Cairo: Unveiling Egypt’s Ancient Wonders and Vibrant Modern Culture

Cairo is a vibrant city, and is the largest city of the Arab World, and one of the largest cities in Africa and the Middle East. It is a city with more than twenty million, is a megacity that is called the city that never sleeps because most of the time it is active during the night. Owing to the status of Cairo as the nation’s political and cultural capital, it has been the political specific pole of several Egyptian dynasties and rulers. Today it is still the political capital, and industrial capital of the nation. 

For any visitor, Cairo is the ride through the universe in a box; through time. The visitors also get to see evidence of ancient Egyptian, medieval Islamic, Coptic churches and late nineteenth century neoclassical and modern cityscape architectural designs. Swinging with the blending of the past and the present and the pre- and post contemporary eras to and from Cairo Egypt. Even with the details to note about Cairo with the exotic pyramids being followed by the medieval sections of khan el Khalili bazaar.

Top Attractions

Egyptian Museum:

Egyptians have a great history and they rightly know how to present it in one of the most popular museums, the Egyptian Museum. It is impossible to mention being in Cairo, without thinking about visiting the most famous and, at the same time, the oldest Wonder – the Pyramids of Giza. Plagiarism which once started with theConstructed for kings Khufu, Khafre, and Menkaure the three great pyramids has been practiced for 4,500 years. This is the perfect place for this since one sees the Great Pyramid which stands 450 feet high and was built for Khufu; it was the tallest building in the world for almost 3, 800 years. Some of them you can actually visit and get into while others permit you to go to the Great Sphinx and see it as you see in the photo. 

Coptic Cairo:

One of Cairo’s most unique areas can be found tucked within the small labyrinth of streets and closed off pathways that is Coptic Cairo. For instance, the Roman times, Hanging Church, which was built on top of a Roman fort in the 9th century, is filled with Coptic churches. Follow Coptic heritage and beliefs by visiting the Coptic Museum or ask for Coptic jewelry and other Coptic gifts. 

Khan el-Khalili:

Founded in the 14th century, the Khan el-Khalili bazaar goes to illustrate Cairo’s faded glory. Get lost in this Middle Eastern bazaar complete with shops selling spices, gold, silvers, crafts, ceramics, carpets and many more amidst old buildings. Visit a Café for local cuisine and street wars or theater.  

Historic Cairo:

 This is one of the oldest universities in the world, the Al-Azhar University that was founded in 970 AD. This area is a well -recovered old Islamic architecture and culture of Islamic Cairo that dates back to the medieval period. Sights to look out for are the 9th century Ibn Tulun Mosque whose minaret is against the [sky], and the Mosque-Madrassa of Sultan Hassan with minarets that touch 130 feet high.

Going to: 

Cairo Tower At an Observation Deck is this spot for the best view of Cairo city. It’s 187 meters tall, which makes it the tallest building in North Africa. Even from the center of a day one can look at such monuments as the Giza pyramids on the other side of the Nile and look at the city from a bird view point. There is also an area that rotates, a restaurant, in the tower. 

Where to Stay

Due to the potential and versatility of the offering for all types of travelers and the full gamut of accommodations, choosing a place to stay in Cairo is quite a task. Here are some top picks:

In downtown Cairo, there are a lot of backpacker and budget hotels, like Hostel Luna, with a rooftop bar with a very beautiful view of the city. Also wallet friendly is hostels like hostels in downtown districts like Dokki and Mohandeseen through Airbnb. 

• Luxury: For super luxury accommodations, some of the global leading brands with five star-and-above hotels include Four Seasons, Kempinski and Ritz Carlton lining the Nile. Rooftop swimming pool, fine dining restaurant and contemporary styled luxurious rooms and suites, are equipped with Egyptian elements. 
• Boutique accommodation: Food and accommodation products identified for a boutique accommodation in Cairo include, The Nile Ritz-Carlton, differently located from a larger world class charged Ritz-Carlton chain hotel, this is a classy hotel with Jazz club/restaurant located inside a nineteenth century palace in the heart of Cairo.
• Vacation Home rentals: Staying in a furnished apartment from services such as Airbnb, VRBO is very cheap when you are in Cairo for more than a month and prefer to live like a local. They include; Garden city, Zamalak and Maadi.

What and Where to Eat

Elements of Egyptian cuisine also depend on the position of Cairo at the intersection between Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, and African cuisines and products. In the simplest terms – what is served in this place is delicious. 

• Full and Tamiya: First thing you have to taste is the national breakfast dishes full (fava beans slow cooked on low heat, and served with olive oil, lemon, chili, parsley etc.) and tamiya which is an Egyptian falafel made from fava beans and often stuffed into pita bread. Some have it in a strong cup of shai, which is a tea.
• Koshary: paginate is Egypt’s unofficial national dish Basically, it is a vegetarian carbohydrate made of lentils, rice, macaroni and chickpeas which are topped with proven creamy tomato sauce and crispy garlic vinaigrette topped fried onions. They’re available in all the specialty koshary restaurants spread all over the city. 
• Meats on sticks:  For meat lovers, they will positively crave Cairo street food consisting of stands that grill and serve perfectly tender lamb chops, kofta, chicken shawarma, and more all packed to eat on the go.
• Seafood: Try out Nile seafood or sea food from the red sea seafood market if within Alexandria. 

Finish off your meal with syrupy kunafa or the semolina cheesecake called basbousa, or fruit based such as mango or loquat in syrup.

The fame of food in Cairo also includes food originating from other parts of the world. There is almost anything that you might want to eat with an international twist. If you want to check out the city’s international and fine dining restaurants go to Zamalek or New Cairo zones.

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Getting Around Cairo

As you can notice, Cairo is one of the biggest and most populated cities in the world, with lots of traffic congestion, so moving around the mega city takes a lot of time. Here are the best ways to traverse the city:

• Metro:  Cairo – an affordably priced, crowded rail system linking central Cairo that tends to be efficient. But beware it gets congested especially if it is a rush hour. Both Arabic and English are used to make announcements as regards the station stops.
• Buses:  This is the public transport that provides links between neighborhoods but doesn’t observe time-tables; has many halts and often gets delayed. Where possible, stay in the metro. 
• Cairo Traffic:  Despite the rapidly growing traffic in Cairo, taxis are quite cheap although they are a little slow. White taxis are normally metered – negotiate with black/yellow taxis on fares before getting into the car. It is also important to note that Uber and Careem companies deal in ride-hailing services.
• Nile cruises:  get on a sailboat and take a tour along the Nile for a less dose of Cairo. Those are situated downtown close to the place where the Egyptian Museum is situated. Most dinner cruise services include music/dancing.

Conclusion

Cairo has always been one of the most influential cities in Africa and the Middle East for over one thousand years, and the present-day city fully corresponds to its turbulent and constantly vibrating image. Travel through Cairo and witness freestanding evidence of the ancient Egyptians and other culture and civilization through pyramids, antiquities, bazaar and Nile cruises.

A visit to this destination earns you a sense of the value this gem holds in the pyramid-shaped country of Egypt that has so much to offer in terms of history. Whether as a historical lesson or just getting lost into a daily bustle of the contemporary Cairo – you’re going to fall in love with the city people refer to as Umm al-Dunya (Mother of the World).

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