Known as the city of a thousand minarets, Cairo, the capital of Egypt, boasts some of the finest Islamic architecture in the world, notably the Ali Muhammad Mosque and the Al-Azhar Mosque.
Many people may not know that there are areas in Cairo that have been inhabited for 6000 continuous years! This is what makes Cairo at the top of the most important places tourism in Egypt .
One of the main advantages of Cairo, or "Egypt" as the locals call it, is its proximity to the ancient cities of Giza and Memphis, which means that you can easily go on day trips to the Great Pyramid and the Sphinx.
Other tourist attractions in Cairo include the Khan El Khalili Market, the 187-meter-tall Cairo Tower, the serene Al-Azhar Park, and the Saladin Citadel.
institution in the world), entertainment (dervish carousels), and mild weather.
The best times to visit Cairo are from March to April and from October to November when temperatures are comfortable, crowds are lower and hotel rates are reasonable.
The city of Cairo is located in the north of Egypt and is crossed by the Nile River. It is 120 km from the Suez Canal and 165 km from the Mediterranean Sea.
Use of sea-going boats: they are of limited use, but they offer stunning views; These boats take you from the Corniche near the center of Cairo to Giza next to the zoo and Cairo University.
The city center station is in Maspero, 250 meters north of Ramses Hilton, in front of the large round TV building. The boats depart every 15 minutes, the journey takes 30 minutes, and the fare is 150 EGP.
Great Pyramid: The Great Pyramid, 756 feet wide and 481 feet high, is the largest of the three pyramids in the Giza Necropolis. It was built by 100,000 men between 2580 and 2560 BC using more
than 5 million tons of limestone. The weight of the largest of these stone blocks transported from Aswan is about 80 tons.
Statue of the Sphinx: The Sphinx is a tourist attraction in itself: it was built of limestone and reaches a height of 66 feet. This statue, which consists of the body of a lion and the head of a human being, was completed in about 2500 BC, which was buried in the sand for several centuries and was never completed. It was fully discovered until 1936.
Muhammad Ali - considered the founder of modern Egypt - was buried in a white marble tomb in the mosque's courtyard. This spacious building, designed in the Ottoman style using limestone and alabaster, has a central dome with a diameter of 21 meters and a height of 51 meters.
The Muhammad Ali Mosque was designed with gold, suspended floor lamps and a number of small glass windows, surrounded by four semicircular domes and four small corner domes.
On the western side of the mosque stand two minarets of 82 meters in length. Overall, the mosque measures 41 by 41 meters, and has a 50 by 50 meters courtyard to the northwest (providing views of the Pyramids of Giza).
The museum was founded in 1902 in a distinctive red brick building in Tahrir Square, and the number of antiques amounts to more than 120,000 artifacts.
The most famous piece in the museum is the golden mask of Tutankhamun, found on the face of King Tutankhamun in his sarcophagus; The mask consists of 11 kilograms of pure gold, and represents the features of the king.
The place contains many pyramids and other smaller burial tombs, including the famous Pyramid of Djoser. The pyramid dates back to the 27th century BC, its length is 108 by 125 meters, and its height is 62 meters. After its construction, it remained the tallest structure in the world for 40 years.
Khan al-Khalili's history dates back to 1382, when Prince Jaharkes al-Khalili built a large roadside inn on the site to accommodate tired travelers. Today, Khan Al-Khalili is the heart of Islamic Cairo, located to the west of Al-Hussein Square.
You can find everything here from spices, food, lamps, gold, silver, copper and souvenirs. Bargaining the price is a must for those who want to buy: As a general rule, when you want to buy a product you should not pay more than 50% of the price of the product.
By 989, the mosque had attracted 35 scholars specializing in Sunni Islam and Islamic law. It subsequently developed into the second oldest continuously run university in the world (teaching is now conducted elsewhere).
The mosque occupies 7,400 square metres, contains five minarets (the oldest dates back to 1340 AD) and measures 20,000 square metres, and is still an active place of worship.
The lush gardens, about one kilometer long, are designed according to traditional Islamic geometric lines and include fountains, waterways, multicolored stonework, palms, an orchard and a children's playground. In total, there are 325 species of plants, in the garden which have been carefully cultivated.
The tower is built of concrete, and is located in the Gezira area with the Nile River calmly flowing around it. The tower is a major tourist attraction.
The design of Naoum Chebib - the architect of the tower - features a distinctive open grille style, and is said to have been inspired by the lotus flower. The tower includes an observation deck and offers a wonderful view of the city.
The Ayyubid castle was built by Salah al-Din al-Ayyubi between 1176 and 1183, and the castle became the seat of the Egyptian government and remained so until the nineteenth century. The most pressing reason for the construction of the fortress was the danger that the Crusaders posed to Cairo.
During the siege, fresh water was supplied via Joseph's 280-foot-deep well. The castle includes many other tourist attractions such as: Muhammad Ali Mosque, Sultan Al-Nasir Mosque, the military prison and the castle walls.
The Caliph of Muslims in Egypt, Amr ibn al-Aas, instructed that the Copts be treated well, and today they constitute about 10% of the population.
Coptic Cairo is an area in Old Cairo that includes many landmarks such as the Hanging Church, the Coptic Museum and the Babylon Fortress. Coptic Cairo also includes many other landmarks such as: St. George Church, St. Barbara Coptic Church and Christian cemeteries.
