Trips & Tours: Cairo City Break

On arrival we will transfer to our comfortable hotel and look forward to the next few days discovering the secrets of this wonderful city.

We start with a journey to the Giza plateau where from time immemorial the Pyramids and Sphinx have gazed out over the city. Controversy rages about just how these wonders of the ancient world were built, some 4,500 years ago. Brave travellers can elect to pay to enter one of the Pyramids, deep into the crypt where the pharaoh once laid. Another option is to see the remains of the solar barques the oldest ships in the world, located in a museum at the site. Of course we also see the Sphinx, now slowly decaying after millennia of erosion by the desert sands.

After our visit we head into the heart of this teeming city of millions, to the Egyptian Museum, the world’s greatest repository of pharaonic finds. Here we wander the halls in search of sarcophagi and pharaohs’ gold, the jewel in the crown of which is that belonging to the boy-king Tutankhamun.

Later we enjoy a cruise on the Nile where a meal and show finishes of an unforgettable first day.

Next day we’re collected again and taken to Salahadin’s Citadel on the edge of town for a view over the city and an opportunity to get our bearings in Africa’s largest metropolis. We’ll see the dramatic interior of the Mohammed Ali Mosque before descending to walk through the streets of Islamic Cairo, our guide explaining points of interest along the way.

We’ll visit such notable sights as the Ibn Tulun Mosque and Gayer-Anderson Museum then head north along the Street of the Tentmakers, to the Bab Zuweila. Continuing we’ll come to the Al Azhar Mosque and the Khan al Khalili bazaar and a chance to take a drink at Fishawi’s coffee-house. Lastly we’ll visit the Beit el Suhaymi, a superb restored mansion. There’s time for souvenir shopping as we wander – but remember to haggle!

A great addition to our time in Cairo is a trip to the tricky-to-reach Saqqara pyramids. We head down the west bank of the Nile to what was the ancient necropolis of the ancient-Egyptian capital of Memphis. There are 11 pyramids here at Saqqara, smaller than those at Giza and yet remarkable in their own way.

The star attraction is the wonderful Step Pyramid of Djoser which dates from 2650 BCE, a remarkable 4657 years old and the world’s oldest stone monument! After exploring the main site we’ll walk the short distance to nearby tombs where we’ll be able to appreciate the delicate, refined work of the tomb artists of some four and a half thousand years ago.

Next we head to Dahshur, until relatively recently off-limits to visitors. Here we can admire the wonderful Red Pyramid, the world’s oldest true pyramid and certainly a rival to those at Giza – we can even climb inside down a 63m-long passage to enter 3 massive rooms inside!

During our visit we’ll also be able to see Black Pyramid, a collapsed heap of rubble, reduced to this ignominious state by the theft of its limestone casing. Not too far away is the Bent Pyramid, so called because the angle of its walls were very clearly changed part-way through its construction. It remains in a good state of preservation.

Our visit perfectly rounds off our time in Cairo, having seen such a lot in a small space of time.