European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - December 10, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse                                City on the Nile visitors get a breathtaking View of Cairo from a Vantage Point near the Mehemet Ali  Craig Martin staff writer donkeys bickering and dirt. That sums up Cairo Africa s largest City. Quot it s a big dirty crowded City Quot said Dave Nagle. Quot it s interesting to see the people and How they live Quot said Nagle who was visiting from the general electric co. Corporate auditing staff in Albany . Quot it s neat walking the streets seeing the donkeys and carts the culture and the meat hanging outside a  in this City of Stark contrast you Don t have to walk very far to see what the travel brochures boast a As Well As the worldly Side that in t mentioned. Tourism is a major Industry in Cairo. Nearly 2 million people visited Egypt Between january and july of this year according to the egyptian ministry of tourism. Of that total about 975,000 come from Europe most flying into the Airport in Cairo. Cairo s history As the Center of egyptian life reaches Back 1,000 years. The City sprawls along the Banks of the tranquil Nile the world s longest River just below the Apex where the River widens from the Nile Valley into the Flat Fertile Delta Region. The modern egyptian can Trace his roots to ancient egyptians Black africans bedouins and other desert nomads. Despite the variety of their racial heritage 90 percent of the people Are islamic. Even on the streets of downtown Cairo it s not unusual to see crowds prostrate themselves to offer the prayers required of muslims five times a Day. The population of Cairo is estimated at 16 million and its population grows by an alarming 1 million every nine months Africa s heart beat a its a big dirty crowded City visit the tour Book Sites but done to ignore earthy Side according to Hassan Abdul Kader Cairo International press Center spokesman. The . Dollar is Strong in Egypt. The Exchange rate is 3.31 egyptian pounds for each Dollar. Undiluted quantities of popular brands of women s perfume go for next to nothing. Don t take the asking Price on any item in a store. Merchants can always be i i gained with. A Good starting place is to go half of the asking Price. The Best Way to get around is to hire a taxi. A Driver can be hired for the entire Day or from place to place. The less expensive Way is to barter with the Driver and hire him for the Day. The fee for an average Day trip around Cairo is about $14, whereas it May Cost $3 to go to each place. Don t pay until you Are done. A trek to the Cairo Tower in the Hub of the City should be your first order of business. The Cairo Tower is a Graceful Structure of steel and Concrete in the form of a Lotus Stem one of the heraldic emblems of pharaonic Egypt. An elevator will whisk you up the 614-foot Structure to the 14th floor where you can Dine in a revolving cafeteria. A visit to the Tower at Sunset reveals a spectacular View along the Nile against Cairo s Neon signs that advertise everything from batteries to soft drinks to cameras. Mosques reflect ancient and More recent eras of Cairo. They Are still used As places of worship for muslims. One of the most popular mosques is the Mehemet Ali mosque at the Citadel. This 19th-Century turkish style worship place features two minarets More than Awass 2�?o feet Hish the Walls Are made of Alabaster. The Large pulpit is made of Cedar and the lighting inside the mosque reflects the mood. Cairo has 20 museums on topics ranging from the postal service to the military museum to the geological museum. Arguably the most important museum is the egyptian museum which opened in 1902. It contains a big Library and 100 exhibition rooms occupying two floors. Don t try to see it in one Day. Inside the museum Are statues of famous egyptology its and masterpieces belonging to the ancient kingdom like the statues of the pharaohs who had the great pyramids built and other Kings from throughout the Ages. The tutankhamen collection highlights the egyptian museum. The Gold coffin of the famous boy King is made of 450 pounds of solid Gold. Three coffins were used to store the body of the 18-year-old tutankhamen. The inner and outer coffins Are displayed Here. The Gold mask of King tutankhamen is 9 kilograms of solid Gold and was placed Over the head and shoulders of the King s Mummy. The stripes of the headdress and inlay of the fake Beard Are made of Blue Glass. Cairo has the third largest zoo in area in the world. The zoo located downtown on some 83 acres has 6 million visitors annually according to Mohammed Habashy general director of the zoo. Although most sources say the zoo has 400 animals Habashy says that number is closer to 6,000, including the Birds. No visit to Cairo would be Complete without venturing to the pyramids. A Short taxi ride nine Miles Southwest of Cairo takes you to Giza the Home of the great stripes Magazine december 10, 1992