The long weekend and mid-year break, as well as the cooler winter temperatures, are a great time to explore the city with your family. It’s also a great way for your children to learn about Egypt’s history and culture.
For those who are faced with the challenge of making an educational excursion with the family fun, Lesley Lababidi, author of “Cairo: The Family Guide (The American University in Cairo Press, 3rd Edition, 2006), offers a nugget of advice.
“I never said, ‘You have to learn.’ We [the family] just went for the fun and adventure of it, she explains. “My advice is not to expect anything but provide the experience.
“A day that promotes curiosity and adventure leads to an excitement at . trying another place on another day. Being allowed just to observe the surroundings often stimulates the delights of learning and a quest for knowledge, she adds.
Cairo has more than its share of educational excursions. Here are just a few suggestions for a day out with the family:
“If you want to see the entire history of Egypt in less than three hours, visit Dr. Ragab’s Pharaonic Village, suggests Lababidi. The Village originally started out as a papyrus plantation on Jacob Island off the banks of Giza, and in 1974 the living museum began to take shape.
A viewing boat takes you on a tour of Ancient Egypt, where actors recreate daily life, as well as demonstrations on weaving, sculpting, farming and wine making. A given that King Tut is currently on a world tour, the replica of his tomb and all its treasures are the next best thing.
If you have time, check out the arts center. Children can take a crash course in building a papyrus boat – though on a smaller scale – or they can opt to create some clay masterpieces (which they will bake in the kiln if you agree to pick it up a day later).
Is it kitsch? Yes. Is it fun? Definitely.
Where: 3 Al Bahr Al-Azam St., on the Corniche
When to go: Daily 9am-6pm
Entrance fees: LE 44 per adult, children under 9 pay half price, children under 5 enter free.
For an authentic glimpse of Ancient Egypt head to the Step Pyramid of Saqqara. Unlike the Great Pyramids of Giza, which can become crowded during weekends and holidays, Saqqara is slightly more peaceful. Built to house the burial and funerary cult of King Djoser of the Third Dynasty, it is the oldest Ancient Egyptian pyramid.
Younger children are usually fascinated with Ancient Egypt, and a novel way of capturing their attention is to devise a treasure hunt. Give them a list of hieroglyphics of deities to identify among the sculpted walls of the complex.
While you’re in the area, make a stop at the Imhotep Museum. The regional site museum only opened last year, and monuments excavated at Saqqara are on display for the first time.
Where: Off the Harraniya-Saqqara road from Al Haram Road, Giza
When to go: Daily from 8am-4pm.
Entrance fees: LE 35-2 (plus LE 2 per car)
The Citadel has a lot to offer aside from the spectacular views of Islamic Cairo. From the Mameluke mosque of Al-Nasir Mohamed and the Gawhara Palace built by Mohamed Ali Passha iin 1814, to the Carriage Museum and the National Military Museum there’s surely something that will capture your family’s interest. Just don’t try to do it all in one day, you need to make more than one visit.
Where: Salah Salem St., just north of Sayyida Aisha overpass
When to go: Daily from 8am-4pmrayers, closed Fridays for noon p
Entrance fees: LE 2-35, children under the age of 6 enter free
For children between the ages of five and 13 a good place to visit would be the Suzanne Mubarak Children s Museum in Heliopolis. Along with the Suzanne Mubarak Science Exploration Center, the museum is the only other interactive facility tailored for children in Egypt.
Divided into four sections, Ancient Egypt, The Nile Valley, The Desert, and The Red Sea, the museum aims at teaching children as much as possible about their history and their environment in a fun way. In the Red Sea section visitors learn all about the different creatures living in different depths of the sea through a virtual reality adventure in a submarine; while in the Ancient Egypt section a two-foot high model of a pyramid opens up to show what it is like from the inside.
Every tour through the museum is conceived of as a journey. On entering, visitors are given passports that get stamped when their visit to each of the four sections of the museum is completed.
If this sounds too educational and do not worry that your child might feel like he is being dragged off to classes during vacation. As Manal Moustafa, a guide at the museum, puts it, “We try to make things amusing for them, to make them interact with the objects in front of them, and if any of them wants to leave and do something else we don’t stop them.
Where: 34 Abu Bakr Al-Siddiq St., Heliopolis.
When to go: The museum is open daily from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. except for Mondays and national holidays.
Entrance fees: LE 5 per child, children under the age of 2 are admitted for free.
Guides: If you call ahead, you can request an English-speaking guide
The southern tip of Roda Island offers a pocket of serenity within the city. Spend the day exploring The Nilometer constructed by Caliph Al-Mutawwakil in 861 AD. A relic of the days before the Aswan Dam, when the Nile flooded every summer, bring the silt-rich waters from the highlands of Ethiopia to the banks of Egypt.
A pillar stands within a deep well at the heart of the Nilometer. It is marked in segments to measure the rise of Nile waters. At the bottom of the well there are three tunnels, each dug at a different height. The level of the Nile was a key economic indicator in the past. Higher level of water meant a good season, and therefore higher taxes. A low level of water usually indicated a poor season, and resulted in inflation.
Where: End of Roda Island
When to go: Daily from 10am-5pm
Entrance fees: LE 1-6
For a cold day, when you’d rather be indoors, head to the Railway Museum. You’ll keep you’re children entertained roaming around the two-storey museum for hours with the interactive models and train engines. The authentic locomotives are the main attraction. The kids can climb into the leather sofas of the original royal engine of Said Pasha, which was a gift from the French queen Eugenie in 1862.
Before you leave the museum don’t miss the warehouse outside that houses the first locomotive to run in Egypt in 1854.
Where: At the Cairo Railway Station in Midan Ramses.
When to go: Daily (except for Mondays) from 8am-2pm
Entrance fees: LE 2 (Camera charge: LE 20)
