Monastery Palace on Rhoda Island

Monastery Palace is an artistic and architectural masterpiece overlooking the Nile River directly. Also, it is known as the Kiosk.

It was built by Hassan Fouad Pasha Al. Monastery, the Cairo Governor and Minister of the Interior in Abbas Pasha Period in 1851.

The palace is famous for its beautiful decorative style and wooden architecture design, and the music room has a ceiling taking the dome shape, making the music spread all over the room. Now, there are concerts are held in this room.

Manasterly Palace - Egypt Vacation Tours (1)

The Ministry of Antiquities turned this palace into a museum in 1951.

Additionally, there is a wooden bridge attached to this palace called the Monastery Bridge.  You will be able to take fabulous photos there.

Manasterly Bridge - Egypt Vacation Tours
Monastery Bridge

The Cavern Church – Abu Serga Church

The Cavern Church has several names, such as Abu Serga Church, the St. Sergius Church, and Saints Sergius and Bacchus Church. It lies in Coptic Cairo beside the Hanging church.

The church is dedicated to Sergius and Bacchus, who were soldier-saints martyred during the 4th century in Syria by the Roman Emperor Maximian.

the Cavern church - Egypt Vacation Tours

The Importance of Abu Serga Church In this place, there is the cave where the Holy family (the Virgin Mary and the Christ) hid during their journey in Egypt, fleeing Roman persecution. After that, the church was founded upon this cave because of its sanctity.

The Cavern Church - Egypt Vacation Tours (2)

The Hanging Church – Coptic Cairo

The Hanging Church is considered the oldest and most famous church in Egypt. It lies in Coptic Cairo beside the Babylon fortress.

The history of this church: This building was originally a Roman temple, but in the fourth century AD, after Christianity entered Egypt, it was transferred to be a church.

The Hanging Church became the seat of the Coptic Pope at the beginning of the eleventh century AD. Now, it is transferred to Abbasiya.

Let’s take a tour of the church: The first thing you will see is a group of mosaic icons referring to important events in Christianity, such as the miracle of transferring Mount Mokattam and the Journey of The Holy Family.

After that, you will see its Truss roof distinguishing this church. It is said that this roof referring to Noah’s Ark as a symbol of salvation and peace.

Then, you will enter the building of the church. It takes the Basilic design. At the end of the nave, there are three shrines for Mar Girgis, Virgin Mary, and John the Baptist.

The Hanging Church - Egypt Vacation Tours (2)

At the end of this article, we will tell you why this church is called a hanging church. Originally, this church was called the Virgin Mary Church, but after that, it is called the Hanging Church because it was founded on two towers of the Babylon fortress, so it appeared as hanging.

Ben Ezra Synagogue in Coptic Cairo

Ben Ezra Synagogue in Coptic Cairo is one of Egypt’s most important and famous synagogues. It is considered the oldest synagogue in Egypt. It dates back to the 9th century AD.

This synagogue had an old copy of the Old Testament, and it is believed that it was written by the prophet Ezra or Al-Azir, so it is called the Ben Ezra Synagogue.

The history of this Synagogue: Originally, this building was a Christian church called El-Shamieen Church. But in 882, it was being sold to a group of Jews led by the Jewish religious scholar and philosopher Abraham Ben Ezra for 20,000 dinars.

It is built in the shape of a basilica style. It includes two floors. The first floor is dedicated to men and contains the bimah, while the second is dedicated to women.

It is decorated in Arabesque style and inlaid with mother of pearl, displaying a merge of artistic traditions.

Stories about this synagogue: It is said that this place of this Synagogue was where the box of Baby Moses was found.

Museum of Islamic Art (MIA)

The Museum of Islamic Art of MIA is the largest Islamic Art Museum in the world, as it houses close to a hundred thousand antique Islamic artifacts of various types collected from India, Iran, all the way to the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Egypt, North Africa, and Andalusia.

This collection is characterized by its breadth of coverage of all the branches of Islamic art throughout the ages (from the beginning of the Islamic era up to the period of the family of Mohamed Ali), which makes it a beacon of Islamic Art and Civilization for all times.  These collections vary between rare woodwork, plaster artifacts, metal, ceramic, glass, crystal, and textile objects. The museum displays these collections in 25 Halls. Some halls are a chronology, while some are thematic.

The history of MIA Originally, the museum did not be existing in this place. In 1881, Julius Franz suggested allocating a part in Al-Hakim Mosque to be a museum for displaying 111 objects of Islamic Art, and it was called the Arab Museum. These collections kept increasing, resulting in the construction of the current building in 1903 by Khedive Abbas Helmy II, in Bab al-Khalq in the heart of Historic Cairo.

Museum of Islamic Art - Egypt Vacation Tours (2)

Cairo Tower on Gezira Island

Cairo Tower lies on Gezira Island in the River Nile. It is considered one of the most famous modern monuments in Cairo, Egypt.

It was founded in 1961 during the Gamal Abdel Nasser period and was designed by the Egyptian architect Naoum Shebib. This design is inspired by the lotus plant, one of the most important plants in ancient Egyptian civilization. Its tall is 187 M, which makes it considered the tallest building in Egypt.

Let take a tour inside the tower The tower consists of 16 floors. Take the elevator to reach the last floor at 45 seconds. It is advised to go up to the tower, where you will find a circular observation deck and a revolving restaurant allowing you to see the attractions of Cairo, the city of the thousand minarets, and enjoy taking photos during fabulous sunset.

