Communication and Culture

After all that exploration and adventure you will be keen to share your exploits with family and friends back home, so let's see how the communication system works in Cairo. Please note; it will be different and slower than back home, but you know this, so be patient as this is not a first world country.

Post

Cairo's main post office, on Midan Ataba, is open from 7am to 7pm Saturday to Thursday, and from 7am to noon on Friday and public holidays. The poste restante is down the side street to the right of the main entrance, through the last door (opposite the Express Mail Service fast mail office). Mail is held for three weeks and it is open from 8am to 6pm Saturday to Thursday and from 10am to noon on Friday. To send a package abroad you must go to the post traffic centre at Midan Ramses. It is open from 8.30am to 3pm Saturday to Thursday. Set aside 30 minutes for this process and bring your passport. You will need to go to the first big room to the left side on the 2nd floor, get form no13 at the counter and weigh and pay for the parcel. Fast mail can be sent through the EMS main office. Postcards and letters take about 4 to 5 days to reach Europe and up to 10 days for other places such as the USA. Buying stamps in shops and kiosks and sending mail from post boxes at hotels is actually quicker than going to the post office.

Other ways of sending include asking the school – their administration office may offer a postal service for you for sending and receiving post and packages. There are also courier companies DHL (393 8988 / 795 7118 / 636 0324), Federal Express (794 0520 / 331 3500 / 639 0607) and TNT Skypak (748 8204).

Telephone

The national phone system has recently benefited from a massive shake up in which the government has allowed the private sector in on the telecommunication game, including Etisalat of the United Arab Emirates. You can buy telephone cards at most kiosks and shops. If you want a landline or a mobile it is best to ask the administration department of your school for advice. No doubt you will need to have a residency visa to make an application for either.

E-mail and Internet Access

The good news is that Egypt has taken up the internet in a big way and there are internet cafés throughout the country. If are not going to use a public access point you will need your POP or IMAP information, your account name and password. When you set up a landline no doubt you will be able to set up an internet access at the same time. There are numerous internet cafés in town if you want to stop for a drink and a mail, too numerous to mention all of them but here are a few: 4U Internet Café (8 Midan Talaat Harb), Internet Egypt (2 Midan Simon Bolivar), Nile Hilton Cybercafé (basement of Nile Hilton), Onyx Internet Café (26 Mahmoud Bassiouni) and Palm Net Café (12 Sharia Ibrahim)

News Stands

Cairo's three best news stands are across from each other on three corners of the junction of Sharia 26th July and Hassan Sabry in Zamalek. You can get just about anything from these guys. Downtown, the places with the best selections include a stand on Midan Tallat Harb out the front of Groppis café; the news stand on Mohammed Mahmoud, opposite the entrance to the AUC; and the place on Midan Tahrir, next to TWA and opposite the Nile Hilton. The English Gazette is Egypt's awful daily English-language newspaper and is great entertainment for typing errors and incorrect headlines. Al-Ahram Weekly, Cairo Times and Middle East Times all appear every Thursday and do a much better job of keeping English readers informed of what is going on.

Cultural Centres

Bring your passport as many cultural centres require some identification before they will allow you to enter. For details of events at the cultural centres check the local English-language press, particularly Al-Ahram Weekly or the monthly Egypt Today. For the British there is the British Council (347 6118 / www.britishcouncil.org.eg / 192 Sharia el-Nil) that carries an assortment of (dated) UK newspapers and has a vast library of books and periodical titles. Library membership costs but browsing is free. It is open from 10am to 8pm Monday to Thursday and 9am to 3pm Friday and Saturday. For Americans there is the American Cultural Centre (357 3529 / www.usaembassy.egnet.net / 5 Latin America, Garden City) that is part of the American Embassy complex and offers an American studies centre and a library open from 8.30am to 4.30pm Sunday to Thursday.

Radio and Television

Radio-wise, FM95 broadcasts news in English on 557kHz at 7.30am, 2.30pm and 8pm daily. This is the European language station and in addition to English language programs, it has programs in French, German, Italian and Greek. BBC and Voice of America (VOA) can be picked up on medium wave at various times of the morning and evening. The BBC can be heard on both 639hHz and 1320kHz, and VOA on 1290kHz. Television-wise there has been much improvement over recent years. Nile TV based in Cairo broadcasts news and current affairs exclusively in English and French from 7am each day until past midnight. Satellite and cable are also available; it is best to check with your employer as to the best options and process for application.