Egypt in My Pocket

Sightseeing in Cairo

Islamic Cairo

	This area is no more Islamic than the rest of Egypt but named so because it is the site of the oldest mosques. The best and possibly the only way to explore Islamic Cairo, or Fatimid Cairo as it is also known, is by walking. There are several routes to follow so if you go on your own equip yourself with a good map and get ready to step back in time. Despite the damage caused by the 1992 earthquake, Islamic Cairo still stands much the way it did during its medieval past, some sites may still be closed due to reconstruction made possible by the World Monuments Fund. Islamic Cairo is made up of about half a dozen mini cities. When the Muslim troops conquered Egypt they established their own city, called Al Fustat just north of Coptic Babylon. The following dynasties, including the Fatimid's, added their own headquarters as the city grew in size but declined in power.

	A kind of renaissance occurred when Salah el Din (known as Saladin to the Crusaders) built the Citadel in 1176 using pieces of Fatimid's tombs and mosques and even blocks from the pyramids of Giza, a Roman technique called "opus mixtum, meaning mixed work." Then came the Mamluks, a caste of slave warriors who gained extraordinary power and ruled over the city with an iron hand. In 1517 the Turkish takeover reduced Egypt from a state to a vassal province until Mohammed Ali (1805 to 1848) began to modernize the country. By 1920 the city's area was six times greater than that of medieval Cairo. The buildings you most want to visit in Old Cairo are the mosques, madrassas (theological schools), caravanserais (hotels built for merchants traveling in caravans), and private mansions refurbished to their former glory. The Khan el Khalili, originally a caravanserai, and the Mosque of Al- Azhar (meaning radiant), founded in 970 claiming to be the world's oldest university, form the commercial and religious heart of Islamic Cairo.

	The Khan el Khalili has been a shopper's paradise since the Middle Ages. Here the smooth talking, multilingual salesman offer anything from belly dancing costumes and tourist articles, to precious jewels and gold, to ancient remedies. Two shops you may want to visit before they become obsolete are the tent maker and the fez maker. Since even the desert people don't live in tents anymore and the fez or tarbush fassi, formerly worn by every respectable effendi, was banned by Nasser as a mark of Ottoman allegiance and a symbol of the old regime. Today, tents are ordered mostly for outdoor receptions and the fez are only worn by waiters in five star hotels, the fate of those artisans soon will be a thing of the past.

Things to See in Islamic Cairo
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Sultan Qalaun's Maristan, madrassa and mausoleum dated 1284.
Sultan Ayyub, madrassa and mausoleum dated 1242.
Sultan Barquq, madrassa dated 1384.
Mosque of Al-Nasir Mohammed dated 1293.
Mosque of Al-Agnar dated 1121.
Mosque of Amr Ibn Al As dated AD642, the oldest mosque in Cairo and one of the oldest in the Islamic world. At first a simple mud brick straw roofed enclosure large enough to contain the Muslim army at prayer. Nothing is left of the original due to restorations in the 15th and 18th century and the latest one in 1970 giving the mosque a positively modern appearance.
The house of Uthman Katkhuda dated 1350.
The house of Musafirkhana, the 18th century mansion where Khedive Ismail was born.
A visit to Fishawi's Restaurant will not dispel the feeling of being back in time, since it has been open 24 hours a day, every day of the year for the past two hundred years.

The City of the Dead

Cairo's two main cemeteries are the Southern Cemetery, the oldest, and the Northern Cemetery which is known as the Eastern Cemetery because it is east of the old city. There is not much to see in the Southern Cemetery but the Eastern Cemetery contains interesting tombs having been the burial place of Sultans since the 14th century. The cemeteries may be called the City of the Dead but recent trends caused by scarcity of housing have people living there, so while visiting remember to act properly to show respect for the dead and to dress modestly to show respect for the living.

Coptic Cairo

Coptic Cairo, the heartland of Egypt's Coptic community, recalls the interlude between Pharaonic Cairo and the Islamic civilization. In 130 AD in a town called Babylon in Egypt, the inhabitants adopted Christianity despite Roman persecution. After the Roman Emperor Constantine's conversion to Christianity things got a little easier but the community was further oppressed by Byzantine clerics. Consequently, when the Muslim army besieged Babylon promising to give religious freedom to Copts and Jews the population gladly surrendered. The area of Babylon is now known as Coptic Cairo.
Opposite the Marg Girgis metro station you'll see the twin towers of Babylon's western gate. Today Babylon's walls are buried under ten meters of earth so the churches and the streets inside the area are at the level of the fortress ramparts.

Things to See in Coptic Cairo
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The Coptic Museum is one of the highlights of Old Cairo founded in 1908.
The Church of St. Sergius, the oldest church in Cairo. It was dedicated to two soldiers, St. Sergius and St. Bacchus, martyred in Syria in 303.
The Hanging Church dedicated to the Virgin Mary built directly above the water gates of Roman Babylon.
The Church of St. George the only round church in Egypt because it is built on top one of the old Roman gate towers.
The Church of St. Barbara has the namesake of a young woman from Asia Minor. There are two versions to her history; one she tried to convert her father to Christianity and he killed her, the other, she was denounced by her family to the Romans when she wanted to become a nun and they killed her, including her maid St. Juliana in the sacrifice.

