01/10/2017
Cairo
I arrived at length at Cairo, mother of cities and seat of pharaohs, boundless in multitude of buildings, peerless in beauty and splendor, the meeting-place of comer and goer, the halting-place of feeble and mighty, whose throngs surge as waves of the sea. (Ibn Battuta).
Cairo is the capital of Egypt and the seat of government, the goal of all travelers, the centre of education and culture. It is the biggest city in Africa with a huge number of population and cars. It is a huge open air museum with different civilizations from pharaohs to the Greeks then the Romans, passing by the Copts finally the Islamic Cairo with 1000 minarets.
In Cairo there are many sites we offer to visit:-
1-The Museum.
It is forming the main attraction of the capital for all clients whatever their nationality may be. It was designed by the French architect Marcel Dourgnon in 1897 and opened 1902. It contains more than 120,000 pieces and same in the basement. The treasure room of the boy king Tutankhamen holds what was discovered in 1922 especially the golden mask of the king (11 km of solid gold)!!
2-The Citadel of Salah Al Din.
It was built on a spur of the Mukattem hills, commanding a view of the capital from its imposing ramparts. In 1176 Saladin ordered to start building but he never lived to see this work completed. He left Egypt for Palestine, where he conducted the campaign that ended in the capture of Jerusalem, and there he died. The work was completed in 1203 under sultan El Malek El Adel. It was used as a palace and a seat of government. In the citadel is the mosque of Mohamed Ali, which is one of the landmarks of Cairo and the first features to catch the eye.
In old Cairo there many other mosques are unique with their architectures, the mosque of Sultan Hassan, Rifai Mosque, Amr Ibn El AS mosque, al Azhar mosque and many more.
3-Khan El Khalili
It was designed for jewelers and dealers to ornate clothing. Nowadays it has a big bumber of shops and bazaars offering different objects. The tourist to Cairo should find time to spare for visiting that marvelous place.
4-The hanging church
The church gets its common name from its being suspended between two Roman bastions. It is the most ancient of the churches. it is said that it was built in 349AD.
5-The church of Abu Seifein (father of two swords)
The church is dedicated to the worrier Mercurius who was a solder in the roman army. It was built in the 6th century.
6-Memphis
It is the historical capital of the united Egypt, which dates back to 3200BC and the earliest monument of the civilized man. Memphis was the home enlightened medical school and science. The Zoser, the founder of the 3rd dynasty moved his residence from the south to Memphis. It remained a wonder to all travelers. The site includes the two colossi of Ramesses II, the alabaster sphinx, the stela of Apries and the temple of Ptah.
7-Sakkara.
The name is derived from the falcon- headed god Seker, the god of the dead. The site was a royal necropolis, it dates back to 3200B.C, especially after discovering the tomb of the king Hor-Ahe, the second Pharaoh of the 1st dynasty. In Sakkara is first stone structure, which is the step pyramid of the king Zoser with its six steps, each of ten meters.
8-The pyramids of Giza.
At a time when a tent or reeds hut were the highest material of architecture in most of the world, the pharaohs were building those stupendous monuments which are still the wonder of engineers. The word pyramid is ancient Egyptian derived from Per-Em-Us, which means a slopping sided building. The great pyramid is one of the seven wonders, and as it is said, the pile stone of the great pyramid would furnish enough material to pave an 18 feet highway one foot thick, from New York to San Fransisco.
The site includes the three pyramids, the sphinx, the valley temple, and the funerary boat of Cheops.