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            Welcome to Been there. Your tips on the places you know - that you love,
            live in or have just visited - are what make this guide.
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                <title>Taxis</title>
                
                <link>http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/9521</link>
                
                <description><![CDATA[No meters. You're meant to know how much a journey costs, and if you don't, you'll get ripped off. Also, be sure to memorise the numbers in Arabic from 1 to 10, so that you can haggle more effectively. <br><br>The rough rule of thumb for knowing how much a certain journey should cost - roughly, a trip from Zamalek to Tahrir would be about 5 Egyptian pounds. This isn't a long journey and takes maybe 10 minutes, depending on traffic. 5 Egyptian pounds is about 50 pence. Longer journeys, especially to tourist destinations, will always give inflated prices, but try to haggle them down. You can also pre-agree the prices for longer journeys, but it's trickier for quicker inner-city taxi rides. <br><br>Further, when you get a taxi from the airport, it's very important to disregard the first couple of drivers who offer you their taxi, so that you build some credibility. 50 Egyptian pounds isn't that bad, especially for westerners just arriving, to get a taxi to your hotel in the city, but if you can get it lower, so much the better. The reason it's more expensive from the airport isn't just the distance (it's maybe forty minutes) but also the fact that the taxi driver has to pay a couple of entry fees and bribes in order to be inside the airport area at all.]]></description>
                
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                <title>The Egyptian Museum</title>
                
                <link>http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/9519</link>
                
                <description><![CDATA[Don't expect meticulous curatorial standards, but it does have an immense amount of stuff, and when you find some descriptions in English, or can read the more frequent French, you can learn some good things too. Also, Tutankhamun is there in all his glittery glory.]]></description>
                
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                <title>Sufi dancing</title>
                
                <link>http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/9517</link>
                
                <description><![CDATA[There's a building in Islamic Cairo that has a Sufi performance evening. I don't know what evening, or where exactly the building is (but it's close to Khan Khalili and Al Azhar), so try and ask someone in the know about this performance, because it's really worth watching. One particular whirling dervish keeps his spin going for nearly an hour. Amazing.]]></description>
                
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                <title>Islamic Cairo</title>
                
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                <description><![CDATA[Definitely check out the mosque and university of Al Azhar. Al Azhar is the oldest Islamic university of the Islamic world, and a beautiful building.<br><br>The market of Khan Khalili is great to visit, but closed certain days, so try and find out when. It's got lots of different things; be sure not to get cornered by sales people. If you wander far beyond the main strip, you'll find a local Cairene food market and its fascinating to walk through it, really lots of fun.]]></description>
                
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                <title>Cedars restaurant in Mohandessin</title>
                
                <link>http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/9515</link>
                
                <description><![CDATA[Mohandessin is an area close to Zamalek but on the east bank of the Nile. In general it's a good place to explore, with various cultural centres and cafes. But most importantly, it has the restaurant Cedars, near Lebanon Place - you should absolutely eat there. It's fantastic Lebanese food, the best I've ever had, and probably on a par with some places in Beirut. It's a great big restaurant (be sure to eat on the terrace) and I remember eating so much that I really couldn't move for a couple hours. Truly, it's the best Middle Eastern cuisine I've ever had, and that's saying something.]]></description>
                
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                <title>Cafe de Paris</title>
                
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                <description><![CDATA[Near the American University Cairo (AUC) dorms, there is a great cafe with an outdoor terrace called Cafe de Paris. It's popular with the Zamalek crowd, open late, does good shisha and food. A great, relaxed place to spend an evening.]]></description>
                
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                <title>Zamalek</title>
                
                <link>http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/9513</link>
                
                <description><![CDATA[This district on the island of Gezira is calmer, greener and more pleasant than the rest of Cairo. It's a great area to wander and explore; lots of the embassies are in Zamalek, and it's got a good mix of worldly Egyptians and expat foreigners. There are big parks, pleasant avenues, lots of cafes.<br><br>Right on 26th of July street (the main arterial avenue) there are lots of bars, restaurants and cafes, so give it a wander and select things if you like the look of them.<br><br>The Cairo opera house, which is meant to have good performances, is further south on the island of Gezira.]]></description>
                
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