigeons are in the United States, because they were first brought over on ships to be used as food. Who knew? Now of course when we went out to eat, Matt and I had Afro to help translate and help pick the best things on the menu. But my biggest tip if you're going out by yourself is to kind of look around at what other people are getting. At the end of the day, Egyptians are always going to know what's best. And even if you can't read the menu, just by pointing at what other people are getting, you should end up having a fantastic meal. And one of those fantastic meals is a dish called koshery, which is a national dish combining Italian, Indian, and Middle Eastern culinary traditions. It's made up of rice, macaroni pasta, lentils, spicy tomato sauce, which is kind of the chickpeas, and then crispy fried onions on top. It's that kind of melding of different styles of cuisine that make it so good. It's a dish that is wildly popular among working-class people, but has since expanded to include pretty much everyone. All right, so Afro's being stopped by undercover cops or something. Not entirely sure what's happening. Okay, so what just happened? All your messages? What? Okay, so let me just break down what happened for you guys. Basically, we were walking down the street, and we got stopped by some plainclothes police officers, who took us over to the car, and then proceeded to look through all of the messages on Facebook on Afro's phone. They didn't really care about Matt and I. They checked Matt's camera. Thankfully, mine was in my bag. But they read through all of his messages, all the pages he liked, all the people he followed, and he said that attitude goes back during the time when Egypt and Israel had major conflicts. There was a lot of espionage, a lot of spies on both sides, and so some of that thinking has kind of stuck around even to this day. Although he did say that that's never happened to him before. It was like security. Number five, Al-Azhar Park. This is a huge 74-acre park that lies just north of the citadel, complete with water features, wildlife, a restaurant, and even a museum. This is where residents of the city come to relax and get away from the general chaos that is Cairo. It's almost like stepping into another world, and it's highly recommended to go at sunset to get the full effect. Now, the park costs around 30 million U.S. dollars, and was a gift from Agha Khan, who was supposedly direct descendant from the prophet Muhammad. How crazy is that? Number six, drinking tea and smoking shisha. Now, shisha or hookah has been a huge part of Egyptian culture and tradition for thousands of years, and a lot of that has to do with the fact that it's a Muslim culture and there's not as much alcohol involved with their day-to-day lives. So the shisha bar in the end kind of replaces a normal beer bar, wine bar, anything like that. All right, shisha round two. It's a place where people get together, smoke some shisha, drink some tea, talk about the day, talk about life, what's going on in the world. It's a very social affair, and they do it all the time. I guarantee you won't be able to walk more than a block without finding at least one shisha bar while in Cairo. Now, one tip that I have is a lot of these places will actually sell various desserts, various sweets, so definitely ask for a menu and see if they have some of that because they are delicious. What is it? Cinnamon and milk. Cinnamon and milk. Is it like a dessert thing or like whenever? No, it's people drink it normally when they are social, like, oh no, drink it all the time. Okay. Like all the time, during the winter. Highly recommend. Is it disrespectful to film? The houses are, in my opinion, nothing. It doesn't. It's normal. Okay. Some people are crazy, maybe they have some other opinion. Yeah. But to me, I think it's no problem at all. Okay, just checking. So all of these are houses for bodies, for graves. Number seven, the city of the dead. This is an Egyptian cemetery that covers an area roughly four miles long and contains the graves of both common people as well as Cairo's historical rulers and elite. Now, believe it or not, there actually are people living here as well. By some estimates, over 500,000 people live in the cemetery. And some may call it a slum, but the majority of residents live in urban housing and the population grew over the years due to various historical circumstances. And the site is often referred to when arguments about Cairo's overpopulation problem arise. So they don't say it's a ready house, they say only the land. Ah, and then the family built the house. Ah, okay. And you know, every one of that was local and everything because it's like, you know, sacred place. Okay. So families come and visit? Yeah. They do, okay. Number eight, Khan al-Khalili. Now, this is the largest bazaar in Cairo and most of the market is geared towards tourists. Now, I know what you're thinking, like, why would I add this to the list? Well, because even though most of it is kind of a tourist trap, if you kind of move towards the outer edges of the market, go down some of the lesser traveled pathways, you'll find the areas that are still being used by locals. Now, you won't be able to buy trinkets or gifts here, but you'll definitely get a more local experience. Number nine, Islamic Cairo. This is the historical part of the city, a place that existed before the modern development of Cairo during the 19th and 20th centuries. In this area, there are hundreds of mosques, monuments, and artifacts lining its historic streets. This area encompasses much of what you want to see in the city, like the Citadel, Al-Hazar Park, Museum of Islamic Culture, Khan al-Khalili. These are all located in Islamic Cairo. Besides those, it's such a cool area to walk around in, get lost, stumble upon a little cafe or lunch spot. It's where you want to spend most of your time while you're here. You can't miss it. And last but not least, number 10, make sure that you enjoy the city of Cairo and the culture of Egypt. From the food, to the history, to the friendly people, there's so much to uncover here. And anything is possible if you travel with an open mind and good attitude. So that's about it, I hope you guys enjoyed that video. Let me know what you thought down below, if you have any other tips for Cairo. Other than that, I hope you guys have a great day, and I'll see you later.