….and speaking of returns to places I visited many years previously (as I was in the previous post), another recent trip (this time for a work event in October) was to Cairo where I was speaking at a conference.
My previous visit was on the occasion of my 30th birthday during a period when I had embarked on quest to visit as many of the sites of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World as I could access. Whilst I did not manage to visit them all those I did included the remains of the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus (not a huge amount to see) and the site of Mausoleum at Halicarnassus (Bodrum) both of which were in Turkey. However, my favourite (and the only one still standing) was the Great Pyramid at Giza just outside of Cairo which we visited during a holiday to Cyprus by taking a cruise to Egypt.
I do not recall much about that trip other than a epic camel ride up to the Pyramid which provided a great view point demonstrating its impressive size (although the tunnel to its centre was somewhat claustrophobic and E took some persuading to accompany me).
My visit this time took me through the teeming centre of Cairo. The Government is building a new administrative capital outside the urban area to try to relive some of the pressure on space but for the time being the highways and byways of the city is a chaotic combination of honking cars and insouciant pedestrians who somehow coexist in the same space without an almost suicidal disregard for each other.
The venue for the conference was next to the Nile which although nearly as crowded as the roads was relatively calm and provided an impressive backdrop to our evening dinner. Whilst I did not manage to get to the Pyramids on this trip, it was a very enjoyable reminder of some of the cultural delights within Etsy access of Dubai.
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