Hot date in Cairo

Cairo, Egypt
June 02, 2013

It was 44 degrees in Cairo when we landed! Mossad took care of us at the airport in Cairo which was a nice touch. We did not have to worry about Visas or immigration or luggage. Hanni our guide and our driver Makmood met us after we collected our luggage. 
 
We saw many interesting things on the way from the airport to the Cairo Marriott: a Palace built by a Belgium, Baron Empain, at the beginning of 19th century, October war Panorama - a war museum, lots of old cars that were overheating, many high rise buildings where some of the 16 million inhabitants live, the Light Mosque, the largest church in Cairo - Abbasiya which is the home of the Coptic Orthodox Pope, the River Nile, the Cairo tower, the Malek, the Russian building which is still burnt out, and Tahrir Square View of the Nile from our Hotel. 
Hanni expressed that he was disappointed after the revolution. The revolution gave the people hope, but now it is the same or worse than before. He said the country is safe, but the people are unhappy. He feels that the Muslim Brotherhood does not have the experience required. 

Some important advice from Hanni: White taxis have meters, black taxis do not. The underground and public transportation are too crowded, we should avoid them. 
The Cairo Marriott is located on Zamalek (Gezira Island). It is a vast and beautiful property. We went to Harry's for Sakara Gold (beer). We walked over 2 km to Sequoia restaurant. It did not look that far on the map, but we survived the dusty hot walk to and from the restaurant. The restaurant is located at the tip of the island and is a beautiful outdoor space. It was quite busy and had a great atmosphere. We had some delicious grilled halloumi and baba ganoush. We were so full afterward that we had a difficult time eating shish tawook and shawarma, but again, we managed!
 

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