Cairo Layover Tour Pyramids, Sphinx, Islamic Cairo, & bazaar

What's Included

Meeting and pickup

Itinerary

• 1
  Pyramids of Giza

  The Giza pyramid complex is an archaeological site on the Giza Plateau, on the outskirts of Cairo, Egypt. It includes the three Great Pyramids (Khufu/Cheops, Khafre/Chephren and Menkaure/Mykerinos), the Great Sphinx, several cemeteries, a workers' village and an industrial complex. It is located in the Western Desert, approximately 9 km (5 mi) west of the Nile river at the old town of Giza, and about 13 km (8 mi) southwest of Cairo city centre. The pyramids, which have historically been common as emblems of ancient Egypt in the Western imagination,[1][2] were popularized in Hellenistic times, when the Great Pyramid was listed by Antipater of Sidon as one of the Seven Wonders of the World. It is by far the oldest of the ancient Wonders and the only one still in existence.

  1 hour 30 minutes • Admission ticket not included
• 2
  Great Sphinx

  The Great Sphinx of Giza The Terrifying One; literally: (Father of Dread), commonly referred to as the Sphinx of Giza or just the Sphinx, is a limestone statue of a reclining sphinx, a mythical creature with the body of a lion and the head of a human.[1] Facing directly from West to East, it stands on the Giza Plateau on the west bank of the Nile in Giza, Egypt. The face of the Sphinx is generally believed to represent the Pharaoh Khafre. Cut from the bedrock, the original shape of the Sphinx has been restored with layers of blocks. It measures 73 meters (240 ft) long from paw to tail, 20.21 m (66.31 ft) high from the base to the top of the head and 19 meters (62 ft) wide at its rear haunches. It is the oldest known monumental sculpture in Egypt and is commonly believed to have been built by ancient Egyptians of the Old Kingdom during the reign of the Pharaoh Khafre (c. 2558–2532 BC)

  1 hour 30 minutes • Admission ticket included
• 3
  Islamic Cairo

  Islamic Cairo (Qahirat al-Maez) is a part of central Cairo around the old walled city and around the Citadel of Cairo which is characterized by hundreds of mosques, tombs, madrasas, mansions, caravanserais, and fortifications dating from the Islamic era.[1] In 1979, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) proclaimed Historic Cairo a World Cultural Heritage site, as "one of the world's oldest Islamic cities, with its famous mosques, madrasas, hammers and fountains and the new centre of the Islamic world, reaching its golden age in the 14th century.

  20 minutes • Admission ticket included
• 4
  Sharia Al Mu'izz Li-Din Allah

  Muizz Street (Shariʻa al-Muizz li-Din Allah) also known as Al Moez Ldin Allah Al Fatimi Street in Islamic Cairo, Egypt is one of the oldest streets in Cairo, approximately one kilometer long. A United Nations study found it to have the greatest concentration of medieval architectural treasures in the Islamic world. The street (shariʻa in Arabic) is named for Al-Mu'izz li-Din Allah, the fourth caliph of the Fatimid dynasty. It stretches from Bab Al-Futuh in the north to Bab Zuweila in the south. Starting in 1997, the national government carried out extensive renovations to the historical buildings, modern buildings, paving, and sewerage to turn the street into an "open-air museum". On April 24, 2008, Al-Muizz Street was rededicated as a pedestrian-only zone between 8:00 am and 11:00 pm; cargo traffic will be allowed outside of these hours.

  20 minutes • Admission ticket not included
• 5
  Bab al-Futuh

  Bab al Futuh (Conquest Gate) is one of three remaining gates in the walls of the Old City of Cairo, Egypt. It was finished in the year 1087 and faces north. It stands at the northern end of Muizz Street. The other two remaining gates are Bab al-Nasr (Victory Gate) in the North and Bab Zuwayla (Gate of Zuwayla) in the south. The gate was part of fortification built by Commander/Vizier Badr al-Jamali of Fatimid Imam/caliph Mustansir. Its rounded towers were a stronger defense than the square towers of Bab al-Nasr (another Old City gate, just to the east). They had shafts for pouring boiling water or burning oil on attackers, and arrow slits. The gate is covered in vegetal and geometric motifs.

