Around the Hotel

Gameat El Dowal El Arabia, the avenue at the end of the street, is the backbone of Mohandessin. Shops, fast food chains, Egyptian grill houses and juice stands follow one after another, and the avenue comes alive after sunset when families and young people go out. It is the best place to understand how middle class Cairo spends its evenings.

For food, the area is excellent and cheap. Koshary, the national dish of rice, lentils, pasta and tomato sauce, is served in large canteens nearby, and Mohandessin has many Syrian restaurants opened over the last decade, known for excellent shawarma and grilled meat. Ask the reception which places are currently most popular with locals; they change often and staff know them well.

About two kilometres east, across the small arm of the Nile, Zamalek island offers a calmer atmosphere with tree lined streets, galleries, bookshops and cafés. Cairo Tower rises there, and its viewing platform gives a panorama over the whole city and, on clear days, the pyramids on the horizon. The Cairo Opera House complex lies on the southern part of the same island.

The old Egyptian Museum on Tahrir Square is a short drive away across the river. Although many treasures, including the Tutankhamun collection, have moved to the Grand Egyptian Museum, the Tahrir building still holds a vast collection in its historic halls and deserves half a day.

The Giza pyramids and the Grand Egyptian Museum lie about fourteen kilometres southwest. The new museum stands close to the plateau and presents the complete Tutankhamun treasure with modern galleries, so combining it with the pyramids in one long day is possible, but two separate days allow more attention for both.