Museums

Cairo has many interesting museums to share its robust history. Here are just a few you might enjoy:
The Egyptian Museum
This museum houses 250,000 antique pieces covering the history of Egypt, a period of five thousand years.
Silem Hassan St., Downtown, Cairo
Tel: 02 25782452 - 02 25796948

The Abdeen Palace Museum
This palace was built in the Mohamed Ali dynasty in 1863. It was made into a museum for the royal collections, especially the arms and swords made of gold, crystals and precious objects.
El Gomhoureya Sq., Adbin, Cairo
Tel : 02 23919606 - 02 23910130

Giza and The Pyramids

	Need to get away from the hustle and bustle of downtown Cairo? Let�s face it, Cairo is a wonderful place, but after a few days, you may want to get away from the noise and crowds. So why not go out for an amazing day of touring the pyramids of Egypt? Add these to your itinerary and you are sure to have an amazing experience! The pyramids are often quiet and if you get there on a good day, you might even be able to head inside a tomb by yourself. There are close to 100 pyramids spread from the outskirts of Cairo. Tour the pyramids of Saqqara and Giza, see some exquisite tombs along the way and end the day with an evening sound and light show. Here a few important tips to make your trip to the pyramids easy:
	Make sure to reserve enough time. A good rule of thumb is to set aside at least 4 hours to tour. Keep a look out for guards all over sites who want baksheesh (tips). They will typically accompany you inside the pyramids. To avoid being hassled constantly, it is not recommended for a single women to travel alone. Learn to say "no thank you" in Arabic. You will find many people trying to sell you items and offer you tours at the pyramids. These are nice people just trying to make a living. Give them a simple smile and say "la shokran."

	Saqqara The site of Egypt�s most ancient capital, with numerous antiquities and tombs, Saqqara (which means �sugar cane�) is a short drive from Cairo. Saqqara is particularly interesting because you see sand and desert when you look in one direction and lush green palms and sugar cane when you look toward the Nile. With a smaller visitor center, Saqqara is less developed than most tourist locations but you will find a sense of excitement and discovery, as much of this area is still unexcavated. This a favorite destination for many tourists! While at Saqqara, you should visit the Pyramids of Teti and Djoser. Even though the Pyramid of Teti is in ruins, you can still go into the tomb. The descent is somewhat steep and is only about four feet high, so you have to crawl down to the depth of the chamber and follow a corridor until you reach the burial chamber. Here you can stand up and see a lidless sarcophagus with amazing carvings and a starry ceiling. Djoser�s pyramid features an architectural design of six limestone mastabas stacked one on top of the other, which led to the building of the great pyramids at Giza. The vast open court and enclosure wall are impressive and contain various shrines, temples, colonnades, and carved monuments.

	Giza On the Giza plateau rise the three pyramids built by Cheops, Hephren, and Mycerinus, and guarded by the mythical Sphinx statue with the body of a lion and a human head. The 'great' pyramid itself is truly an astonishing work of engineering skill - for over four thousands years, until the modern era, it was the tallest building in the world! It is also the most perfect pyramid in Egypt, with four sides oriented towards the four cardinal points, the north, south, east and west. If you look at it, you will see that the rows of stones form exact vertical lines. This means that the stones of every row are the same height. The location is perfect; on a high spot in the desert, on the western side of the Nile and above all it is built on a very solid natural rock to carry the tremendous weight of the pyramid which is 6 million tons! The average weight of each stone of the pyramid is two and a half tons. Its stones are larger than any other pyramid. As you can see, Egypt is a country of contrasts and nowhere is it more evident than at the pyramids. So what are you waiting for?

El Fayoum

	Once called Crocodilopolis by the Romans ( because of its many crocodiles) and often mistaken for an oasis, lush El Fayoum depends on river water not springs or wells like a true oasis.El Fayoum is believed to be one the first sites of organized agriculture in the world. Still today El Fayoum is famous for fruit and vegetables. To describe food as fayoum means it's delicious. The landmark of El Fayoum is the waterwheel, symbolic of the city's agriculture. First introduced in the third century BC, the concept is still in use.There are about two hundred wheels functioning around El Fayoum; the most well known are the four near the tourist kiosk and seven grouped 3km north of town. El Fayoum is also famous for the great Fayoum Portraits. These are the first portraits on record; they were painted on wooden panels or on linen shrouds and put over the faces of the mummies. More than a thousand have been found and most reside in museums around the world including the Museum of Egyptian Antiquities in Cairo.

	Shop at Souk al Qantara, a small bazaar mostly devoid of tourists. View the Obelisk of Senusert I - the only obelisk to have a rounded tip. See Lake Quorum - in summer a favorite local beach resort and popular with duck and geese hunters during the winter months. Check out the Mosque of Khawand Asal-Bay, believed to have been built in 1490. Trek to the he collapsed Maidum pyramid. Drop by the Church of the Holy Virgin (Coptic Orthodox) dated 1836.