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Highlights of
Cairo:
Giza:
Giza is located only a few kilometers south of Cairo, several
hundred meters from the last houses in the southernmost part of the city proper,
where a limestone cliff rises abruptly from the other side of a sandy desert
plateau.
Though the three Great Pyramids are the
most famous and prominent monuments at Giza, the site has actually been a
Necropolis almost since the beginning of Pharaonic Egypt.
Memphis:
Founded
around 3,100 BC, is the legendary city of Menes, the King who united Upper and
Lower Egypt. It is hard to imagine the age of this city, as no European cities
have yet to attain the span of Memphis' existence, and it is completely outside
the comprehension of most of the people in the Americas. There is little left of
the City that can be seen. Originally, the city had many fine temples, palaces
and gardens. But today, other than the scattered ruins, most of the city is gone
lying beneath the Nile silt.
Step Pyramid: Located in
Saqqara is the oldest ancient Egyptian cemetery. On this plateau rises
the Step-Pyramid and mortuary compound, built by the engineer lmhotep for King
Zoser. It is composed of six receding mastabas on top of each other. The
Pyramid measures 123.5 by 107 m at the base and about 59 m in height.
Cairo Museum:
Cairo's
Museum of Antiquities holds one of the finest collections of artifacts in the
world, including the astounding treasures of King Tutankhamen's tomb.
The Citadel: Sometimes
referred to as Mohamed Ali Citadel, because it contains the mosque of Mohamed
Ali (or Muhammad Ali), which was built almost 7 centuries later. The Mosque of
Muhammad 'Ali Pasha was built between 1828 and 1848, perched on the summit of
the citadel. The Ottoman mosque was built in memory of Tusun Pasha, Muhammad
`Ali's oldest son, who died in 1816.
Pharoanic Village: When
visiting the Pharaonic Village you will feel you have taken a trip back in time
= about 3000 years. This is an educational tourist attraction, a theme
park in which visitors are guided on a motorized barge through a network of
canals where they will see scenes re-enacting life in ancient Egypt.
Blue Mosque: The Aqsunqur or
Blue Mosque was built by one of al-Nasir Muhammad's Emirs, Shams ad-Din Aqsunqur,
in 1346, and is one of Cairo's most notable mosques. It derives the name "Blue
Mosque" from the interior walls, which are covered in isnik blue and turquoise
tiles outlined with plant and flower designs. These ottoman tiles imported from
Istanbul and Damascus were added when the structure was restored and modified in
1652. With the marble panels and painted ceiling, the interior is very ornate.
Zwayla Gate: Through
the centuries it was the point of departure for caravans to Mecca. Dancers and
snake charmers also performed here, and from the fifteenth century onwards
punishments provided another spectacle. Dishonest merchants might be hung from
hooks or ropes; garrotting, beheading or impalement were favored for common
criminals; while losers in the Mamluke power struggles were often nailed to the
doors.
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