Cairo City

This tag lists all the activities you can do in this city. Undoubtedly, under this tag, we exhibit all the activities you can do while staying in Cairo or travelling to this lovely city from different destinations in Egypt.

About Cairo

Cairo is not only one of the most culturally, politically, and religiously important cities in the modern world. Its history extends to the dawn of human civilization and includes many eras and events of global significance.

This city began when the ancient city of Memphis, in Pharaonic times, became the first imperial capital in the world. At the same time, the later empires – Arab, Ottoman and British- Priests established ancient Egyptian globalism in Heliopolis. Three thousand years later, we see that the city became a centre for the development of Christianity.

In the Middle Ages, Cairo became one of the most important cities for spreading Islam. And it has retained this role to this day. From Tutankhamun to Colonel Nasser, Napoleon to Winston Churchill passed through the city and left their mark. To cover it all, Cairo today is one of the largest cities in the world, a vast city that knows the number of millions of lives.

For centuries, the city of Cairo has been a bastion of culture, art, and beauty. As the capital of Egypt and the largest metropolitan area in Africa, the Middle East, and the Arab world – as well as the 15th largest in the world overall – it occupies an expansive area of approximately 528 square kilometres in northern Egypt.

Situated 165 kilometres (100 miles) south of the Mediterranean Sea and 120 kilometres (75 miles) west of the Gulf of Suez and Suez Canal, the city lies on both banks of the Nile River near the Nile Delta. While various capitals have existed throughout Egypt’s history, the Cairo we recognize today was founded by the Fatimid dynasty in 969 CE and quickly became a hub of political and cultural activity in the region.

Cairo Name

The city has earned the nickname “the city of a thousand minarets” due to its abundance of mosques, castles, and churches, including the world’s second-oldest institution of higher learning, Al-Azhar University, and the headquarters of the Arab League.

At the heart of Cairo lies the iconic Tahrir Square, a symbol of freedom, and the renowned Egyptian Museum, which houses numerous artefacts and monuments dating back to the 26th dynasty.

Cairo is the seat of the government and the epicentre of all financial and political activity in the region. It is also home to the Middle East’s most extensive media centre, film and music production facilities, numerous cultural centres, museums, artistic institutes, sports clubs, and universities.

Its unique climate is eight months of summer and four months of winter, making November to April the ideal time to visit. The city has a bustling population of approximately nine million, creating a dynamic and lively environment.

Attractions in Cairo

The city is renowned for its possession of the Giza Pyramids Complex, which houses one of the Seven Wonders of the World, the Great Pyramid of King Khufu, as well as the world’s oldest and largest statue, the Sphinx, and the Valley Temple, which served as the house of mummification. The city’s location has borne witness to numerous significant events, as the ancient capital of Egypt, Memphis, lies 24 km from Cairo, and in the town itself, the fortress of Babylon, which later became the centre of the Orthodox community in the late 4th century AD, used to stand. Along the route taken by the holy family through Cairo, many churches were built around the infamous Hanging Church.

The city’s true history began in 641 BC when Amr ibn Al-as conquered Egypt and constructed the new Islamic capital of Egypt, Al-Fustat, north of the ancient fortress of Babylon. From this point, a series of spectacular immortal constructions took place in the city, such as the Mosque of Ahmed Ibn Tulane in 878 BC.

In 970, during the Fatimid dynasty’s rule, a general named Jawhar established a new city called Al Qahirah (Cairo). This city became the official capital of Egypt after the city of Fustat was destroyed by flames in 1168 during a battle against the crusaders. The magical Khan el Khalili Bazaar also dates back to this period.

Egypt came under the rule of Salah El-din during the 11th century, when he transformed the city into an imperial metropolis and constructed the mighty Cairo citadel. In the modern era, at the beginning of the 19th century, Muhammed Ali sought to restore Egypt’s beauty to its former glory. He constructed the Mohamed Ali Mosque, one of Cairo’s most enchanting moments.