Cairo Attractions

Bab Zuweila Built in the 11th century, beautiful Bab Zuweila was an execution site during Mamluk times, it is considered as Part of the original Fatimid fortifications, Bab Zuweila is a massive gate surmounted on either side by the minarets of the Al-Muayyad Mosque, it was one of three main portals to the city.

Bab Zuweila sometimes called Al-Mitwalli, it was named as Zuweila by a Berber tribe whose Fatimid soldiers were quartered nearby, The gate has two beautifully adorned minarets belonging to the nearby Al-Mu'ayyad mosque, which are open to visitors. Once you ascend the steep steps, your eyes will lay on one of the best views to the end of Old Cairo. The gate also shares a wall with the mosque, It is a must-see sight in Islamic Cairo.

Visitors may climb the ramparts, where some intriguing exhibits about the gate's history are in place, such as The two minarets atop the gate, it is also open to visitors, and offering one of the best available views of the area In Mamluk times, the space in front of the gate was the site of executions

Cairo Tower is a free-standing concrete tower in Cairo, Egypt At 187 m, it has been the tallest structure in Egypt and North Africa for about 50 years. It was the tallest structure in Africa for ten years until 1971, when it was surpassed by Hillbrow Tower in South Africa, Cairo Tower was built in the reign of former Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser. It cost 6 million pounds at the time it was built in the late 60s.

The tower consists of 16th floors which were built on a huge Aswan granite base where the Pharos used to build fascinating temples and structures, this tower is located at a place in Cairo which is called El Gizera, it also was constructed by Naoum Shebib at 1961.

Cairo Tower was built out of concrete iron and it has the shape of the famous Lotus plant where ancient Egyptians used to produce papyrus. The length of the tower is 187 meters which 43 meters higher than the great pyramid of Cheops. It is located in the middle of Cairo at the edge of Zamalek Island, you will be amazed by trying the tower’s telescope to watch the marvelous sights of the Nile River, the amazing Giza Pyramids, the clear blue sky and the wide streets.

Bab El Nasr is one of the oldest gateways of Cairo the capital of Egypt at Fatimid Dynasty, this massive gate is one of other famous gates called the Bab (gate) el-Futuh, Bab El-Nasr and Bab Zuwaila, Bab el Nasr divided into two great square towers, surrounded by a very fine arched gateway which is set back 4.54 meters, from their front face, at the back of latter is a great square bay, 10.77 meters long and 8.17 meters broad.

Bab el Nasr in English known as the victory Gate, feature with the shields on the flanks and fronts of the protruding towers, which symbolize victory in protecting the city against invaders. Napoleon later named each tower of the north wall after the officers responsible for its security. The names of these French officers are carved near the upper level of the gates.

Bab El-Nasr or the Victory Gate is located near the Khan al-Khalili market and to the east of Bab el-Futuh, and connected with it via either through an interior route throughout the Fatimid wall, Bab El-Nasr which built in three storey’s, the two lower of which are solid, the lower storey is 6.61 in height, measured from half round molding at its base, or 37 meters more if measured from the sill of the entrance. 

Bab El Nasr Located in Cairo, and while you are in Cairo you can enjoy visit Pyramids of Giza, Egyptian Museum, old Cairo and more. 

Pyramids of Giza, one of the seven wonder of the world, were constructed on one of the rockiest plateaus on the banks of the Nile in Northern Egypt, served as the necropolis for the royalty of the old kingdom, the pyramid structure represents the evolution for tomb design, built to endure eternity for another life

Giza plateau are funerary structures of three kings of the fourth dynasty, Comprised of pyramids, tombs complexes and workers' residence, the solar boat museum, and the great sphinx

Cheops (Khufu):

Is the son of sneferu and his mother was Queen Hetepheres, The Turin Papyrus mentioned that he reigned for 23 years, built the oldest and largest pyramid, its height 481 feet (146 meters), approximately 2,300,000 limestone and granite blocks. Weighing between 2.5 and 50 tons each.

Chephren Pyramid

Chephren (Khafre) was a son of Khufu, approximately 10 feet shorter than the Great Pyramid, but it appears to be larger, because of its bedrock was on a higher elevation, He also encased the lowest two layers in granite, It has two entrances lead to the burial chamber.

