Cairo On the Nile

The amazing capital of Egypt, Cairo is located in a lovely setting on the Nile River. Tourists love to come here because they can take a walk back into history and see the site of Giza with its iconic pyramids and the Great Sphinx.

The Pyramids of Giza is a one half-day trip from Cairo. They are located on the edge of the city and have long been one of the country’s major highlights.

The largest of them is The Pyramid of Cheops also known as the Great Pyramid or Pyramid of Khufu. Visitors can explore the narrow passages in the interior.

Directly behind this pyramid you’ll find the Solar Boat Museum. Here are displays of one of the ceremonial solar barques that have been unearthed in this area.

To the south is the Pyramid of Chephren also known as the Pyramid of Khefre. Here you can enter an inner tunnel area.

The smaller is the Pyramid of Mycerinus or Pyramid of Menkaure.

On guard over all of these pyramids is the lion bodied and pharaoh-faced Sphinx.

Visit the impressive and fascinating Egyptian Museum which counts as one of the world’s great museums. This museum was founded in 1857 by French Egyptologist August Mariette. It has found its home in a powder pink mansion in Downtown Cairo.

Since it is impossible to take in everything this museum offers take in some of the highlights like the Tutankhamun Galleries. Here you can see Tutankhamun’s death mask, sarcophagi, the pharaoh’s lion throne and his amazing wardrobe collection. Then there is the Egyptian Jewelry Collection and the Royal Mummies Collection.

Al-Azhar Mosque is the finest building from the Fatimid Era. It is also one of Cairo’s earliest surviving mosques, completed in 977AD and one of the world’s oldest universities. Today Al-Azhar University is still the leading theological center of the Islamic world.

The main entrance is the Gate of the Barbers on the northwest side. After leaving your shoes here you can walk into the central courtyard. To the right is the El-Taibarsiya Medrese, which has a mihrab or prayer niche that dates from 1309.

From the central courtyard you can get the best views of the mosque’s five minarets. Across the way is the prayer hall, spanning a vast 3,000 square meters.

Visitors love exploring Old Cairo where you can wander along many different lanes, past small churches, the walls of Old Babylon and you can still see some of the Roman Towers.

The Coptic Museum has lots of information about Egypt’s early Christian period. It is also home to one of the country’s finest collections of Coptic Art.

Next door you’ll fine the 9th century Hanging Church showing some lovely examples of Coptic architecture. It was founded in the 4th century and originally built over the Roman Gate Towers therefore getting its name. It was rebuilt in the 9th century.

For many the real highlight of a visit to Old Cairo is the Church of St. Sergius and Bacchus where local legend has it that the Virgin Mary, baby Jesus and family took shelter during King Herod’s massacre of male babies.

Farther on you’ll come to the Ben Ezra Synagogue which is said to be the spot where the baby Moses was found in the reeds.

Just outside of the quarter is the Mosque of Amr Ibn al-As which is the first mosque built in Egypt.

For a great shopping experience head for Khan el-Khalili which is a Middle Eastern souq or bazaar. Here you will find a labyrinth of narrow alleyways in a shopping district that dates from 1400 AD. You can find most anything on sale and many tiny stores and workshops. This is also the place of Cairo’s most famous coffee shop, Fishawis, offering syrupy Arabic coffee and sweet tea.

Cairo’s citadel was built by Saladin in 1176. The Mosque of Muhammad Ali is the most famous monument. It is nicknamed the “Alabaster Mosque” with its white stone and tall minarets. It has become one of Cairo’s great landmarks.

For fantastic views across the city head for the Gawhara Terrace.

To the northeast of this mosque you’ll come to the El-Nasir Mosque, built in 1318-35 by Mohammed el-Nasir. On this site you’ll also find such museums as the Police Museum, National Military Museum and Carriage Museum.

The most fascinating of all of the Islamic Cairo district gates is Bab Zuweila. Visitors can climb to the top of this medieval structure to get some spectacular views over Islamic Cairo. The gate has two minarets.

