Some Places You Should not Miss When You Visit Cairo

The Citadel in Cairo

Originally built by Saladin El Ayouby at the closing stages of the 12th century as a forttress to protect Cairo from the blasts of the crusaders, the fort remained as the residence of the kings of Egypt more than seven centuries later on.

Built on a elevated precipice, 75 meters higher than ocean level, the fortress for a long time given the rulers of The country with the fortification and the privacy they considered necessary.

While time passing by, countless kings and sultans of Egypt added in their own contributions to the castle. The most important addition was probably that of Mohamed Ali who just built a stunning mosque in the castle in the middle of the 19th century.

Displayed with its spectacular marbled decorations, garlanded Mihrab along with Minbar, the pencil formed minaret which is a famous element of the Ottoman buildings of mosques, and the enchanting illumination system, the Mosque of Mohamed Ali is actually one of the most unique monuments in Egypt the major interest at the fort today.

There is also the mosque of Sultan Nasser Mohamed created in the beginning of the 14th century, the Mosque of Suliman Pasha built in 1528, and a variety of interesting museums like the Police Museum, the Military Museum, and the Royal Carriages Museum.

The Fortress gave the visitors with impressive views all over The city of cairo as well. Based on a senior ground presents the viewer with exceptional glances all over the capital cairo.

The Coptic Museum

The marvelous Coptic Museum was mainly made in 1947 and it at this point contains the most popular and most precious Coptic treasury in the whole world. The building of the museum was restored for 3 decades after the earthquake of 1922 and currently its impressive Mashrabeya window screens in addition to adorned walls and ceilings are in the best shape.

Despite the fact the displays date back to the beginning of the expand of Christianity in The country, the authority of the Roman as well as Pharaonic art is actually quite observable, significantly the elder items which reflect images of the earliest Egyptian ankh and several other Pharaonic figures.

The displays of the Coptic Museum include huge stone capital dating back to various early Christian durations in Egypt, pieces of fabric, countless books and unusual manuscripts, copper, silver, and silk, Coptic icons, and various more exhibits.

The Egyptian Museum

When Auguste Mariette became the chief of the Egyptian antiquities services in the middle of the 19th century, he chose to erect a museum to host the most important findings of old Egypt.

This plan saw light in 1863, Khedive Ismail opened the Egyptian Museum of Antiquities in the capital cairo in an area named Bulaq and then by the number of accessories and findings, ever-increasing a day following the other the museum was moved in its existing place at the moment in 1902; in Tahrir Square, well-known for hosting the events of the Egyptian revolution of the 25th of January 2011 at a later point.

The displays in the museum, consisting of two floors, are collected from various periods of time of the Egyptian history; start with the Predynastic period, the Old Kingdom, the Middle Kingdom, the New Kingdom, the Roman Period, and ending with the Ptolemaic era.

The most important displays in the museum contain the fabulous items which were found in the tomb of King Tut Ankh Amun in 1922. These include his spectacular golden mask, bows, arrows, his chariot, ornaments, and many other precious and shocking exhibitions.

There is also the Royal mummies hall, that features the well-preserved mummies of notorious kings like Ramses II, Tuthmosis III, Seti I, and many other famous leaders of ancient Egypt.

The Coptic Church of Abu Sarga

It's possible that all over Egypt, the Coptic Church of Abu Sarga is the most prominent amongst most of the Egyptians. Some old records noted that the holy family, all through their journey to Egypt, they escaped in one of the caves located close to the place of the church.

This famous cave is currently being looked after as a sepulcher and the Egyptian government is planning to empty the cave of the underground water owing to its historical past importance.

The Church of Abu Sarga was built formerly in the 5th century, as one of the most ancient buildings established in Coptic Cairo. The church was reconstructed, refurbished, and renovated various times all the way through its old history. But, a large amount of what the people witness at the moment dates back to the 10th and the 12th centuries.

Beit as-Suhaymi

The historical of Beit El Suhaymi, situated in Darb Asfar near Khan El Khalili and Azhar Mosque, is the only truly well preserved and integral residence which survived from the Ottoman era in Egypt.

The residence mainly is made up of two sections, the southern section that was built by Sheikh Abdel Wahab El Tabalway in 1648, and the Northern section that was built by Ismail Shalby at the closing stages of the nineteenth century. Later on, the house was called after Amin El Suhaymi, the head of the Turkish professors in Al Azhar Mosque.

The house is well thought-out to be a masterpiece of Islamic architecture with its wonderful open courtyard, lots of chambers, receptions, domes in addition to the most spectacular Mashrabeya screens in Egypt.

Today, the residence has turn out to be a museum for vacationers approaching from all parts of the globe to sight its greatness and it was also converted to a social center with various activities taking place.

The Ben Ezra Synagogue

The presence of Judaism in Egypt goes back to the era of the Old Testament. Historians claim that the Pharaohs chased Moses before he resorted to Sinai at a later time.

Afterwards, in the the 1st century AD, Alexandria got one of the most important Jewish centers in the area of the Mediterranean. There were lots of Jews in Egypt up to the twentieth century. However, after the establishment of Israel and the series of wars between the Israelis and the Arabs pretty much all the Jewish population left Egypt.

The Ben Ezra Synagogue is the oldest surviving Jewish temple in Egypt. The construction was constructed as a church in the 8th century before it was destroyed and the Abraham Ben Ezra obtained the lands and the ruins to construct the Synagogue.

The reinstatement works carried out in the the 19th century discovered lots of rare original Jewish manuscripts which date chiefly to the eleventh along with 12th centuries. Once again but just recently, in the 1980s, the synagogue was refurbished again. This is why it is in a well shape up until today