Mycerinus Pyramid:

The Third Pyramid of Giza was built by King Menkaure whose name is Mycerinus in Greek, he is successor of Khafre, its height approximately 66 meters, Remnants of its original casing are still appear on the top of the structure, The lower section of the pyramid was encased in pink granite, Archaeologists believe that the pyramid was never completed because some of the remaining layers of granite at the bottom levels of the pyramid are still rough.

Current opinion indicate that the mysterious Pyramids were not constructed by slave labor, the evidence for that they discovered workers residences, Some of the skilled workers were paid for their work and they were in permanent villages near the construction site.

the solar boat museum, it was consecrated to king khufu, consists of large ship that were made out of cedar wood, It was used in religious rituals during the Pharaohs time, the solar boat consists of 1,224 individual parts, it has twelve paddles, beside two paddles that were used to correct the path.

Envisage that you could return back in time and live as a king by visiting glory Pyramids of Giza, don't miss to bring water and some sunscreen, as it is sunny during the day.

The Sphinx Is on of the famous Legends all over the world, It was dedicated to King khafre at the 4th Dynasty, located at the entrance "the valley temple" to guard the Pyramids of Giza and the mysterious monuments inside them.

The Sphinx is truly a mysterious marvel from the days of ancient Egypt, Carved from the bedrock of the Giza plateau, Standing 73.5 meters long, 1903 meters wide and 20.22 height, its body of a lion with the head of a king or god, the sphinx is symbolize to strength and wisdom.

In between the paws of the Sphinx is a stelae, now called the "Dream stelae", which is inscribed with a story. The 18th Dynasty story tells that Thutmose IV fell asleep under the Sphinx which was covered to the neck in sand. Thutmose had a dream that the Sphinx spoke to him and promised that if he would free the Sphinx from the sand, Thutmosis would become king of Egypt, don’t miss to snap dazzling photos at the Sphinx. 

Head out to the valley temple through a causeway, this valley temple built of huge core blocks sheathed in red granite,The floor of the temple is made of Alabaster the same of the walls of some smaller chambers, There are two entrances on the eastern wall where you will find the places of Khafre statues, it was already stolen,

An entrance in the center of the western wall leads to a T-shaped hall which has 23 statue bases and had 16 square red granite pillars, which supported the roof.

The Sphinx was painted and colored before, but the nose and beard have been broken away. It is often mistakenly said that the nose was broken by Napoleon's men, but the 18th century drawings reveal that the nose was missing before Napoleon's arrival.

The Egyptian museum located in Tahrir Square, houses an unbelievable exhibit over 120,000 artefacts, which depicting ancient Egypt's glorious reign. Mummies, sarcophagus, pottery, jewellery and of course King Tutankhamun's treasures, this vast heritage is revealed in all its unparalleled glory hundreds of magnificent full-color photographs with special lighting techniques.

Egyptian museum founded in the 19th century by the French Egyptologist Auguste Mariette, to halt the plundering of archaeological sites and to arrange the exhibition of the collected artifacts, The Azbakian garden in Cairo was first used as a storage place for these artifacts, a museum was prepared at Boulaq, then transferred to an annex of the Giza palace of Ismail pasha, The present museum was built in 1900, in the neoclassical style by the French architect Marcel Dourgnon

Cairo museum comprises many sections arranged in chronological, also consists of two floors, the ground floor that hosts the heavier displays like coffins, huge statues, and stone carvings, and the sarcophagus of Queen Hetepheres, The upper floor houses small statues, jewels, the legendary treasures of Tutankhamun and a hall for the royal mummies, housing eleven kings and queens, and halls of the mummified animals.

Tutankhamun's tomb contains four gilded shrines nested one inside the other, All four of these shrines are displayed in the museum, lined up in order of decreasing size, Inside the stone sarcophagus were three coffins being made of 110 kilograms of solid gold, Inside that the pharaoh Tut Ankh Amun was wearing the famous gold mask.

On the ground floor there is artificial lake that has some of the lotus and the papyrus plants, the most important plants for the ancient Egyptians symbolizing to Upper and Lower Egypt.

Till today we are still charming with the glittering treasures from the tomb of King Tut Ankh Amun and the sublime reliefs in New Kingdom tombs and old kingdom, the secrets of pharaohs are endless.

