Tourist Attractions in Cairo

Sightseeing Overview

With its layers of history and density of streets, one could spend months in Cairo and still not manage to see - or even find - all of its mosques and minarets, Coptic churches, souks, small museums and other places of interest. Just to visit the top attractions will require a stay of several days. Some sections of the city are attractions in themselves: the narrow streets of Old Cairo and Islamic Cairo are lined with ancient homes and buildings that can provide hours of fascinating (if frenetic) wandering.

The Khan al-Khalili, the city’s main market , with its silk and spice merchants, haggling and steady stream of Cairenes from all walks of life, is one of the best places to soak up the local color of Cairo. People-watching is one of the most rewarding activities. Western women may feel self-conscious at the many sidewalk cafes, as Egyptian women do not frequent them (apart from those in the market), but there are plenty of restaurants with outdoor dining that afford a respite from the bustle of the streets and the chance to watch the world go by.

The Egyptian Museum of Antiquities is located downtown near the central square, Midan Tahrir. To the north is Bulaq, a district with interesting mosques and medieval back streets along the Nile, which butts up against the modern offices of the World Trade Center. To the south, is the suburb of Garden City, a tree-lined former British enclave in the wartime years. Most of the main attractions are situated in Old Cairo, the Coptic quarter where the Coptic Museum and Hanging Church are located, and Islamic Cairo, a huge maze-like medieval quarter peppered with domes and minarets that lies to the east of central Cairo and downtown. The towers of Bab Zuwayla, the Citadel, the Gayer Anderson House and the Islamic Art Museum are among the sights here. There is an official website for Cairo’s Islamic monuments (website: www.cim.gov.eg).

The famous Pyramids are located in Giza, 18km (11 miles) from the city center. Other areas worth exploring include the two Nile islands. Roda includes the residential Manial district on its northern end, while Gezira, the largest island, is split into two distinct districts: Gezira proper with its Opera House and art museums, and Zamalek, home to diplomats, wealthy foreigners, luxurious villas and trendy bars and restaurants.

Public transport on the overcrowded Cairo buses (see Public Transport in Getting Around) is not recommended and, as such, no transport details for the attractions are given below. Unfortunately, the metro does not serve most of the main tourist spots. Sadat is the metro stop for Midan Tahrir in downtown Cairo; Mari Girgis is the stop for Old Cairo. It is quickest and easiest to take a taxi to the first destination of the day and walk to nearby sights from there. Note that most museums are closed during midday prayers on Fridays, approximately 1130-1330.

There are also offices at the Cairo International Airport (terminal two/New Airport), the Pyramids and the Railway Station.

Passes
There are no dedicated tourist discount passes in Cairo.

Key Attractions:

Egyptian Museum of Antiquities

With more than 100,000 artifacts spanning Egyptian history from the earliest dynasties to the Roman era, the Egyptian Museum represents the largest collection of its kind in the world. It would take several months to see every exhibit. A minimum of three to four hours is necessary to take in the highlights and, if time allows, the museum is best appreciated on successive half-day visits. The collection was first assembled by the French archaeologist Auguste Mariette in 1858.

The top attractions are the Tutankhamun Galleries, which display the gold and gem-inlaid funerary mask and 1700 other treasures found in the tomb of the Boy King, and the Royal Mummy Room, which contains the corpses of 11 of Egypt’s most powerful pharaohs including Seti I and his son Ramses II. Room 27 displays intricate models of ancient life on the Nile during the Middle Kingdom, while the Old Kingdom Rooms contain beautiful statues and death masks from Giza and Saqqara. The Akhenaten Room, Jewelry Rooms and animal mummies are also fascinating.

Pyramids of Giza
One of the seven wonders of the ancient world and now one of the wonders of the modern world too, the Pyramids of Giza are Egypt’s prime tourist attraction. First impressions can disappoint, partly because many visitors find them smaller than anticipated. But the longer the visit, the more powerful the pyramids become.

The Great Pyramid of Cheops was completed in about 2600BC and is the oldest on the site, and the largest in Egypt. It stands 136.4m (447.5ft) high and is made from an estimated 2.5 million limestone blocks. It was built to house the sarcophagus of King Cheops (or Khufu to give him his proper Egyptian name), although it is not known whether he was ever actually buried here. Nearby are three smaller pyramids built for the king’s queens, and beyond are the two other large pyramids, those of Chephren and Mycerinus. Chephren was the son of Cheops and popular belief has it that he had the idea of building the Sphinx, to stand close by his own tomb and that of his father. Some archaeologists say that this is not the case, and the Sphinx may even be some 2600 years older than the pyramids themselves.

Sightseeing in Cairo

Cairo was once the Byzantine city of Babylon-the same as in the song “by the rivers of Babylon…"! In 969 AD, the Fatimid rulers captured the reigns of power, to be succeeded by the Mameluks, a slave dynasty. They left an impressive set of buildings in a quarter of Cairo now known as Islamic Cairo. This includes a warren of districts like Al-Muski, Darb al-Ahmar and Gamaliya. The old-world charm here is palpable, and well worth soaking in.

The Hanging Church (El Muallaqah/ St Mary) is a Coptic Church within the old Babylon fortress gets its name from a suspended nave. It has 29 steps leading to its entrance that gave it the name of ’staircase church’. Built in the 3rd or 4th centuries in the Basilican style, it was destroyed in the 9th century and rebuilt in the 11th century. There is an incredible collection of over a hundred icons within this church dating back to the 11th and 13th centuries and the oldest is from the 8th century.

The Egyptian Museum at Cairo is not one you can rush through as part of your sightseeing itinerary but if you are really short on time, here’s a tip: browse through the first section that houses treasures from Tutankhamen’s time, take a quick look at the sixth section that has coins and papyrus and the seventh section that displays sarcophagi and scarabs. There is a hall for the royal mummies in a specially air-conditioned environment within the museum. This section has a separate entrance fee but it is well worth digging into your pockets to make it to this crypt that has eleven Pharaohs and their consorts.

Despite several efforts of the Egyptologists to preserve them the mummies are said to be degenerating. The Museum is open from 9 am to 5 pm on all days except Friday, when it is closed for a few hours. Students get a 50% discount on entry fee, which is USUSD 6 and an additional USUSD 18 if you want to see the Royal Mummy Room.

Entertainment in Cairo

Cairo comes alive at night, the best time to shop, eat delicious Middle Eastern cuisine, or simply watch the world go by from a pavement cafe. You can dine in a floating restaurant on the Nile, enjoy the atmosphere at an Egyptian coffee-shop or see oriental shows at hotels. The splendid Opera House complex houses several galleries (including the Museum of Modern Art), restaurants and concert halls.

Listening to Arabic music under the stars, in the open-air theater, is a magical experience. At El-Ghuriya, in the heart of Islamic Cairo, you can watch folk musicians and whirling dervish dancers. Make sure not to miss the most essential after-dark experience, the Sound and Light show at the Pyramids, a dramatic fusion of light and music recounting the story of antiquity.