Cairo and Sharm el Sheikh

Holidays by Destination Africa Egypt Cairo and Sharm el Sheikh Things to See and Places to Go 

Museums

The Egyptian Museum, Midan al Tahir.
The museum houses 120,000 artefacts, housing the largest collection of ancient Egyptian art in the world.

The Treasures of Tutankhamun and The Royal Mummy Room
Sadat metro station.
9-4 pm daily including Fridays and holidays.
Tourists LE20 (£4.00); special fee for the Mummy Room purchase ticket inside the museum at the Mummy Room. Tourists LE40 (£8.00)
Camera LE10 (£2.00), video LE1000 (£20.00), no flash allowed.
Bathrooms are on the second floor, cafeteria is located outside.
Mummies, models, and big pieces: for young children.

Entomological Society Museum
14 Ramses Street.
Nasser metro station, then walk towards Ramses Hilton
Sunday-Wednesday - 9-1; Saturday 10-1. Also on Monday and Wednesday evenings 5.30-8.00pm.
During the day time only the bird collection can be viewed. Bugs plus birds can be viewed in the evenings.

Dr Ragab's Pharaonic Village
3 Sharia-al-Bahr al-Azam on the Corniche.
571 8675
9-6, except June, July, August, 9-9. During these months, there is evening entertainment, dances from pharaonic times, belly dancers.
Entrance is from LE90 down to LE 59; depending on what tours you want to do. Children under 9 pay half price, children under 4 free.
If you want to see the entire history of Egypt in less than 3 hours, visit this village! The tour begins in a viewing boat, which departs every 30 minutes. As you board your boat and ride through the Canal of Mythology, you will travel back in time and hear stories of the ancient Egyptian gods. Next you will see actors and actresses recapturing the art of weaving, the making of wine, pottery, papyrus paper and perfume and techniques of farming. The boat museum is next; here models illustrate the materials used to build boats. Most fishing boats were constructed of papyrus. There is also a walk through replica of KingTut's tomb will all its treasures as seen when Howard Carter first entered the tomb in 1922. Well worth a visit - suitable for all ages.

Suzanne Mubarak Children's Museum
34 Abu bakr a-Siddiq St. Heliopolis.
649 9915, fax 642 6126
9-2, closed Mondays and public holidays.
LE 5 (£1.00) Guide: call ahead to request a guide who speaks English!
This museum is dedicated to encouraging children to observation through interactive displays. The tour begins by walking through a botanical garden with plants and trees labelled with information about the species. Inside the museum a TV with 9 screens displays images of Egyptian children and their environment. There are plenty of buttons to press to answer questions, lift a lid, or feel the texture. The tour continues through the River Nile Hall, the Desert Hall, and Red Sea Hall. In each room, children have the opportunity to observe various regions, and what is unique to that region. There is a discovery hall where drawing, painting, weaving equipment are provided for experimentation.

The Solar Boat Museum
Near the Pyramids
LE20, this fee is in addition to the general entrance fee you paid to go on to the Plateau.
In the 1920s three boat shaped pits were found nearby. In one of the sealed airtight pits had preserved the wood of a beautiful boat, laid out in pieces. It has been reassembled and is shown in this museum. Upon entering the museum you will be asked to cover your shoes. First you will see the pit in which the boat was discovered, and then you go upstairs to a circular ramp to walk around the boat, which is stunning.

History

Pyramids at Giza and Saqqara
LE20 (£4.00). You must purchase your tickets here in advance if you wish to go inside the pyramids. Great Pyramid: LE40, students LE20, Pyramids of Khafre and Menkaure LE10
Camera LE20, video LE100.
Bathroom facilities are minimal and dirty.
No visit to Cairo would be complete without a visit to these. Since the Giza Pyramid complex is closer to Cairo, and is one of the Seven Wonders of the World, perhaps this is the best site for children to visit.
Remember to be prepared for a rough and rugged day when you get out there, with good sturdy closed in walking shoes or trainers. Long trousers are best even in summer to avoid scraped knees. In the summer it is essential to carry lots of bottled water, have a hat, sunglasses, and sun lotion. In the winter, be sure to have a coat, woollen hat, as the desert can be cold and windy.

Andreas Restaurant 60 Saqqara Road, 383 1133 (riving away from the Pyramids on Sharia-al-Haram, turn left on the Kerdasha Road; the restaurant is on the left side), is nearby and is a great place to eat after a trip to the Pyramids. Children can see bread being baked, and enjoy Egyptian food in a garden setting.

Mosque of Ahmad Ibn Tulun
Between Ibn Tulun Street and Qadri St.
8-5pm except during midday prayer on Friday.
LE6, no fee for camera
Ibn Tulun, the oldest mosque in Cairo, was begun in 876 and finished in 879.
Your children will want to climb the minaret - there are no safety railings, so make sure they are old enough. If you do not make it all the way up, half way up there is a bridge leading to the roof of the mosque and a good view of the city. To get to the minaret, go back out the door of the mosque and turn left.

A fun stop when you have finished with the mosque is the Khan Misr Tulun shop, which specialises in handicrafts from the Egyptian oases and carries a wide range of stock. There are some very good wooden toys for smaller children and colourful aprons, clothing etc. It is an Aladdin's cave.

Out and About

Khan al Khalili
A labyrinth of ancient streets, known as the tourist bazaar, the place to find treasures and junk, to have things made for you, or to buy pharaonic replica carved in genuine ebony.
Try to bargain here for the goods you want. Cut the quoted price by half when you make your offer, this will give you and shop keeper plenty of leeway.
The shops are filled with gold, silver, carpets, T-shirts, brass, clothing inlaid boxes, precious stones, and papyrus, to mention but a few. Some of the shops are so small only one-person fits inside.

Street of the Tentmakers (Sharia al Khiyamiya)
You can walk to the Street of the Tentmakers from the Khan el Khalili. Here is a wonderful chance to see another Cairo craft that is in danger of disappearing. The art of appliqu? (stitching layers of cloth to create patterns) was practised by artisans on this street to create decorative tents. You can still see them making cushions, wall hangings sitting cross-legged - it's a sight to be seen.

An Evening on a Felucca
Another very relaxing activity for everyone. Buy a pizza or McDonalds and take them with you as supper. An hour would be about LE25 and expect to tip the boatman about LE10. There are numerous boats to hire and the boatman does the work while you watch the sunset.

Further Afield

Sharm el Sheikh and Na'ama Bay
Offer some of the world's most wonderful underwater scenery. Crystal clear waters, the rare and lovely reefs and exotic fish and coral have made this a snorkelling and scuba diving paradise.

There are a considerable number of dive clubs. All offer trips and equipment but it pays to shop around.

A good day out of Sharm is to visit St Catherine's Monastery in Sinai. Most hotels can arrange this for you and it is well worth doing.