Cairo, The Capital City of Egypt
Cairo is the amazing capital city of Egypt with a gigantic population of up to 20 million in the metropolitan area. For anyone visiting the country it is an essential stop and there are loads of things to see and do. Located in the north of Egypt with the Nile dividing the city Cairo combines ancient history with modernity and it is a chaotically busy place.
No trip to Egypt would be completed without a visit to the Great Pyramids on the Giza plateau. Giza was once a separate town but as the urban sprawl spread it has been consumed and become a suburb of the city. The Great Pyramid is the only surviving example of one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World and it is accompanied by several smaller pyramids, the Great Sphinx, the boat pits and the remains of the causeway and the mortuary and valley temples. We’ll explore the site in detail in a later article but if you are in Cairo make sure you visit. I was surprised at how close the pyramids are to the edge of the city, you typically picture them surrounded by desert but actually there are suburbs and hotels a stones throw away.
If you are specifically interested in ancient Egypt then your next stop has to be the wonderful Museum of Egyptian Antiquities located in Tahrir Square in the heart of the city. It is an attractive building surrounded by lush gardens and within it holds the biggest collection of ancient Egyptian artefacts in the world, including 27 royal mummies and countless statues, beautiful jewellery, coins and papyrus. There are thousands of treasures to enjoy here and you’ll want at least a couple of hours to fully explore the two-storey building. The most popular attraction here is the contents of Tutankhamun’s tomb which include his beautiful gold mask.
The part of the city known as Old Cairo contains the remains of the older cities on which Cairo was built. Highlights here include the Babylon Fortress where you’ll find a mixture of ancient architecture with Greek and Roman additions as well as the Hanging Church which dates back to the 3rd century. The Coptic Museum holds Christian artefacts and traces a history of the religion in Egypt. There are also ancient mosques and synagogues in this area which are well worth visiting.
Another place you may want to check out is Khan el-Khalili, known as a souk, it is essentially a district devoted to trade with fascinating workshops, stalls, coffee houses and an exciting bustling atmosphere.
There are many other attractions you might consider including the impressive Cairo Tower, the Qala’un complex and various mosques and palaces which offer examples of more recent Egyptian architecture.
Cairo is a vast city and it suffers from pollution with a serious smog problem which is deeply unpleasant. There are also frightening examples of extreme poverty such as the shanty town built atop the graveyard, known as the City of the Dead and Cairo suffers from a serious housing shortage. It can be a dangerous place so it is best to be careful and make sure you respect the local religion. Having said that it is a vast and interesting city, the largest on the continent and it merits at least a couple of days worth of exploration.
