Must-See Sights in Cairo

Cairo is hot, noisy and crowded, but is also utterly mesmerizing and fascinating. Known as the city of a thousand minarets, Cairo boasts some of the finest Islamic architecture in the world, like the Muhammed Ali and Al-Azhar Mosques. It also has the only surviving Wonder of the Ancient World.

One of the world’s greatest megacities is rich in historic finery, as it is half dilapidated. You’ll find a history that spans centuries, full of vigor. Check out some of the must see attractions next time you’re in Cairo.

Giza Necropolis, Egypt © Mikhail Dudarev | Dreamstime

The Pyramids of Giza

The pyramids are a given. They are Cairo’s No. 1 half-day trip and must-do attraction. Located on the edge of the city, these fourth dynasty funerary temples wowed travelers for centuries. Despite the heat, dust and mass crowds, you can’t miss it. The Pyramid of Cheops, also called the Great Pyramid of Khufu, is the largest pyramid of the Giza group. The interior of narrow passages can be explored, although there is not much to see except a plain tomb chamber with an empty sarcophagus.

The Egyptian Museum © Donyanedomam | Dreamstime

The Egyptian Museum

The staggering collection of antiques displayed in Cairo’s Egyptian Museum makes it one of the world’s best. The museum, founded in 1857, is poorly labeled and not well mapped out due to limits of space, and only a fraction of its holdings are actually on display. Be sure to check out the Tutankhamun Galleries, which hold the treasures found in the tomb of Tutankhamum, son-in-law and successor of Amenophis IV. The tomb contained the largest and richest assemblage of grave goods ever found intact in an Egyptian tomb.

© Mohamed Ahmed Soliman | Dreamstime

Al-Azhar Mosque

The Al-Azhar Mosque is the finest building of Cairo’s Fatimid era, one of the city’s earliest surviving mosques completed in AD 972 and one of the world’s oldest universities. Leave your shoes at the entrance and walk into the central courtyard for the best views of the mosque’s five minarets that cap the building. The mosque is in the heart of the Islamic Cairo district.

Khan el Khalili Bazaar © Dinatemraz | Dreamstime

Old Cairo

This small church-filled cluster of laneways is within the walls of Old Babylon, where the Roman Emperor Trajan first built a fortress along the Nile. Some parts of the Roman Towers still preside over the main street. The Coptic Museum contains a wealth of information on Egypt’s early Christian period and is home to one of Egypt’s finest collections of Coptic art. Next door, the 9^th-century Hanging Church contains examples of Coptic architecture. For Christian travelers, the real highlight is the Church of St. Sergius and Bacchus, where it is said Mary, baby Jesus and the family sheltered during King Herod’s massacre of male babies. If you walk further into the quarter, you will come across the Ben Ezra Synagogue, said to be built near where baby Moses was found in the reeds. Just outside the quarter, you can visit the Mosque of Amr Ibn al-As, the first mosque built in Egypt.

The Citadel

Saladin built Cairo’s Citadel in 1176. The original structure disappeared except for the eastern outer walls, but a legacy of rulers made their own additions. The Mosque of Muhammad Ali is the most famous. Given its nickname of Alabaster Mosque, its white stone and tall, disproportioned slender minarets are one of the city’s great landmarks.