Cairo
Cairo is among the world’s greatest megacities that are characterized by its crazy historical finery. Looking beyond the modern hubbub of Cairo you will discover an interesting history that spans for centuries. When you want to have a full vigour of the Egyptian street life, then Cairo is the destination for you to tour. Cairo boasts the most beautiful Islamic architecture in the world and is known as a city of thousand minarets thus making It a destination that most travelers desire. Cairo is the capital of Egypt and is inhabited by more than 25 million people. The city of Cairo is famous for many of the historical names that have been given to it. One of the most important names given to Cairo is the City of a Thousand Minarets, due to the large number of mosques that were built throughout Cairo. It was established by Al-Mu’izz Lidin Allah Al-Fatimi to be the capital To Egypt in the year 969 AD, it was called Cairo Al-Muizz.
THINGS TO DO IN CAIRO SIGHTS
The Egyptian Museum
The design of the museum building is characterized by a modern classical character, and it consists of two floors containing distinct collections of Egyptian antiquities extending from the pre-dynastic period until the Greek and Roman eras, including the painting of King Narmer, which commemorates the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the rule of one king, and a group of statues and artifacts of kings. The era of the pyramid builders, the funerary collection of Uya and Tuya, my grandfather King Akhenaten, and the treasures of Tanis, in addition to a large collection of animal mummies, papyrus, coffins, ornaments from various Egyptian eras, and other artifacts that complete the distinctive collection of this museum.
The Giza Pyramids
The first thing that Travelers to Egypt want to visit is the Magnificent Pyramids of Giza. This is the second largest city in Egypt that has a lot to explore apart from the great Pyramids harbored in this place. Giza city is a wonderful destination of Egypt to travel and spend couple of day; In Giza you can visit the Giza Pyramids, Sakkara necropolis, step pyramid, Memphis is the first capital in Egypt, the archaeologists discovered 67 pyramids in Giza city, all of them were built between 2700 BC to 1500 BC.
GREAT SPHINX
If you want to know what is great about the Great Sphinx, then you have to explore it by yourself. Front of the Giza Pyramids is standing the Sphinx to secure the Giza necropolis and greet the sun rise daily. The literal meaning of the Great Sphinx is “the terrifying one” this is a mythical creature that has a body of a lion and head of a human with a sheer height that awestruck visitors whenever they tour this place. The wear and tear of Sphinx make it miss the nose and beard mysteriously. The face of the Sphinx is belied to represent the Pharaoh Khafre.
THE GREAT PYRAMID OF CHEOPS.
This is the great Pyramid who’s most fascinating and complete mystery is how the 6 million tonne structure was built. Its might visage will make you gaze upon it as it towers into the sky. Touring the pyramid with a guided tour makes you feel like Lara Croft as you navigate through the twists Labyrinthine tomb. Just getting close to this great wonder makes you feel like your life has changed as you visage the sleeping mummies.
Saqqara
The most important archaeological monuments in the Saqqara region are:
The Step Pyramid.
It is located north of Saqqara, which was built by King Djoser, founder of the Third Dynasty (2650 BC), which was considered the first attempt to build a pyramid. When the engineer Imhotep built the first mastaba for this pyramid, he then added five mastabas on top of each other above the lower part containing the burial chambers. This pyramid is in the middle of a funerary group that includes many architectural elements located within a huge wall that contains several curves and has one entrance in the eastern wall. Limestone was used on a large scale for the first time in the construction of this pyramid group. To the pyramid of King Userkaf, founder of the Fifth Dynasty. The area also includes the cemetery of the ancient era, which contains the tombs of the First and Second Dynasties, which are the tombs of senior statesmen and the royal court at that time. It also includes:
Pyramid of King Teti.
The founder of the Sixth Dynasty, and near this site there are many important tombs, such as the Vizier ((Meri Roca)) and the Vizier ((Kagmeni)).
Pyramid of King Sekhemkhet.
At some distance west of the Step Pyramid and in the west of the Saqqara area, there are many tombs such as ((T)) Ptahhotep ((Akhtehotep)).
The Serapeum.
It consists of underground passages and tunnels used as burial places for the sacred calf Apis, carved into the ground for a distance of 380 metres, from which branch out side chambers containing twenty-four granite coffins.
The Citadel
Saladin Citadel is located on one of the heights connected to Mount Mokattam, east of Cairo. It is an honorable location that controlled the entire city of Cairo in the year 1184 AD. The Citadel is considered one of Cairo’s most important landmarks and one of the most luxurious military castles built in the Middle Ages. After Saladin al-Ayyubi assumed power in Egypt, he noticed that Cairo, despite its greatness and expansion, did not have a castle to protect it, unlike major cities in the Levant, such as Damascus and Aleppo. Therefore, Saladin began constructing the castle. He built the castle wall, its semicircular towers, and the two gates of the castle; his successor King Al-Adil (ruled in the period 1200 – 1218 AD) completed the architecture of the castle, surrounding some of the towers with external towers attached to them to increase their strength. The castle in its current form is a great city bordered by huge walls and towers and divided into two clear parts: the northeastern part and the southwestern part. The northeastern part represents the military fort of the castle. It is confined within an irregular rectangular area whose length from east to west is 560 m and whose width from north to south is 317 meters. The walls in this part are consistent in terms of their construction and belong to one era. The castle is filled with many antiquities dating back to different Islamic eras, transforming it from just a fortified castle that was used to defend the city in the event of any attack, to an entire city that contained mosques, avenues, palaces, diwans, military factories, a workshop for covering the Holy Kaaba, and military and civil schools. And other facilities that distinguished Saladin Al-Ayyubi Castle from other castles built in the Middle Ages in the world.
Mohamed Ali Mosque
Alabaster Mosque, is one of the examples of Ottoman-style mosques, and it is one of the most famous landmarks of the Citadel. Work began on building this mosque in Salah al-Din Citadel in the year (1830 AD) on the ruins of Al-Ablaq Palace. Its area is 5,000 square meters, and work on its construction continued without interruption. Until Mohamed Ali Pasha died in the year 1849 AD, he was buried in the cemetery that he prepared for himself inside the mosque. It is located in the Mountain Castle in Cairo, and it is the most famous landmark of the castle. Many people believe that the Saladin Castle is the Castle of Muhammad Ali Pasha due to the fame of this mosque there. It is also called the Alabaster Mosque, which is a type of rare marble that was covered with it.
Mohamed Ali Mosque is located inside Salah al-Din Citadel in Cairo. Mohamed Ali ordered its construction in the year 1848 AD, in a place that was occupied by palaces dating back to the Mamluk era. This mosque was known as (the Alabaster Mosque) in reference to the marble panels with which its internal and external walls were covered. The mosque’s two minarets are considered the highest in Egypt, with each of them reaching a height of 84 meters. The mosque was built in the Turkish style. Which consists of an open courtyard and the prayer house, which consists of a square area covered by a huge central dome surrounded by four semi-domes, in addition to four small domes in the corners. The mosque has two pulpits, one of which is made of wood painted green and gold, which is the original pulpit of the mosque, while the other is made of marble and was added to the mosque later. The shrine of Mohamed Ali Pasha is located to the right of the interior in the southwestern corner of the mosque, which was built with white marble. In the courtyard of the mosque there is a copper tower containing a clock that was given by Louis Philippe, King of France, to Mohamed Ali Pasha (1262 AH / 1845 AD). Mohamed Ali Pasha responded to this gesture by gifting the Obelisk of Ramesses II, which had stood in front of the Luxor Temple and today stands tall in the Place de la Concorde in Paris.
