01 Apr 2023
The itinerary was great which includes important tourist attractions in Cairo like the Citadel, the Hanging Church and the Cave Church but the tour guide - Mr. Hani fell short of his duty.
Throughout the tour, Mr. Hani didn't seem to be interested in introducing his country to us and he was unfamiliar with the itinerary of that day. Most of the time, he only explained when we asked questions otherwise he would just walk far ahead of us. We passed by Al-Azhar Mosque which was in the itinerary but he didn't even point it out to us until we asked about the Mosque much later. That also happened when we were at the Khan el-Khalili Market. He led us walking aimlessly until we told him what we wish to see in the market. Then we were brought to a papyrus shop.
After the visit to the Church of St. Sergius and Bacchus, he seemed to want to end the tour but we still have not visited the Cave Church. We asked him to bring us to the Cave Church and he tried to confuse us by saying that Church of St. Sergius and Bacchus was the Cave Church on the itinerary. We showed him the itinerary of the tour that we bought which clearly shows that we would visit Church of St. Sergius and Bacchus and then the Cave Church. Obviously those are two different places. How can a tour guide who works in Cairo but cannot tell apart Church of St. Sergius and Bacchus and the Cave Church? Anyway, out of no choice, he brought us to the Cave Church reluctantly.
Throughout the tour, the vehicle provided was also not in a good condition. The saloon car was old and the air conditioner wasn't working properly. It was stuffy and uncomfortable while traveling in the car provided. We are very unhappy and disappointed with the "half-baked" tour guiding attitude of Mr. Hani. The tour company should have a better quality control on their tour guides.