Cairo- Trains, Tours, Citadel, Tut's mask and Sheets?!

Hi, I will be travelling from Luxor to Cairo on the overnight train on the 12th and back on the 14th of this month, so I will have 2 full days in Cairo. I am travelling with my husband and 21 month old son. Given the current situation we decided to stay in Giza, well away from the current trouble hotspots.I have been to Giza before and know there's not a lot going on there, but we won't be going out at night because of the baby. So my questions are:

1) Given that there is some trouble at the moment, we'd like to book a day tour round Cairo - any suggestions for good value tours? We want to see the Museum, The Al-Quasar Mosque, the Citadel, and maybe either a bit of Coptic Cairo or Khan el Khalili -although I don't know if I could take the touts with a toddler in tow!

2) Is there any chance that the museum will be closed due to unrest, being right near to Tahrir Square?
Am I right in thinking that some of the grave goods of Tutankhamen are on tour in the USA, but that the death mask is still in the museum in Cairo?

3) I have not been to the Citadel before, and keep hearing that its not that interesting - is this true. Is it worth going? If not, where else would you suggest?

3)What would be an alternative trip, if there are protests in central Cairo? Somewhere not too far as we can't keep an active toddler cooped up in a car for too long! Memphis? How long would that take in a car? What is there to do there?

4) Is there any chance that the trains will be cancelled due to the civil unrest? I'm a bit worried about getting back to Luxor in time for the flight.

5) Finally, I am interested in buying some Egyptian Cotton bed linen. Where would be the best place for this, what should I look for and how much should I expect to pay?

Thankyou lovely Thorntree people!

Kulafey

I understand the reason you are chosing not to stay in central Cairo, but your decision to stay in Giza is unfortunate. You could stay in Zamalek which is just as safe, but a far more interesting area to stay. A stay in Zamalek would also allow you to get out and stroll around in a nice area which you won't do in Giza.

Several of your questions ask if the is a chance of something. Yes, there is always a chance of anything. No one here knows what will happen when you are there. During the depths of the problems in Egypt almost two years ago both the museum and trains were effected; right now they are not.

I would seek a recommendation from the hotel for a day tour. As long as you are staying in a decent place they have regular tour oprators they vet and trust. You are likely to get PM's from touts here now that you've advertised your desire for a tour. Do not respond to them. Report any PM's to the Mods so they can be deleted and banned. They will rip you off.

Good luck.

Thanks for your input. I sort of wish I'd looked at Zamelek, but the hotel is booked and the pick up arranged and we leave tomorrow, so I can't be bothered changing it all now. :) And I know the hotel I'm in has everything we need, including cots and highchairs and besides, I've always thought the pyramids look far more impressive from a distance, so waking up to that view has got to count for something!
I understand that there are no certainties - but I just wondered about possibilities and as you say that the museum and railways have both been affected, at least I know that this is a possibility that I will have to take into account. I had actually thought that as the night train I'm taking is run by a private company, that it may not be affected by strike action etc - is this not the case? I have to admit to being worried about being stranded in Cairo at night with a baby!
I know the hotels all arrange tours, but in my experience they are usually more expensive and it works out much cheaper to arrange a tour with an agency in person.
One last thing - is it easy to get to Alexandria and back on the train/ bus or would it best be done by taxi - just an option, should Cairo be dodgy!

thanks

Kula

Good luck on your trip.

I went to the touring exhibit in Houston and although lovely, it didn't have alot of Tut's actual items. It did have a gold mask, but not the one that is usually in the photos.

Would you please post after you return, so many people need advice about traveling in this turbulent time. Or better yet, could you post while there? May places have free internet access I am told. I am needing good common sense advice for my journey on Dec 22

I believe, although I could be wrong, that the problems affecting the trains in the past were not so much related to strikes as they were to problems along the way blocking the tracks. Again, my guess is you'll be fine, but if not taking a domestic flight with EgyptAir is always a good last minute alternative.

Hotel tours may be more expensive, but you're more likely to get better service. The odds you end up with someone good from a hotel who has an ongoing relationship with the provider who depends upon hotel customers for their business is better than some random person you hear about from someone else. Your call though.

Yes, Alex has good train connection to and from Cairo. You can take a taxi, but it's a lot more expensive. My understanding is that Alex has had a few problems though as well.

I'm sure you'll be fine, but if you get to Cairo and things don't go well you're best bet is probably just jumping on a flight back to Luxor.

Good luck.

a quick update. We were in Cairo on the 13th, 14th and 15th and felt completely safe at all times. I really wish we'd stayed in the city centre - even just at the top of Sharia Talaat Harb I would have felt far enough away from Midan Tahrir to be safe, had any trouble started. All we saw was them gearing up for some protests - setting up sound systems etc., but we didn't spend too much time in Tahrir square.
The drop in tourists is very noticeable in Luxor. We hardly saw any other tourists and the ones we did see, were on coach trips from the red sea, not actually staying in Luxor. The lack of tourists was most noticeable at the airport on our return - the place looked deserted, which was very strange. The touts were still really bad in the town, around the river and outside all the sites ( and inside many too), which ruins the experience a bit.
The night train to Cairo was the noisiest train I have ever been on - and I have travelled quite extensively on trains in India and the middle east. eastern europe, etc. It sounded like road drill - and that is no exaggeration. Apart from the that the train was ok - I would recommend ear plugs, a pillow over the head and whatever else you can get to block the sound. Our baby managed to sleep through it though!! It was an hour late getting into Cairo and 2 hours late getting into Luxor, we didn't mind as it meant we got to sleep longer - but something to bear in mind if you have onward connections.
We didn't book any tours as it was just as easy and much cheaper to get around by ourselves, and as I said, we never felt in any way unsafe anywhere. Cairo was a blessed relief from the Luxor touts and so much cheaper for everything and we wish we'd spent more time there. Giza, was as Laketraveller said, not a good place to stay - our pyramid view was amazing, but didn't make up for the inconvenience and noise! The touts were out in force at the pyramids, but no worse than I remember them from the last time I was there (2006).
Anyway, hope you have a good trip jonlyd and yes, King Tut's mask was right where it always was and it looked as wonderful as I remembered!

I'm glad you a good trip and enjoyed your visit to Egypt.

Thank you for coming back and letting us know how it went. We get many questions here about current conditions in Egypt and it would be nice to have you around to help offer answers.

Safe travels.