City of the Death
Its a city which is not so easy to find in your way around, but the capital is worth the effort. Cairo is home to some of the world’s most famous sights, including the much loved Sphinx and its well-known broken nose, and the treasures of Tutankhamun.It’s a huge city with many millions of inhabitants living beside the banks of the River Nile, just next to breathtaking Pyramids of Giza. People in Alexandria say “we are going to Egypt” when they are leaving for Cairo. This shows how much this country -Egypt- is dominated by its capital Cairo. Al-Qahirah is the arabic name of Cairo, it is also the official name of the city, it means in English The Triumphant or The Vanquisher.
The pyramids were built in “ Memphis†the capital of Ancient Egypt which is 22Km south of the Giza plateau. The Pyramids, the sole survivors from the ancient seven wonders of the world. They are the planet’s oldest tourist attraction.
Cairo was founded by the Fatimid dynasty in A.D. 969. The Roman fortress Babylon and the “Fustat†were the earlier settlements, the Islamic general who conquered Egypt in AD642. A lot of building from the Fatimids era remains today, Al-azhar mosque, Bab an Nasr, Bab al Futuh and Bab Zaweila.
The famous City of the Death is one of Cairo’s most visited touristy attractions, also known as the Northern Cemetery, includes many important ombs and burial sites like Khan Al-Khalili which is considered as very busy market full of colorful, rather fragrant spices, the Pyramids at Giza, known in all over the world and Saqqara (Sakkara) – the historic capital of Cairo’s Old Kingdom.
In Cairo exists many museums and historic art galleries. Cairo’s main museums include the Egyptian Antiquities Museum – overflowing with information about Cairo’s past and containing more than 100,000 artefacts and treasures; Egyptian Ethnological Museum – many exhibitions and village craftworks; Military Museum – specializing in battle memorabilia and scale models of many of the country’s most famous battles, Cairo’s Pharaonic Village – very much a hands-on museum and the Museum of Islamic Art – where you will find in excess of 10,000 paintings, sculptures and other art works.
Tourism has long been booming in Cairo and visiting tourists soon get used to the rather hectic and frenetic lifestyle, with so many treasures all around the city. Once you have spent just a few days in Cairo you will find yourself being drawn away from the many stunning structures here.