Saqqara Or Sakkara is a desolate desert located west of the Nile 9 miles (14 km) south of Cairo, saqqara complex containd pyramid of djoser, Pharaohs buildings, columns and shrines, Mastaba of Mereruka, Pyramid texts of Unas, The purpose off saqqara complex is to facilitate a successful afterlife for the king so that he could be eternally reborn.

Step Pyramid or (pyramid of djoser) consecrated to king djoser, built by architect Imhotep, during third dynasty in Sakkara which was the cemetery for Memphis, Djoser's complex is the first stone building in Egypt whose architect is known with the name of Imhotep, The entrance to Sakkara has a large scale stone wall surrounds the complex.

Enclosure wall of Djoser complex is consists of light Tura limestone 10.5m height, contains distinctive paneled construction known as the palace façade,
Imhotep decided to build an enormous mastaba of stone, then built another mastaba on top of the first, then another on top of the second, he continued this process until he had enlarged the structure into the world’s first pyramid. It is called now “step pyramid,” consisting of six terraces.

Imhotep designed four symbolic buildings in Djoser's complex in Saqqara, they are the Pavilion of the North, the Pavilion of the South, the South Tomb, and the Jubilee Festival Courtyard, believes that these four symbolic buildings were for the use of king's ka, or for the spirit afterlife.

On the northern side is the original entrance of the Pyramid. And you will notice a little room that is built with a gradient angle, similar to the Pyramid itself. There was found a beautiful statue of King Zoser made of limestone, it was moved to the Egyptian museum in Cairo and replaced by a replica.

Inside the complex of sakkara there is a courtyard called the celebration of the (Hep-Sed) court, it is also called (Sed Festival) in Saqqara, celebrated by the king after 30 years of rule to rejuvenate the king and represented to strengthen the ruler's power.

On the southern side, you will see the ruined Pyramid of King Unas, Pyramid of Unas (Unis, Oenas or Wenis) also called Pyramid texts, which dates back to the end of the 5th Dynasty. It was the first Pyramid that had inscriptions decorating the walls of the burial chamber, Inside the Pyramid he placed an undecorated black basalt sarcophagus and built the walls of his burial chamber of fine colored alabaster.

Mastaba of Mereruka

it is similar to a palace, has 32 rooms in total, 21 rooms for Mereruka, 6 for his wife Watet-Khet-Hor. Mereruka served during the sixth dynasty of Egypt as one of Egypt's most powerful officials at a time state noblemen was increasing in wealth and power.

The Pyramid of Teti is a smooth-sided pyramid situated in the pyramid field at Saqqara in Egypt. It is historically the second known pyramid containing pyramid texts, it is now resembles a small hill, and Below the ground the chambers and corridors are very well preserved.

Ben Ezra Synagogue located deep in the winding alleys of Coptic Cairo, and oldest surviving synagogue, it is considered "A prayer place for the Jews", Ben Ezra Synagogue also known as (Shamaain), it was originally a Christian church that the Copts had to sell to the Jews in 882A.D in order to pay the annual taxes imposed by the Muslim rulers of the time, and therefore Abraham Ben Ezra, who came from Jerusalem during the reign of Ahmed Ibn Tulun, bought the church for the sum of 20,000 dinars, It is believed that the site of the Synagogue where the box of the Baby Moses was found.

Numerous restorations and renovations were made over the centuries, and the present building dates from 1892. It is a faithful reconstruction of the original, which had collapsed, it was constructed in the shape of a rectangular basilica, It is consisting of 2 floors, the 1st floor dedicated to the men while the 2nd is dedicated to the women.

The first floor rectangular in shape, measuring 17m in length and 11.3m wide. It is divided into 3 parts, the largest being the middle one (4.75 m in width), these parts are divided by steel bars painted like marble color.

There is a platform located in front of the sanctuary, where the rabbi stands to read the Torah. The lector platform is in an octagonal shape and is made of marble, there are 2 rooms on each side of the Holy Ark on the 1st floor you can see it clearly on the side halls with patterns such as, rectangles, star patterns and pentagonal patterns.

