Cairo is chaos and wonder in equal measure. Egypt's sprawling, ancient capital is a city of 20 million people, of honking traffic and crowded bazaars, of minarets and medieval mosques, of the slow brown Nile sliding through the middle of it all. And then, on the very edge of the city, rising from the desert where the suburbs end, stand the Pyramids of Giza, the last surviving wonder of the ancient world, impossibly vast and four and a half thousand years old. Few places on earth pack this much history, energy and sheer spectacle into one sprawling, overwhelming, unforgettable city.
Here's the budget headline, and it's a remarkable one: Cairo lets you stand before one of humanity's greatest achievements on a backpacker's budget. Egypt is one of the best-value destinations in the world right now, because the Egyptian pound has weakened dramatically against the pound, euro and dollar, so your money stretches further here than almost anywhere. A bowl of the national dish, koshary, costs under a pound, the metro is pennies, and a hostel bed with a pyramid view is a few pounds a night. The site entry fees are the one real cost, and even those are modest by world-wonder standards. Cairo rewards the traveller who embraces the chaos, eats where locals eat, and comes ready to be amazed. We'll show you how to do it well and cheaply.
