The Boy was somewhat unenchanted by the capital city…and so was I, but I’m going to let him take this one to explain what exactly caused it to lose the luster…

So, our initial foray into Egypt was via Cairo – which is where we first experienced the thought that Cairo is disappointing via our ATV ride.  The Pyramids of Giza are absolutely crazy and stunning, but when you go to places like the Bent Pyramid, just south of Cairo, you start to realize Cairo is…unique.

We were constantly warned by our guide about Cairo traffic, which is your standard “lanes don’t exist, watch out for donkey carts and pedestrians and VW buses with their doors open” type of clogged traffic. What we weren’t warned about was the trash. Everywhere. Piles of trash along the side of the roads, the middle of the roads, mixed in with the dirt and everyday life of the city. Trash falling into the canals that crisscross the area from the Nile, trash on fire, trash smoldering, donkeys looking in the trash for food while they wait next to their carts – trash. We initially thought this was an Egypt thing – hey, every country is different, we’re going a lot of places, maybe Egypt is just dirty – but we were wrong.

Upon landing in Luxor, one of the first questions our guide asked was “what did you think of Cairo?” followed quickly by a “I hate it, too dirty.” Luxor, Aswan, Abu Simbel, everywhere else is quite clean (some trash…can’t avoid it in a city). Cairo is dirty, and it suffers for it.

When you wake up in your spectacular pyramid view room, you expect a clear shot of the mammoth stone structures. Instead, you see them…in a haze. Yes…Cairo is filled with “Nile fog” as our guide claimed. Smog. So not only are the streets dirty, in a state of disrepair, congested, and saddled with garbage, but the city lacks a clear line of sight from one area to another due to the haze.  Go up in Cairo Tower, the only thing taller than the Great Pyramid here? Too bad you can’t see the lit up pyramids through the smog, even at night.

Climb to the Citadel, the crusades-era castle on the hill in East Cairo? Barely on a “clear day” can you make out the Ancient Wonder of the World that calls Cairo home.

Oh, you can’t see them either? Let me do some heavy contrast and enhancements for you, to illustrate they are there.

Suffice to say, we were quite disappointed by Cairo. Even the food lacks a certain charm here compared to elsewhere down the Nile. Next time, spend a day in the area max, hit all the Pyramids, and then take a flight to Luxor and enjoy the beauty that is Egypt.  Because Cairo isn’t it.