London just isn't what it used to be. It's better! A blend of old and new, pace and buzz alongside peace and tranquility, and an amazingly diverse cultural scene. The sounds of Brit-pop and techno pour out of Victorian pubs; experimental theater is popping up on stages built for Shakespeare's plays; and Brits are even running the couture houses of Dior and Givenchy. In food, fashion, film, music, the visual arts, and just about everything else, London stands at the cutting edge again, just as it did in the 1960s. But rest assured that traditional London survives.

Cairo, the capital of Egypt, straddles Africa and Middle East and is full of history. The Egyptian symbols - the Pyramids and the Sphinx - are probably the first objectives you don't want to miss. Cairo preserves a rich heritage in the medieval Islamic city and the Coptic sites in Old Cairo; a visit to the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir Square may take a full day, as you'll find here an unique collection of ancient Egyptian, Roman and Greek artifacts - like the mummy of Ramses II and the contents of the tomb of Tutankhamen's. There are countless landmarks that should not be missed, both historic - Pyramid of Zoser, Papyrus Museum, Museum of Islamic Art - and religious - Al Azhar mosque, Ibn Tulun mosque, St. George the Martyr church. A felucca ride on the Nile is a nice opportunity to explore the natural surroundings and escape the city noise; an interesting alternative would be an aerial adventure in a balloon. Still, Cairo is not only a historical city, but is also hosts a vibrant life of modern society - the Midan Tahrir area, also known ad "Paris on the Nile" or Ma'adi and Heliopolis suburbs.