Cairo Pyramids and the icon of Egypt

Cairo (Arabic: القاهرة‎al-Qāhira, literally "The Vanquisher") is the capital of Egypt, and the largest city in Africa, and the Arab World, as well as one of the most densely-populated cities in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a center of the region's political and cultural life. Even before Cairo was established in the tenth century, the land composing the present-day city was the site of national capitals whose remnants remain visible in parts of Old Cairo. Cairo is also associated with Ancient Egypt due to its proximity to the Great Sphinx and the pyramids in adjacent Giza.

Egypt History

The regularity and richness of the annual Nile River flood, coupled with semi-isolation provided by deserts to the east and west, allowed for the development of one of the world's great civilizations. A unified kingdom arose circa 3200 B.C. and a series of dynasties ruled in Egypt for the next three millennia. The last native dynasty fell to the Persians in 341 B.C., who in turn were replaced by the Greeks, Romans, and Byzantines. It was the Arabs who introduced Islam and the Arabic language in the 7th century and who ruled for the next six centuries. A local military caste, the Mamluks took control about 1250 and continued to govern after the conquest of Egypt by the Ottoman Turks in 1517. Following the completion of the Suez Canal in 1869, Egypt became an important world transportation hub, but also fell heavily into debt. Ostensibly to protect its investments, Britain seized control of Egypt's government in 1882, but nominal allegiance to the Ottoman Empire continued until 1914. Partially independent from the UK in 1922, Egypt acquired full sovereignty following World War II. The completion of the Aswan High Dam in 1971 and the resultant Lake Nasser have altered the time-honored place of the Nile River in the agriculture and ecology of Egypt. A rapidly growing population (the largest in the Arab world), limited arable land, and dependence on the Nile all continue to overtax resources and stress society. The government has struggled to ready the economy for the new millennium through economic reform and massive investment in communications and physical infrastructure.

You don’t visit Cairo. You’re attacked by it. The heat, the 20 million people, the traffic & the smog all hit you as soon as you leave the airport. However after the chaos with the volcanic ash, I was delighted to be anywhere other than Ireland. From buses to London, to flights to obscure Polish towns my mind had been racing with alternative ways to start the trip.

A trip to Egypt is really fascinating. Don't miss to take a tour from Alexandria to the Mount Sinai.
In one trip you can learn a lot of history, see blessed landscapes and enjoy a peaceful rest through a Nile cruise.

If you are not going on a tour, in order to avoid some unpleasant moments, try to gather as many information as possible, such as prices, how to go from one place, etc. Since bargain rules everything there, if you do not have a feeling how much things cost, you will pay a lot for them.

Pyramids, the icon of Egypts

There was a traditional Egyptian welcome on arrival at the hostel: Egyptian tea, ridiculously strong Egyptian cigarettes... and a long hard sell about all the tours they organised! Confident in my unfailing ability to get horrendously lost in any city in the world yet still eventually find my way, I immediately decided against the city tours. I considered the trips to Aswan and Luxor for a while but decided against them as I figured it would be far cheaper if I organised it myself.

The next day the first thing that hit me was the relative lack of tourists on the streets. The skyline is dominated by international chain hotels and the city is obviously one of the world’s major tourist attractions. But I guess we don’t even represent a dent
Islamic Cairo 2in the massive population. Either that or I was the only foreigner stupid enough to walk anywhere...

After reading about a public bus to the pyramids I went about deciphering the city’s bus system. My complete lack of Arabic combined with the complete lack of signs or bus stops wasn’t the ideal start. I eventually found the highway on-ramp where you had to stand before effectively jumping in front of the bus in the vague hope it would at least slow down enough for you to jump on. About 30 minutes and 2LE (€0.30) later I was at the pyramids! Aside from negotiating past the fake ticket inspectors & and fake tourist police it ended up being pretty hassle free. Definitely one of those things you just have to see.

From there it was on the Egyptian museum. The place is literally crammed to the rooftops with artifacts. Tutankhamen section definitely the highlight. Unfortunately strictly no cameras allowed inside!

Cairo's not even a Pharaonic city and there’s way more to the city. Coptic Cairo is the oldest part of the city and it’s the heartland for the city’s Christian population. The walled district is littered with churches even a synagogue. Islamic Cairo is a complete change again with bazaars everywhere, a mosque every 5 minutes and women everywhere in full veils even quite a few Hijabs. I went into two mosques, the oldest one Al-Azhar and Al-Hakim. The latter was far more impressive, gleaming white marble everywhere and almost completely empty. I was worried I’d fell incredibly out of place but people were friends as long as you’re respectful. The courtyard of the mosque was one of the most peaceful places I’ve ever been.

There’s a park near Islamic Cairo called Al-Azhar Park which has to one of the world’s great city parks. Really nice gardens and there are panoramic views all over the city including the citadel. I was too early for sunset but I was lucky enough to arrive during the call to prayer. The whole city came alive with a 1000 minarets singing like a choir. So far the call to prayer has just been an annoying wakeup call but this was absolutely amazing!

Al Azhar Univeristy, the oldest university in Egypt

The last day I spent wandering around pretty aimlessly. There’s a real feeling of faded grandeur in the downtown area. Countless European style buildings line the grand Garden City 1avenues of the downtown area, and even more so Garden City which is mostly embassies now. There’s no surprise there’s a European feel as the city’s master plan in the 19th century was inspired by the Paris’ makeover and the French planner Haussmann was even a consultant.

Cairo’s not a city you’ll immediately love. You may even hate it (I certainly thought I would). But it's definitely worth looking past just the pyramids!

Photos of Cairo, the capital city of Egypt

Minarets of Bab Zuweyla seen from the minaret of Al Maridani mosque

Completely worn down and still heavily damaged by the 1992 earthquake, the Al Maridani mosque shows its beauty for whom takes the time to discover it. As a bonus, the view from the roof and the minaret is fabulous.

People walking a street close to al-Maridani mosque

One of the historical areas of Cairo, Darb al-Ahmar offers the opportunity to get an idea of how Cairo must have been in the late Middle Ages.

West of the new Azhar Park in the old part of Cairo, you can find Darb al-Ahmar (Red Road) neighbourhood. Back in time, when the walled city of Al Qahira simply could not handle more houses or inhabitants, building had to continue outside the city wall. Darb al-Ahmar was one of the neighbourhoods that sprang up, and was the thriving area of the city in the 14th and 15th centuries. It was mostly a residential area, inevitably with a large number of smaller and larger mosques.

Picture of Cemetery of Coptic Church - Cairo 

In one of the most Islamic cities in the Middle East, a christian neighbourhood can be found.
Coptic Cairo - a christian sanctuary in a Moslem world and city. This is actually one of the oldest parts of the city, although it does not always show. Coptic Cairo actually is a walled part of the city - once inside, the chaos of everyday life seems far away. Research shows that a settlement was built here around 24 centuries ago. Always on the river Nile. At those times, Islam had not yet arrived in this part of the Middle East.

The famoust Mount Sinai

Sphinx guarding the pyramids

Watch a short clip about King Tut's Golden Treasures, Egyptian Museum, Cairo, Egypt video here



Treasures from King Tut's Tomb, a clip from "King Tut, Ramses and Me", a free Intrepid Berkeley Explorer video of time travel in Egypt; featuring the Pyramids of Giza, a talking Sphinx, King Tut, the temples of Luxor (Thebes), Ramses II's Abu Simbel Temple, sailing on the Nile, Cairo mosques, and much more.