The Legend
In
the beginning there was the sun and the sun gazed upon a land and
chose it from among the others and the land grew and became an Empire
and destined to be the cradle of civilization and known as the mother
of the world. There are no words that can describe Egypt better than:
The Kingdom of Kingdoms!
It
is the land of legends and mystery. Land of the powerful Pharaohs who
were considered as Gods in the antiquity and built more than 100
pyramids. According to Herodotus, it is the gift of the river Nile,
the guardian of the past.
Egypt
is famous for its cultural heritage, considered as an open air museum
for all kinds of ancient monuments: Greek-roman, Coptic Christian and
Islamic, receiving millions of guests every year from the whole
world. Travelers can visit Egypt almost any month of the year due to
its nice climate and its friendly people.
The Land of Pyramids
The
Pyramids is definitely the most known monument that travelers relate
to Egypt. Giza pyramids is the only surviving of the antiquity's 7
wonders, a proof that the Egyptians were among the greatest
architects of the ancient world. Once you stand in front of them you
will just ask yourself 2 questions: How? and Why? The Sphinx, the
greatest and biggest statue in Egypt dates back to 2500 B.C. It
was built to guard the royal necropolis of the great kings, built
from 1 piece of limestone rock 72 meters in length.
Saqqara
Necropolis
It
is the oldest known royal necropolis in the world, almost 5000 years
old, naming after its patron God (Sokar). There you can see the 1st
pyramid in History (the step pyramid), as well as other later pyramid
decorated with Hieroglyphic language. It consists of 700 signs and
called as (The pyramids texts) the most ancient religious texts in
the whole mankind. It meant to guide the kings' spirits in the
afterlife. In Saqqara you may also see many tombs dedicated to high
officials who served the pharaohs of Egypt with its original vivid
colors showing the daily life of ancient Egypt.
The City of Cairo
Welcome
to the biggest city in Egypt and in whole Africa. Cairo (Alqahira in
Arabic), built in 969 A.D., is inhabited by 22 millions and consists
of 37 districts. Life in Cairo Street is another world to live busy
streets fancy and middle class buildings street sellers many things
encouraging you to explore that magnificent city. So what are you
waiting for?
Things you shouldn't miss in Cairo:
- The Egyptian Museum: located in Tahrir Square down town, was built in 1902 housing 120 thousands of master pieces of the Egyptian artifacts, including of the golden collection of the boy king Tutankhamon and some mummies of the great pharaohs of Egypt for more than 3000 years ago and still in a perfect condition.
- The Citadel: built by Saladin during the 12th century A.D., as the Government residence operating until 1874 A.D., when Ismael Pasha moved the government residence to Abdin palace in down town. The citadel full of mosques ruins of palaces, 2 small museums for Egyptian military and police and the most important landmark, the imperial mosque of Mohamed Ali Pasha, which look like the blue mosque in Istanbul, Turkey, built and fin 1857 A.D.
- Coptic Cairo: although Egypt is an Islamic country, the Christian heritage is very rich. Christianity spread in Egypt without missionaries and as early as Christianity itself, in the 1st century. Egypt has its orthodox Church called the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria. Coptic Christian art is so distinctive reflecting the Egyptian Christian creed and personality.
- Khan El-Khalili Bazaar: Cairo is cavernous and full of any kind of unusual objects. Souks and bazaars abound in other towns, too. Top buys include: perfume concentrate, carpets and rugs in innumerable hand-loomed designs, backgammon boards, hand-crafted Sheesha water pipes, Pharaohnic objects fashioned in marble and alabaster, Egyptian cotton sheets, clothing and of course - authentic papyrus.
- Walking in Downtown: the favorite place for people of Cairo where Shops, restaurants, bookshops busy streets, some European architecture still visible on old buildings. Malls, Bars and nightlife are available too.
- The Egyptian cuisine: Egyptian cuisine is not unlike the cuisine of Turkey, Syria and other Middle Eastern countries. The basic staple centers on pulses - Fuul medames (fava beans) and Ta'amiyya (chickpea patties). These tend to be the centerpiece of a meal that will normally include salads, seasoned vegetables and meats. Houmous and other yogurt based dips, coupled with fresh pitta, Schwarma (similar to a Turkish doner kebab), Kofta (a skewered spiced meat dish) and fiteer (a kind of pizza) are other popular dishes. The lunchtime bargain has to be Kushari, though. A curious mix of noodles, rice, lentils, fried onion and spicy sauce. It is very tasty and exceedingly cheap. Exotic juices freshly squeezed from the fruits of mango, guava and other seasonal varieties are also widely available.
Selected tours from Cairo:
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