Cairo Tours: How to discover Cairo in a couple of days

Let's linger on a tour of Cairo on an independent trip. Not on a tour that will fly over Cairo in a few hours to fill a busy program in 10 days! Through this post, I will approach some corners of Cairo, some monuments. This post is not at all exhaustive. It has one and only interest, showing that Cairo is something other than the trio pyramids / Egyptian museum / Khan el Khalili.

Cairo is a vibrant city. His past is very rich. There are many traces left. Whether in the Coptic district of Cairo or in the district of medieval Cairo where there are many religious buildings: mosques, mausoleums, madrasas (Koranic school), ...

Focus on one of the cities that a traveler will need many days to discover.

Cairo Tours 

A Cairo tour is not only a passage to the pyramids followed by 2 hours at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo and finally a 2-hour ride to Khan el Khalili (for the best tours). Yet this is what most tourists who go to Cairo do.

This is the formula used by many tourists, especially in Egypt. 1 or 2 days to visit Cairo and a 7 days cruise on the Nile between Luxor and Aswan. To be well immersed in Cairo, you must stay at least 4/5 days at least and you can stay for a week and you will never get bored as there will be daily interesting things to do.

Cairo

Here are some of the monuments in Cairo that are worth discovering

A part of the pyramids which of course the main highlight of any trip to Cairo, Let's start with Coptic Cairo. Historic district of Cairo, there are also the ruins of the fortress of Babylon, built by the Romans. In this district, there are many churches cooptes. Linger in some of these churches. You can easily go between half a day and a day in this neighborhood.

In this Coptic district or a few steps from it you will also find the Amr Ibn Al-As mosque. It is the first mosque founded in Africa. It was founded in 642.

The next place in Cairo worth discovery is Islamic Cairo or medieval Cairo. There are many mosques and religious buildings.The citadel of Saladin is also at the heart of the history of Cairo. You can spend a good half day there. Between Khan el Khalili and the citadel of Saladin, make a small passage to the Sultan Hassan mosque. Beautiful architecture of Mamluk style. In the area there is Rifai mosque and Ibn Tulun and nearby is a Beit el Kritlia or Gayer  Anderson House. The house is a resemblance of how a house in medieval era looked like with all furniture. Moving to Al Azhar which is one of the most influential mosques in the Muslim world.

Al Azhar mosque

Another important district in Cairo that is not to be missed is the Muizz Street, in Arabic  Shari'a al-Muizz li-Deen Illah. Traditional Cairo street, there are many mausoleums, schools or mosques. The street starts from Bab El Fotouh one of the old gates in Cairo and in a one kilometer walk you will see many mosques, mausoleums and hamam (oriental bathing tubs). Among the main mosques in the area is the Al Hakim mosque, Al Aqmar mosque, and Qaloun mosque. In the middle of the street is textile museum.

In the middle of the street you can go to Khan El Khalili with maze of streets and alleys displaying all sorts of oriental merchandise. There will also be many stalls selling hookahs and nargile coins. Egypt is THE country of the hookah ;-)

At the very end of Muizz street you will find another Cairo gate which is Bab Zuweila. The view from the top of the minarets is impressive. You can also see the dilapidated state of many houses in this area.

Cairo Is Also ...

Newer neighborhoods

"Downtown Cairo" is the heart of the new Cairo. There are many shopping malls, the now famous Tahrir Square and also the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, which deserves at least a good half day so the collection is impressive.

The traffic in Downtown Cairo is impressive! Stoppers, red lights not respected, excessive horn. For the moment, I have not seen worse on a trip ... A little taxi ride in this area: change of scenery guaranteed ;-)

The island of Gezira, also called Zamalek district is nice. Residential, quite rich and calm, it contrasts quite a bit with the rest of Downtown Cairo.

A visit to Cairo can also be an opportunity to take an interest in and discover the Egyptian cinema, the most famous cinema in the Arab world.

Eat Well In Egypt

A trip to Egypt and more precisely to Cairo is also an opportunity to discover Egyptian cuisine.

Falafels, shawarma, beans are popular products / dishes that you will find everywhere.

Taste necessarily karkadé which is the Egyptian national drink. It is an infusion made from dried hibiscus flowers.

I talked about this dish in a previous post on my blog: koshari . Real national dish in Egypt. Taste it at Abu Tarek in Downtown Cairo (Champollion Street of Memory).

If you are hookah enthusiast or want to test, Cairo is the ideal place. I recommend Fishawi coffee in Khan el Khalili early or late afternoon to avoid the world.