Ben Ezra Synagogue often referred to as the El-Geniza Synagogue, Geniza being Hebrew for ‘storage room’ and in the 19th century, sacred Hebrew manuscripts were found stored there. The collection widely known as the ’Cairo Geniza‘, gave significant insight into how the Jewish
community was dealing with past Islamic leaders, as well as several interpretations of the Torah.

when you visit old cairo do not miss this honorable chance to visit Ben Ezra Synagogue, hunging church, Abu Serga Church, it is a spiritual excursions you have to try.

The Hanging Church or (Saint Virgin Mary's Coptic Orthodox Church) is an Arabic name called (Al-Muallaqa) named for its location on the ruins of two old towers from Babylon fortress and its nave is suspended over a passageway, After that it was called "staircase church" because of the twenty-nine steps that lead to the entrance.

The Hanging Church takes the shape of a basilica with a wooden roof in the shape of Noah's Ark. its interior includes about 13 flourishing pillars which shed light on the stories of Jesus and his 12 apostles, The church was designed as a rectangle shape, it is 79.05 by 67.24 feet and 24.10 by 20.50 meters .

It consists of Entrance is known as The narthex,The nave and the two aisles, The three Sanctuaries Or three( haikals) within the eastern section of the church. The central one is dedicated to the Virgin Mary, the northern (left) to Saint George, and the southern (right) one to Saint John the Baptist, inside the church There are 110 icons, the oldest of which dates back to the 8th Century, but most of them date to the 18th Century. In 1898 A.D

There are 7 altars in the Church, 3 of them situated in the main sanctuary, and 3 located in the right sanctuary, among which is the altar of Tecla Hymanot, the Ethiopian Saint, and another that was recently discovered in the northern side.

The French monk Vansleb, who was sent to Egypt in 1671 by King Louis XIV in order to study the state of the churches and the monasteries of Egypt, mentioned that he had seen on one of the walls of the Hanging Church, inscriptions written by the hand of the great Muslim commander Amr Ibn El-As, asking the Muslim people to treat this church with respect.

The name of Memphis is derived from the Ancient Egyptian name called Min-Nefer, then Greeks called it latter Memphis. Nowadays it is a local village called Mit Rahina.

It was founded in the 1st Dynasty (3100 B.C) by King Narmar, Memphis was the capital of Ancient Egypt, and the first capital city founded after the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt. It remained as the capital of Ancient Egypt throughout the Old Kingdom.

Memphis was a centre for the worship of Ptah, god of creation and artworks, The creator god Ptah, his consort Sekhmet, and their son Nefertem, were the main focus of worship in the city which formed Memphis triad. 

The city of Memphis was the capital of ancient Egypt. It was the King's residence and the political administrative center until around 2,200 BC.after unification for upper and lower Egypt.

First, the city was having many fine temples, palaces and gardens. the city became scattered ruins, most of the city is gone, or lies below cultivated fields, the city considered an open air museum includes vast monuments such as The Ramesses II statue, it is enormous statue carved in limestone. It is about 10m (33.8 ft) long.

To the west of Memphis museum visitors can see several embalming tables from the ‘House of the Apis Bulls’. These animals were sacred to the god Ptah and after living out a pampered life, were ritually mummified and placed to rest with great ceremony in the Serapeum at Saqqara.

Today the site centers around the modern village of Mit Rahina on the west bank of the Nile, south of Cairo and is reduced to a small museum and an enclosure where statues are exhibited.

The village of Mit Rahina is situated about 24km from Cairo, Take the road south from Giza to the village of El-Badrashein and turn off to the west. The trip can be easily combined with a visit to Saqqara which is only around 3km south of Mit Rahina.

The citadel of Salah El Din is the seat of government and major Headquarters of Salah El Din, medieval fortress, with large imposing gateways, towers and high defending walls

The Citadel was fortified by the Ayyubid ruler Salah al-Din to protect them from Crusaders, Saladin set out to build a wall surround both Cairo and Fustat. Built on a promontory beneath the Muqattam Hill.

The citadel has three main areas: the main fortress and eastern walls, which were built by the great Salahedin El-Ayyoubi in 1176, the southern enclosure with 19th century walls and the lower enclosure extending down the western face of the hill.