Right next door is the red and white stonework of the Sheikh al-Mu’ayyad Mosque.

Ibn Tulun Mosque is the oldest standing mosque in Cairo. It was built between 876 and 879 AD. At the time it was built it was considered to be the largest mosque in the world. The Main Court’s colonnades open onto a series of narrow-fronted halls. On the mosque’s northern side is the 40-meter-high minaret with a horseshoe arch over the entrance and a spiral staircase twisting through the interior. You can get wonderful views by climbing the 173 steps to the upper platform looking over the roofs of houses to the north and the Mokattam Hills to the east.

Al-Azhar Park is a lovely green space that was built over a medieval rubbish dump. It opened in 2005 with manicured gardens. Here people enjoy strolling and it is especially lovely at sunset. For relaxing there are some good restaurants here. On the weekend families come here for rest and picnicking.

Zamalek district is located on the Nile Island of Gezira. This is the place where you can find most of Cairo’s fashionable boutiques and trendy restaurants. The area dates from the mid 19th century and the entire area has a European feel with impressive architecture and wide boulevards all lined with Jacaranda trees.

While here take the time to explore the Palace of Arts in the Nile Grand Hall. It features rotating exhibits.

The Museum of Modern Egyptian Art has a fine collection of 20th century Egyptian art that includes art work by Mahmoud Said and Mahmoud Mukhtar.

Much of the southern section of Gezira has exclusive tennis courts and riding stables at the Gezira Sports Club.

Towering above all the lush greenery is the 187-meter-high Cairo Tower, built in 1961 by President Nasser. A trip up the observation deck at sunset to see dusk settle over the city is a must. In Arabic Cairo Tower is known as Borg al-Qahira and it was built for two purposes to function as a TV tower and to act as a symbol of Egypt’s engineering capabilities. When you have enjoyed the views from the observation deck enjoy the revolving restaurant at the top of the tower that completes one full rotation every 70 minutes.

Visit lovely Roda Island just south of Gezira Island. It is home to Manasterly Palace, once the residence of an Ottoman pasha.

In the palace gardens is Cairo’s Nilometer which at one time was used to measure the ebb and flow of the Nile and predict the annual flood heights.

At the north end of the island you’ll find the ornate Manial Palace which was built in 1805-18 at the time of Mohammed Ali. Presently it is closed for renovation.

Downtown Cairo offers the feel of the city as it was in the late 19th century when it was nicknamed the “Paris of the East”. Here you can see impressive Belle Epoque buildings.

On the western edge of Downtown you’ll find the 19th century Abdin Palace. Today it is a museum and has an unusual collection of photos, tapestries and gifts given to Egypt’s presidents by visiting dignitaries.

The Giza Zoo is a zoological garden in Giza, Egypt and includes Giza’s largest park. The zoo stretches for around 80 acres and is home to many endangered species.

The gardens include black stone flag paved roads, footpaths decorated with pebbles and a pond with a marble island known as the zoo’s Tea Island.

The zoo also has a suspension bridge designed by Gustave Eiffel which allows visitors to view animals from above.

This is one of the most beautiful zoos in the world and has a many animal and plant species. It is located near the west bank of the Nile. The hilly areas are planted with cactus trees. It has a huge exhibition of African wild life. You can see mountain goats and rams, Egyptian gazelles and heron.

Citadel Hill is the largest and decorated with statues of the extinct Fayoun rhinoceros, crocodiles and strange birds.

There is a small park with plant-covered walks and streams that flow through caves with white coral reefs hanging down into waterfalls, leading to a lake with two islands connected by a wooden bridge. In front of the House of Lions are two artificial hills connected by a rare iron suspension bridge.

There is also a museum that was built in 1906. It has three big halls exhibiting large groups of Egyptian and foreign embalmed birds, reptiles, fish and animals. The zoo is an institute for scientists to study the behavior of animals and birds. There are five non-governmental organization that carry out campaigns to encourage people to preserve wild life and promote environmental awareness in Egypt.