  20 minutes • Admission ticket included
• 6
  Al-Hakim Mosque

  The Mosque of al-Hakim (Masjid al-Ḥākim bi Amr Allāh), nicknamed Al-Anwar 'the Illuminated', is a major Islamic religious site in Cairo, Egypt. It is named after Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah (985–1021), the sixth Fatimid caliph and 16th Ismaili Imam. The mosque was originally built as an enclosure by the Fatimid vizier Gawhar Al-Siqilli (c. 928–992), but was incorporated into the extended fortifications built by Badr al-Jamali. It consists of an irregular rectangle with four arcades surrounding the courtyard. An unusual feature is the monumental entrance with its projecting stone porch. It is located in Islamic Cairo, on the east side of Muizz Street, just south of Bab Al-Futuh (the northern gate).

  20 minutes • Admission ticket included
• 7
  Qalawun Complex

  The Qalawun Complex was built over the ruins of the Fatimid Palace of Cairo, with several halls in the Palace. It was sold to several people until it was finally bought by the Sultan Qalawun in 1283 AD. The structure resides in the heart of Cairo, in the Bayn al-Qasrayn, and has been a center for important religious ceremonies and rituals of the Islamic faith for years, stretching from the Mamluk dynasty through the Ottoman Empire.

  20 minutes • Admission ticket not included
• 8
  Wekalet El Ghouri Arts Center

  The Sultan Al-Ghuri Complex was built between the years 1503 and 1505. This huge complex consists of a khanqah, mausoleum, sebil-kuttab, mosque and madrasa and is located at the Fahhamin Quarter, al Mu'izz li-Din Allah street in Cairo, Egypt. The structure lies on both sides of the al Mu'izz li-Din Allah Street, with the congregational mosque-madrasa built on the western side, and the khanqah-mausoleum-sabil-kuttab on the eastern Side.

  20 minutes • Admission ticket not included
• Al-Azhar Mosque (Pass by)

  Al-Azhar Mosque (el-Gām3` el-Azhar), "The Most Resplendent Congregational Mosque"), also simply in Egypt Al-Azhar, is an Egyptian mosque in Islamic Cairo. Al-Mu'izz li-Din Allah of the Fatimid dynasty commissioned its construction for the newly established capital city in 970. Its name is usually thought to allude to the Islamic prophet Muhammad's daughter Fatimah, a revered figure in Islam who was given the title az-Zahrā′ ("the shining or resplendent one"). It was the first mosque established in Cairo, a city that has since gained the nickname "the City of a Thousand Minarets."

  Admission ticket free
• 9
  Bab Zuweila

  Bab Zuweila is one of three remaining gates in the walls of the Old City of Cairo, the capital of Egypt. It was also known as Bawabbat al-Mitwali during the Ottoman period, and is sometimes spelled Bab Zuwayla. It is considered one of the major landmarks of the city and is the last remaining southern gate from the walls of Fatimid Cairo in the 11th and 12th century. Its name comes from Bab, meaning "Door", and Zuwayla, the name of a tribe of Berber warriors from the Western Desert, members of which were charged with guarding the gate.

  10 minutes • Admission ticket included
• 10
  Khan Al-Khalili

  Khan El-Khalili is a major souk in the historic center of Islamic Cairo. The bazaar district is one of Cairo's main attractions for tourists and Egyptians alike. The site of Khan el-Khalili was originally the site of a mausoleum known as turbat az-za'faraan (Saffron Tomb), which was the burial site of the Fatimid caliphs. The mausoleum was part of the Fatimid Great Eastern Palace complex, begun in 970 AD by Gawhar al-Siqilli, the general who conquered Egypt for the Fatimid dynasty and founded Cairo that same year.

  1 hour • Admission ticket included

Additional info

• Public transportation options are available nearby
• Suitable for all physical fitness levels

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