The Citadel consists of the Military Museum, the Police Museum, the Royal Carriages Museum, and the Qaser El Gawhara Museum, Mamluk Mosque of El Nasser Mohamed, and the small wonderful Mosque of Suleiman Pasha El Khadim, amazing Mohamed Ali Mosque, and The Bir Yusuf (Salah ad-Din's Well) was dug in order to supply the occupants of the fortress with water.

There is a legend saying that Salah El-Din has chosen the citadel location because of its healthy air, he was hanging pieces of meat up all around Cairo everywhere, and all the meat spoiled within a day, except the Citadel area where it remained fresh for several days, so salah El din decided to build the citadel at its current location. 

Mohamed Ali Mosque:

Mohamed Ali Mosque also called (Alabaster) Mosque, because of the extensive use of this fine material "Alabaster" came from Beni Suef. It stands proudly on the highest point inside the courtyard of the Citadel of Saladin, Designed by the Greek architect Yussuf Bushnaq, began in 1830 A.D, in the Ottoman style by Mohammad Ali Pasha.

The mosque consits of two sections: 

The Western Section, called the "Sahn" "or "Courtyard".
The mosque was built with a central dome surrounded by four small and four semicircular domes,Two elegant cylindrical minarets of Turkish type with two balconies and conical caps are situated on the western side of the mosque, and rise to 82 meters.

there is a brass clock tower in the middle of the northwestern riwak, which was presented to Muhammad Ali by King Louis Philippe of Francein 1845. The clock was reciprocated with the obelisk of Luxor now standing in Place de la Concorde in Paris.

The Eastern Section called "Beit al Salah" or "House of Prayer".,
The eastern section is the part that was dedicated to prayer. It is square in shape, each side measure 41m, and has a roof with a central dome (52m in height) resting on four large arches supported by massive piers. Surrounding the big central dome there are four half domes, while there are four more small domes covering the corners.

The marble mihrab is covered by a half-dome at the lower level. The domes are pointed and covered with medallions and other motifs. The interior dome is impressive because of its size and shape, There are 6 medallions around the dome, which include the names of Allah (God) and Mohamed (the Prophet), as well as the names of the four rightly guided Caliphs, namely Abou Bakr, Omar, Othman, and Ali.

The superb Amr Ibn Al-As Mosque considered the first Mosque built in Egypt, It was built in Al-Fustat, known as Crown of the Mosques, Erected in 642 AD (21 AH) by Amr Ibn al As, also not only used for worship, but used as a court for settling religious and civil disputes for islamic khalifa.

The original structure was rectangular built with a low shed of wood and palm leaves supported on columns of palm stems, stones, and mud bricks while the floor was covered with gravel, present mosque is a 19th-century reconstruction that still preserves design elements and work from various periods of the building’s history.

The mosque has 150 white marble columns and three minarets Simple in design, its present plan consists of an open sahn (court) surrounded by four riwaqs, the largest being the Qiblah riwaq There are many other ancient legions related to the Mosque.

despite of the fact that most of its original structure has been replaced, the mosque’s historical significance as the site of the first Muslim settlement in Egypt and the first mosque in Africa still attracts tourists, It is located in Old Cairo (Fustat) closed to Mar Gargis metro station and Coptic Cairo

The Red Pyramid located About 2Km to the north of the southern pyramid in dahshur, built for King Snefru, architect avoided all previous mistakes by following the same angle from bottom to top - 43 degrees, and in doing so created the first, perfect, complete Pyramid in history, This became the “blueprint” for all the Pyramids.

The Red Pyramid is known as the Northern Pyramid because of its location, and calling it the “Red Pyramid” is related to the very special kind of rosette limestone that the builders had used to build the inner burial chamber, It is 99m in height, and each side of the base is 220m in length.

The entrance of red pyramid located in the northern face of the pyramid with steep of 60 m. long passage leads down to the 1st chamber, which in turn connects to the 2nd chamber by a low rectangular passageway, Both of these chambers are about the same size with high walls, and a corbelled ceiling, At the far end of the 2nd chamber is the entrance to the burial chamber.

You will find A wooden ladder takes you up to the entrance of burial chamber, about 8m above the floor level a wooden bridge spans the burial chamber itself with its corbelled ceiling, also there is corbelled burial chamber in which contains fragmentary human remains, possibly of Sneferu himself were found, Also look for charcoal graffiti left by British explorers in the early 19th century.

