You will find the mystique city Cairo situated along the Nile. This city is known locally as Al Qahirah or the ‘Mother of all Cities” as it connects strategically the trade routes to three major destinations, i.e. Asia, Europe and Africa. This is the largest city in Africa and the Middle East which enjoys a homogenous mix of Jewish, Islamic and Christian population for the last 2000 years.

Cairo’s Major Tourist Attractions

1. History Showcased – Just 24 kilometers away from Cairo you will find the Memphis and Saqqara. Memphis is famous as the old Capital of Egypt which was built by King Menes. You will find here the amazing statue of Ramsesses II which stands 13 meters tall and weighs about 120 tons. Another must-see spot in Memphis is the Temple of Embalming he Sacred Apis Bull. Close to it is Saqqara which is basically an ancient Egyptian cementery. Here you will be able to see the majesty of the Step Pyramid (built by Imhotep for King Zoser) and the Pyramids of Unas (5th Dynasty of Pharaohs), Serapheum (Greek Philosopher) among others.

2. Churches – You will have to see the Hanging or Al-Muaallaqah Chuch, the Church of the Virgin (Al-Adra), the Cathedral of St Mark (Al-Qiddis Morcos), the Church of St Sergius (Abu Sergah), the Church of the Virgin in Zaytoun. While you are visiting these amazing churches from the time of Babylon, check out the Coptic Museum which offers the display of some exceptional Christian manuscripts, icons and relics.

3. Mosques – Do look up the Mosque of Amr Ibn Al-Aas, the Blue Mosque and the Alabaster Mosque of Mohammad Ali, the Mosque of Sultan Hassan among others. Check out the Bab Al Khalq Museum where you will find an exceptional array of Islamic art and relics.

4. Parks and Gardens – Cairo has some amazing parks and entertainments areas. You must see the Fish Gardens in Zamalek and the amazingly landscaped International Garden in Nasr city. Another must-see spot here is the Andalusian Gardens which famous all over the world.

5. Shopping Venue – Visit the Khan-Al-Khalili Bazaar which offers you a chain of medium and small shops where you could buy absolutely anything you wanted. Check out the exquisite work in gold and silver ornaments and the intricate embroidery on fabric. You will also find here some very unusual woodwork that is very popular with tourists.

6. Entertainment – Cairo offers all kind of entertainment from the highly cultural Opera House which is a seven storied ultra modern building to all night bars and cafes. The Opera House was built with the collaboration of Japanese architects and the result is stunning. It houses three large theaters, a huge museum and a library. There is a rotating restaurant on the top which can be quite an exhilarating experience.

Everything in Cairo is enigmatic and mystique though it is modern and vibrantly alive. There is something there that makes it extremely intriguing and attractive to the outsiders.

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This entry was posted on Sunday, July 15th, 2007 at 8:03 am and is filed under Egypt. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.