But Egyptians are so cheerful in the face of depthless poverty, gridlocked traffic and rising political temperatures, that the atmosphere in Cairo makes most visitors smile. Raymond Stock is the author of a forthcoming biography of Naguib Mahfouz, the 1988 Nobel laureate in literature. Internet caf s abound, but in a country with a literacy rate of roughly 50 percent, only the elite are online. Ramadan ends, depending on when the religious authorities sight the new moon, on Dec. 26 or 27. For a city this size, Cairo's stars are few.
Internet connections are in every room, for no usage charge.
The business center provides Internet, fax, document writing, photocopying and translating services, and temporary secretarial assistance. Also free for guests is a fitness center. Most of its 1,200 rooms are in modern blocks flanking its luxuriant garden. All have computer ports and there is no fee for employing them. It will also find you clerical help and interpreters to use outside the hotel.