Cairo Attractions

The Egyptian Museum (officially, the Museum of Egyptian Antiquities) located on the N edge of Midan Tahrir is one of the world's best museums. An extensive building and massive collection of Egyptian antiquities, the Museum (also commonly referred to as the "Cairo Museum") is a truly incredible experience. Housing the world' most valuable artifact, The Funeral Mask of Tutankamun and with more than 125,000 items on display (and hundreds of thousands of additional items out of sight in the museum's basement storerooms), the museum is one of Egypt's premier attractions. The museum is actually an outgrowth of the Egyptian Antiquities Service, established by the Egyptian government in 1835 in an attempt to limit the looting of antiquities sites and artefacts. The museum first opened in 1858 in an annex of the Bulaq palace of Ismail Pasha in Giza, the museum moved in 19...

The Mosque of Ahmad Ibn Ţūlūn is located in Cairo, Egypt. It is arguably the oldest mosque in the city surviving in its original form, and is the largest mosque in Cairo in terms of land area. The mosque was commissioned by Ahmad ibn Ţūlūn, the Abbassid governor of Egypt from 868–884 whose rule was characterized by de facto independence. The historian al-Maqrizi lists the mosque's construction start date as 876 AD, and the mosque's original inscription slab identifies the date of completion as 265 AH, or 879 AD. The mosque was constructed on a small hill called Gebel Yashkur, "The Hill of Thanksgiving."

The Coptic Museum is a museum in Coptic Cairo, Egypt with the largest collection of Egyptian Christian artifacts in the world. It was founded by Marcus Simaika Pasha in 1910 to house Coptic antiquities. The museum traces the history of Christianity in Egypt from its beginnings to the present day. It was erected on 8,000 square meters offered by the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria under the guardianship of Pope Cyril V. The Coptic museum houses the world's most important examples of Coptic art.

The Pyramids of Giza stand on the Giza Plateau on the outskirts of Cairo. This complex of ancient monuments includes three giant pyramids, the most famous of the three is known as the Great Pyramid (the pyramid for the Pharoah Khufu) which is the last remaining of the 'Seven Wonders of the Ancient World'. There are also a number of small pyramids and other tombs on the site. The Giza complex also contains a large sculpture known as the Great Sphinx. There are two ticket offices: the first is near the main entrance, the second is near the Sphinx, in the E part of the Plateau. The pyramids can be explored from the outside and inside. However, the interior of the pyramids is hot, humid and somewhat claustrophobic, with the passages steep, dusty and hard to move through, and those with any physical disabilities or heart / lung issues will want to avoid this experience. For those w...

The Great Sphinx is a colossal, recumbent human-headed lion which was conceived of by the ancient Egyptians as the sun god Re-Horakhty "Horus of the horizon". The Egyptians call it Abu el-Hol, the "Father of Terror", and even the Greek name Sphinx has the less than pleasant meaning "Strangler". The Great Sphinx is 45m long, 22m wide, and carved from a single giant block of sandstone. The Sphinx itself is considerably smaller than the Pyramids around it and is in a poor state despite careful restoration attempts. The missing nose of the Sphinx is blamed on target practice by bored Napoleon's troops in 1798, but 18th-century drawings showing the nose already missing, pointing the finger towards the occupying Turks of the time.