CAIRO TOP 5 THINGS TO SEE AND DO.
The obvious draw to Cairo is to see the Pyramids at Giza and Tutankhamun at the Egyptian museum. Most people will spend a short amount of time in Cairo as we did before heading down the river to the ancient Egyptian sites. We suggest visiting these top 5 before heading towards Luxor and the valley of the kings
1.PYRAMIDS AT GIZA - ENTRY PRICE £10 (200 EGYPTIAN POUNDS)
No trip to Egypt would be complete with out a visit to the most famous of Egyptian sites. The scale of the pyramids is mind blowing, you will not be disappointed. There are many scams that take place in Egypt, many of which tourists are fooled by. The one that frustrated us was that our taxi driver would not take us to the official government entrance to buy our tickets. Instead he drove us to a tour guides shop and insisted that we can only enter if we pay for a guide. We refused and decided to walk the short distance through the streets and find the official entrance ourselves. The ticket is much cheaper than what the guides will offer and the site its self is pretty self explanatory. There are a lot of people who will try to sell you items and it can get tiring but the pyramids more than make up for any of that. Pyramid of Khufu which is the largest Pyramid in Egypt is also the only remaining ancient wonder of the world making it an extra special visit.
2.THE EGYPTIAN MUSEUM - ENTRY PRICE £8
Its a bit chaotic inside as there are artefacts everywhere. Wooden crates pilled high as they clearly don’t have enough room in the building to display or even store all of the mummies and treasures that have been excavated. Hannah and I both studied ancient Egypt when in primary school and it was amazing to see so many items. We paid a little extra to be able to photograph inside the museum. The real highlight of the museum is the Tutankhamun display. The death mask was even more beautiful than we imagined.
3.KHAN EL-KHALILI, CAIRO’S BIGGEST SOUK
Be prepared to be shouted at and stopped at every opportunity. Cairo’s biggest Souk set in the historic centre of Cairo is a must when visiting the city. It is intense and fun and something that has to be embraced to make the most of it. If you are looking for a great souvenir then you can find some real gems here.
4.MOSQUE OF MUHAMMAD ALI
The most visible mosque in Cairo is of Ottaman architecture, commissioned in 1830 it is visible when approaching the city from most directions. It is a city landmark and a popular destination for tourist and worth the visit to see the incredible detail during your trip to Cairo.
5.PYRAMID OF DJOSER
One thing we didn’t realise when we landed in Cairo was that there are far more pyramids than the Great Pyramids of Giza. Looking out from the Giza complex you can clearly see other pyramids which surprised me. As far as I was aware these are not well documented, yet they are just as fascinating and incredible to visit. The Djoser pyramid is the worlds first large scale stone cut structure and is a stepped pyramid. There is also the bent pyramid and other examples of pyramids that predate the Great Pyramids of Giza. You can see many of these incredible structures from Giza as they all for a line in the distance as far as the eye can see. There are estimated to be up to 138 pyramids in Giza, and we suggest visiting a few others and not just the Great pyramids of Giza.
