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Cairo
City:
General Information
Cairo:
 The great
Capital of Egypt. Considered to be one of the largest cities in both the
Middle East & Africa.
Cairo
or Al-Qahera was finally named and founded in AD 969.
Before
it's settled on Cairo, to be the capital of Egypt, the Capital used to
change along the history, it's once Memphis, Heliopolis,
Babylon-in-Egypt, Al-Fustat, Al-Qataei, Al-Askar, till it reaches its
current name nowadays; Cairo or Al-Qahera which means the Triumphant
City..
Weather
in Cairo is fine all over the year. It's mild cold in Winter, sunny, hot
in Summer but with nice breeze, during Spring and Autumn weather is
great and perfect for outside activities and traveling within the
country. Cairo is a large city, bearing about 16 million inhabitant, so
considered to be the largest city in Africa. Cairo is a complex blend of
different civilizations and therefore is unique to live in.
Greater
Cairo extends on the banks of the River Nile to the south of the delta.
Cairo
bares a significant, flourishing historical background that starts from
the Pharoanic period passing through the Greco-Roman, Jewish, and
Coptic, till the Islamic period.
It was
here that the Virgin Mary and the Child Jesus rested after their long
journey from Palestine, and that the first Islamic mosque in Africa was
built by Amr Ibn Al-3as. Cairo is at least twice as old as Paris, 7
times as old as Berlin, and 15 times as old as New York City.
Egypt
has many spectacular historical sites that make touring in Cairo or
Egypt in general like taking a virtual time journey through history
Tourist information:
Amongst
the greatest sites in Cairo are the Pyramids, with the famous pyramid of
Cheops which is one of the Seven Wonders of the World, Sphinx, Saqqara,
old Cairo, the Citadel, Khan El-Kahlili, many old historical mosques.
All
these tourist attractions destinations and much more are all found in
that great city of Cairo .
When visiting
Cairo you can enjoy various daily trips either to the Pyramids , which
is located at the Giza plateau having the 3 pyramids and the Sphinx .
Nearby you
can pay a visit to the pyramids of Saqqara and Dahshour , which worth a
visit.
After that
you can head to the Egyptian museum which houses more than 120,000
objects and masterpieces dating back to several dynastic periods. Never
miss visiting the second floor which bares the golden objects &
sarcophagi for King Tutankhamen, don't forget visiting the mummy's room
and hear how these great kings lead their life and how they died.
 Enjoy a
religious kind of trips either Islamic or Coptic. During your journey to
Old Cairo or known as Masr al-kadema area, preferable to dress an
appropriate dress covering the body as you'll pay a visit to the Coptic
and Islamic places there.
First
pay a visit to the hanging church or as known locally El- Mo3alaka" it's
so called cause it's built on the Babylon fortress, was probably built
during the patriarchate of Isaac (690-92), later on restorations were
made to the church was largely rebuilt by the patriarch Abraham
(975-78).
Heading to
the Coptic museum , which includes several Coptic icons, and valuable
objects.
The church of
Abu Serga or saint Serguis and Bacchus dates back to the 4 th century,
and considered to be the oldest Christian church in Cairo, was basically
dedicated to two martyrs. Also, believed that it's built on the area
where the holly family rested at in the end of their journey in Egypt.
Mari
Girgis or Saint George Church , originally built by a wealthy scribe
called Athanasius in 684, and then was rebuilt again in 1875. During
your journey in Old Cairo pay a visit to Ben Ezer's synagogue , found in
the 6 th or 9 th Century AD.
The
synagogue ground was originally a property of a church.
The
Synagogue building is of a basilica style, and contains a Jewish
heritage library. The documents include rare manuscripts and are written
in Hebrew.
On your
way back from Old Cairo, pay a visit to the first and oldest mosque ever
Amr Ibn El-3as Mosque, it's erected in 642 AD, by Amr Ibn El-3as, who's
the commander of the Egyptian army that conquered Egypt during that
time.
Choose
a day to visit Saladin or Salah El-Din Citadel , in the heart of Cairo,
a huge recognized fortress built by Saladin in 1183 A.D as a fortified
centre for the government to dominate Cairo from its place at "Mokattam
Hills". This citadel includes well preserved monuments, like; the Jewel
Palace known locally as Qasr El Jawhara , which was Mohammed Ali Pasha's
headquarters.
Mohamed
Ali Mosque started being built in 1830 and ended in 1875. Characterized
by its Ottoman style, made out fine alabaster brought from Benie Souif.
This eye catching mosque bares the tomb of Mohamed Ali Pasha.
The
military museum , containing a collection of weapons and military
costumes that date back to ancient times.
In addition
of all these sites at the citadel there's also, the carriage museum ,
archeological museum , 2 mosques one for al Nasser Mohamed and the other
is Soliman Pasha Mosque & the gate of pain.
Cairo
is rich with old mosques amongst which are Ahmed Ibn Touloun Mosque ,
distinguished with its spiral minaret & Al Azhar mosque , shortly after
the founding of Cairo, started building al Azhar mosque which is
considered a blooming piece of art. Was finally established in 361, and
was named Al-Azhar after Fatma el Zahraa prophet Mohamed's daughter.
You can
pay a visit to this marvelous mosque when going to El-Hussein square in
Cairo, also another oriental area that really bares lots of historical
old houses, like Zeinab Khatoun , El-Seherty , El-Sehemy and many
others.
 Experience magic, history, shop in he narrow alleys, smell the pleasant
odour of famous spices, delicious food, and enjoy a stay in an oriental
cafe', all that is in Cairo's most old and marvelous market Khan El-Khalili
Khan El-Khalili
is a market that is rich with many handcrafts industries, you'll find
the sellers calling on you to come and have a look at their products
while walking as if you are walking in a legendry story about Baghdad
old markets.
There
is a lot of interesting products you can get from there, like gold,
silver, cotton Gallabias, precious and semi precious stones, hand made
carpets, or original pictures by famous Egyptian artists, pottery,
alabaster or marble status for the Ancient Egyptian deities, and much
more.
During
your magical shopping tour you can rest at one of the famous café there,
the most famous is El-Fishawy coffeshop; drink your exquisite tea with
mint or hibiscus, and smoke your favorite Shisha flavor.
Cairo
is a non sleeping city; you'll enjoy it by night too, lots of activities
and places to go. Just get a good guide and read a bit about the cool
places you'd want to hang in. Egypt really has is it all.
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