Day tour Cairo Egypt
Millions of travellers visit Egypt every year just to enjoy its glamour and monuments. Although, some people think that staying in Cairo can be boring or not worthy. This is totally wrong as Cairo contains a lot of sightseeing places that every traveler should visit. In this article we will take you on a trip to Cairo to know more about it, its history, and how you can have a day tour at Cairo.
History of Cairo
Cairo is the capital of Egypt and it’s the largest city in the Arab world with a population of 21.7 million. Cairo was founded in 2000 BC and ruled by King Mina. Then it was established as Al-Fustat in the 10th century by the Fatimids. Because of its geographical location, it became the key link on the east-west spice route. Thus, the market streets of Khan El-Khalili became the center of trade. In this article, you will get to know the most important sightseeing place to visit in Cairo.
Pyramids of Giza
Egypt is well known for the pyramids of Giza that were built in the period of the fourth ruling dynasty between 2500 and 2600 BC.
The great Pyramid of Giza is the oldest pyramid of the three pyramids and it is one of the world’s seven wonders.
The purpose of building the pyramids Pharaohs believed that there is an afterlife so they built the pyramids as their tombs.
They believed that they would be gods in the afterlife. So, they decided to build big tombs with everything they might need to guide and help them in the afterlife.
Khufu pyramid is the oldest and largest pyramid It is roughly 481 feet tall and used around 2.3 million stone blocks, each weighing 2.5 to 15 tons. After that, Khufu’s son “Khafre” built the second pyramid.
He also built the sphinx which is a limestone monument with the body of a lion and a head of a human as a part of his tomb, the lion body symbolising immortality. The third pyramid is smaller than the first two and was built by Pharaoh Menkaure.
Dahshur Pyramid
The red pyramid or the North pyramid as named by some is located in the Dahshur necropolis in Cairo. It is named the red pyramid for its reddish color because of using red limestone stones to be built. It is the third largest pyramid in Egypt after Khufu’s and Khafre’s pyramids. You can go inside the red pyramid and see the drawings that will tell you a lot about ancient Egypt. It’s very near to Saqqara and the pyramids of Giza so you can go on a day tour in Cairo and visit all of them.
Saqqara
Saqqara is a village in Giza, Egypt. It contains ancient burial grounds and a number of pyramids such as the step pyramid of Djoser which start off as a flat-roofed structure with sloping sides. Through a series of expansions, it evolved into a 60 meters-high pyramid, with six layers, one built on top of the other. The pyramid was constructed using 11.6 million cubic feet of stone and clay.
The hanging church
The church of the Virgin Mary is one of the oldest churches in Egypt. It is named the hanging church for its location above a gatehouse of the Babylon Fortress. The Hanging Church has 110 icons, the oldest of which dates back to the 8th century, but most of them date to the 18th century. When you enter the church you will first see the entrance which is a large courtyard, then you will pass by the nave and the two aisles, and the three Sanctuaries. The first one is dedicated to St. John, while the middle one is dedicated to The Virgin Mary, and the last one is dedicated to Saint George. The Hanging church is full of sightseeing places that are incredible. You must include it in your day tour in Cairo.
The synagogue of Ben Ezra
If you are going on a day tour in Cairo, you can’t miss visiting the synagogue of Bin Ezra. The synagogue of Ben Ezra is located in Al-Fustat, Old Cairo. It is believed to be built where baby Mousa was found. A huge amount of documents that record the history of the Jewish community were found in the synagogue but now, they are held at Cambridge University in England. You will enjoy the decorations there as you will find unique decorations that weren’t mostly used in Jewish religious buildings. Also, the walls, ceilings, and floors contain some stars, pentagons, and rectangles that are Turkish inspirations. You can also find some floral decorations that are considered an Ottoman Empire influence.
Salah El-Din castle
After your tour in Coptic Cairo, its time to see some Islamic historical places that includes Salah El-Din castle and Muhammad Ali’s mosque which you must include them in you day tour in Cairo.
Salah El-Din castle or Cairo Citadel is divided into two parts, the northern Enclosure where you can find the national military museum, and the southern enclosure where you can find the mosque of Muhammad Ali.
Also you will find there, Al-Gawhara palace, the archaeological garden museum, the national police museum, and the royal vehicle museum that are enjoyable and interesting places that show you the majesty and royalty of the Islamic Egypt.
Mosque of Muhammad Ali
Mosque of Muhammad Ali is one of the most important and famous Islamic monument in Egypt. It is located inside the citadel of Salah El-din. It is also known as The Alabaster Mosque as its interior and exterior walls are amazingly coated with alabaster. The mosque was built by Mohamed Ali Pasha between 1830 and 1848. It also contains the tomb of Mohamed Ali Pasha.
Al-Gawhara palace
Al-Gawhara palace is located inside the citadel of Salah El0din and was built by Muhammad Ali pasha. It was built to be Muhammad Ali Pasha’s wife’s house. So, it was named after Gawhara Hanem, Muhammad Ali Pasha’s last wife.
Al-Gawhara Palace is a great example of Ottoman architecture with strong European influence.
Nowadays, it is considered as a museum for Islamic art.
It contains all the gifts presented to Muhammad Ali Pashan and his family.
The national police museum
The National police museum is a place that you must include in your one day tour in Cairo. It is located in Salah El-din citadel. It has many halls that show the Egyptian police in different periods.
One hall is dedicated to the police in ancient Egypt, another one is dedicated to the Islamic period, while the third one displays fire-fighting equipment.
The museum also documents the most important battles, assassinations, and crimes during the modern period,
in addition to the evolution of uniforms and weaponry.
The museum houses fire trucks used in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
The royal vehicle museum
The royal vehicle museum of the royal carriages museum in Cairo citadel in one of the best places that will make you travel through time to years back. It has some carriages while the rest of the royal carriages are kept in The royal Chariots museum in Bulaq.
The open interior displays 8 carriages that belonged to the Egyptian royal family. Most impressive is the carriage of Khedive Ismail which he rode at the opening of the Suez canal in 1869.
A re-creation of the scene is painted on the back wall of the museum.
Also, you can find a children’s carriage which was made in England in 1924 for Prince Farouk when he was a little boy.
All the other carriages in the room came from France.
Summary
Cairo is full of historical Christian and Islamic monuments that are worthy to see and visit. IF you are planning a vacation to Egypt, you must include a day tour in Cairo to experience a totally new experience that you won’t have anywhere else.
0 Comment