Snefru's cartouche was an important discovery, tells the date of the Red Pyramid and shows the duration time of its construction progress and the events that have been happened during its building, therefore we knew that this pyramid was built approximately in the 22nd and the 29th years during the reign of Snefru, as the Red Pyramid was completely built in approximately.

Bent pyramid (2613 – 2589 BC), was The first of Dahshur pyramids, built under the rule of King Sneferu, The Bent Pyramid was the first attempt at building a smooth sided pyramid, but proved to be an unsuccessful build due to the miscalculations made on the structural weight that was being placed onto the soft ground (sand, gravel, and clay) which had a tendency to subside. Other calculations that were proven to be erroneous were that the blocks being used were cut in such a manner that when placed onto the pyramid their weight was not distributed appropriately which causing the angle of the pyramid to be off and achieving the name “Bent Pyramid”

Bent pyramid considered a transitional pyramid, rather than a true pyramid (unique pyramid) because of original polished limestone outer casing remains largely intact.

The Pyramid is square based and the length of each side of its ribs is 188.60 meters and a height of 101.15 meters with an angel of inclination of 54 degrees to a height of 49 meters and then changed to 43 degrees, and this is the main reason why its shape is unusual and for which it dubbed The Bent Pyramid.

This unique pyramid is characterized by its two separate entrances, the first is located in the middle of the northern side and leads to a room carved into the rock below the ground level known as the lower chamber, while the second entrance is located on the western side and leads to another room carved on the ground level and known as the upper chamber, also there is a narrow corridor connecting these two chambers.

Live an amazing adventure and go back in time by taking our fancy tours to ancient Egyptian landmarks such as Bent pyramid in Dahshour, Sakkara and Pyramids of Giza

The Church of Saints Sergius (Abu Serga) considered to be the oldest of Cairo's Christian churches, which built in 4th century, It is consecrate to two early martyrs who served as soldiers in the Roman Army.

The Church was built in the 4th century and was probably finished during the 5th century, It was burned during the fire of Fustat, Although the church was restored several times (11th and 17th century, the last restoration was undertaken in 2000), it still preserves its Medieval charm.

Abu Sarga is based on a basilican structure with a nave and two side aisles, Twelve columns are set between the nave and the aisles, eleven of which are made of white marble and only one is of red granite, Inside its main sancturary a wooden canopy supported by four pillars is placed above the altar and painted with biblical scenes.

The roof is one of the most interesting features of the church and said to have been constructed in the shape of Noah’s ark, The Cave of the Holy Family is considered the main structure part of the construction of this church, which considered a crypt of the Holy Family where they stayed for three weeks during their sojourn in Egypt.

There are 3 Sanctuaries on the east side, each Sanctuary contains an altar, with a wooden dome, supported by 4 marble columns, The dome of each altar has religious scenes of Christ, Angels, and the 4 evangelists.

Museum of Islamic Art, called (1881–1952) Museum of Arab Art, The museum was founded in 1881, and its collection spans from the 7th century Umayyad dynasty to the 19th century Ottoman Empire. In 1903 the museum moved to its current building.

The museum hosts more than 104,000 displays reflecting the greatness of the Islamic civilization in Egypt and the whole Islamic world, it is showing how it has flourished and changed throughout history, Many of the displays at the Islamic Art Museum were gathered from Arab and non-Arab nations and from individuals that have sold their belongings or donated them to the museum.

Today the Museum of Islamic Art displays some of the rarest exhibits including pottery, pieces of cloth, rocks with Islamic writings, colored windows, and many other displays. There is also the collection of Persian and Turkish pottery that the museum bought in 1945, A whole section in the Museum of Islamic Art was specified for different types of the copies of the Qur'an. Most of the displays of this section date back to the Ottoman period and they were made out of gold. There are many different styles of decorations on them and marvelous types of Arabic calligraphy.

The first and second floors showcase pieces ordered chronologically by artist's birth date. Works of twentieth century Egyptian art pioneers are exhibited in dedicated windows. The first floor is devoted to artists born in the late 19th century up to 1931. The second floor shows paintings produced by artists born between 1932 through the youngest generation.