History
Cairo is like Pandora’s Box: just as you think you have seen it all, it throws up yet another facet – a museum, a souk, pyramids, the old city, Citadel the City of the Dead, the Sphinx… Cairo is the stuff of sequin-spangled tales. Cairo also known as Al-Qahirah, or 'the victorious' is a city of calm mosques, chaotic bazaars and colourful streets.
Cairo has much to live up to: the legacy of Byzantium, the wonder of the pyramids, and the mystery of the Nile, and it acquits itself with grace. So venture forth to this pulsating city and get hypnotized!
Contrary to what one may believe considering Egypt is one of the oldest civilizations, Cairo is a relatively new city having been founded in 969 AD.
Cairo can be divided into the old and new parts, with the old part being more than 1,000 years old, and some bits of this dating back to the time of the Pharaohs. In the 19th century, under the influence of the then ruler Khedive Ismail and the British occupation of Cairo in 1891, Cairo was refashioned as a European- style city.
If you have come to Cairo then your main objective would be to view one of the last surviving Wonders of the World - the Pyramids of Giza. Believed to have been built some 5000 years ago, there are in fact three main pyramids in Giza; the Great Pyramid of Khufu (or Cheops), the Pyramid of Kafhre and the smaller Pyramid of Menkaura. Each of these Pyramids is a tomb to a different King of Egypt. And there majestically in front of the pyramids stands on of the most photographed picture on earth – the Sphinx.
This magnificent huge carving with broken nose and all, never fails to ignite the imagination – the structure has the head of a woman and the body of a lion and was carved out of one block of stone! The Sphinx is known in Arabic as Abu al-Hol or the ‘father of terror’ and measures an incredible 50 metres in length and 22 metres in height.
Giza, a complex of ancient structures that can individually or collectively send an archaeologist or a history buff into giddy whoops of delight, is an 18-km-wide strip of land on the west bank of the Nile, on the outskirts of Cairo. El-Giza, as it is known locally in Arabic, contains some of the most-visited and best-loved monuments in Egypt, including the Great Pyramids and the Sphinx – that great noseless-but-still-majestic half-lion, half woman.
The Great Pyramids are rightly counted among the Seven Wonders of the World – they are a truly awesome sight, guaranteed to leave you in need of extra oxygen supply. There are three great pyramids – those of Cheops (perhaps the most well-known), Chephren and Mycerinus (the least impressive of the three).
The surrounding flat-by-day and haunting-by-night desert contains some more treasures, including the Solar Boat Museum and some smaller pyramids and structures scattered around.
In 969 AD, the Fatimid rulers captured the reigns of power, to be succeeded by the Mameluks, a slave dynasty. They left an impressive set of buildings in a quarter of Cairo now known as Islamic Cairo. This includes a warren of districts like Al-Muski, Darb al-Ahmar and Gamaliya. The old-world charm here is palpable, and well worth soaking in. The most impressive strictures are the Citadel, the Mosque of Sultan Hassan and one of the largest mosques in the world, the Ibn Tulun. The twin minarets of the Mosque of Mu’ayyad offer great views of the city.
The section called Old Cairo is where Babylon once stood—its main attractions are the Hanging Church and the monastery/church of St Sergius, allegedly built on the place where the biblical Holy Family rested while escaping from King Herod.
The City of the Dead is not as depressing as it sounds. This is ‘living cemetry’ is home to at least 5 million people and is actually quite a fascinating place to visit. The inhabitants are mainly migrants that have come into Cairo they are poor and it is not uncommon to see tombs that are now been turned into their homes and where they conduct their business!
Today, Cairo is a lively and tourist-friendly city, with an active cultural scene and a bustling nightlife. The Egyptian Museum is a must-visit, with endless rows of sarcophagi, mummies and other tomb treasures.
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