Cairo Tower - Egypt Vacation Tours2

Cairo Tower Today The Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities and the Egyptian government launched the initiative to illuminate the Egyptian sightseeing as the great pyramid of Cheops in Giza plateau and Cairo Tower to send a message for the whole world. This message contains (Stay Home – Stay Save). This message aims to urge people to stay at their homes to reduce the spread of Coronavirus COVID-19 and protect themselves from it.

Cairo Tower - Stay Safe - Egypt Vacation Tours

El Moez Street in Old Cairo

El Moez Street or El Moez li-Din Allah al-Fatimi Street is one of the oldest streets in Cairo city. It was founded within the construction of Cairo city during the Fatimid period under the caliph Al-Mu’izz li-Din Allah.

El Moez St. runs from the north, where the gate of Bab al-Futuh to the south, where the gate of Bab Zuweila. Both entrances were established by the vizier Badr al-Jamali in the 11th century when he rebuilt some buildings in Cairo city, including its walls. Its length is approx. one kilometer long, which makes it considered one of the longest streets in the walled city.

The vital role of this street made people were building in it souqs as Khan El khalili Bazaar, religious buildings as Al-Hakim Mosque, and charitable buildings as Madrasa of Barquq. These buildings date back to different Islamic periods such as the Abbasid, Fatimid, Mamluk, and Ottoman periods.

  • Madrasa of Barquq: This complex contains a mosque, a mausoleum, and a school. This school or madrasa (in the Arabic language) was for teaching the four Islamic schools.
  • Al-Hakim Mosque:It lies beside the gate of Bab al-Futuh in the north of Cairo city. This mosque originally built by Al-Aziz, the father of Al-Hakim, but Al-Hakim completed it, so the mosque is called Al-Hakim Mosque.
Al-Hakim Mosque - Egypt Vacation Tours
Al-Hakim Mosque

Sabil of Sulayman Agha al-Silahdar: This sabil is a good example for displaying how people used to drink in old times while walking around the street.

Sabil of Sulayman Agha al-Silahdar - Egypt Vacation Tours
Sabil of Sulayman Agha al-Silahdar

Khan El khalili Bazaar in Islamic Cairo

Khan El khalili Bazaar is the most famous souq, It was built in the Mamluk period as a center of trade.

Also, it includes workshops for the Egyptian artisans, who create and produce traditional crafts and souvenirs.

Let’s know about the history of this bazaar When the Fatimids founded Cairo city, they divided it into two sections. The first one contained the eastern royal palace, while the second houses the western royal palace. Today, the location of Khan El-Khalili Bazaar is the southern end of the eastern Fatimid Palace.

Dajaharks Al-Khalili founded this bazaar in the 14th century, so it is called El khalili Bazaar.

The design of the bazaar was multi-storied structures. The bazaar centered around an inner peristyle courtyard, where traders could store their merchandise, while the upper levels were used for housing.

The bazaar contains several coffeehouses, shops, and restaurants. The most famous traditional Arabic coffee there is El Fishawi. In this coffee, the Egyptian author Naguib Mahfouz spent a lot of time.

Salah El-Din Citadel in Islamic Cairo

Salah El-Din Citadel or Cairo Citadel is built by Salah El-Din Al-Ayoubi, the founder of the Ayyubid Dynasty in 1176 to be a fortress and seat of rule for nearly 700 years. It stopped being the seat of the rule when Khedive Ismail transferred it to Abdeen Palace in 1874.

Salah El-Din Al-Ayoubi decided to construct this citadel on Mokattam hills for use this strategic position allowing him to expose the whole city and made it difficult to attack. In 1976, UNESCO considered it one of the heritage sites in Islamic Cairo.

This citadel houses several museums as the National Military Museum and the Police Museum and mosques as Sultan Al-Nasir Muhammad Mosque, Mosque of Suleiman Pasha El Khadim, and Muhammad Ali Mosque.

Al-Nasir Muhammad Mosque It was built in the Mamluk period in 1318. It distinguishes with its green Dom.

Al-Nasir Muhammad Mosque - Egypt Vacation Tours
Al-Nasir Muhammad Mosque

Muhammad Ali Mosque Muhammad Ali Pasha began its construction in 1830, but it was completed in 1857 by Said Pasha, son of Muhammad Ali Pasha. Muhammad Ali Pasha willed to be buried in this mosque so you can see his cemetery inside the mosque.

Mosque of Muhammad Ali - Egypt Vacation Tours
Mosque of Muhammad Ali

Muhammad Ali Mosque is also known as the Alabaster Mosque due to its walls are coated with alabaster. It was established in Turkish, as the mosque is divided into two parts. The first part is the courtyard, while the second is the house of prayer. Also, it distinguishes with its domes and minarets taking the pencil shape. Some opinions believe that this mosque is similar to the blue mosque belonging to Sultan Ahmed in Turkey.

The Egyptian Museum in Tahrir Square

This museum is the most famous landmark in Egypt, holding great and unique ancient Egyptian collections.

Let’s go back a little bit before building the Egyptian Museum Due to the discoveries of Napoleon Bonaparte’s expedition, Egypt built the Cairo Museum to conserve the objects. This museum was an initial house at Ezbakiyya. Unfortunately, in 1855, Abbas Pasha gave the museum contents to the Duke of Austria and ordered the closing of the Cairo Museum in Ezbakiyya.

In 1858, Auguste Mariette proposed to establish a new museum in Boulaq to house the ancient Egyptian monuments. But misfortune for the second time, this museum was washed away by the annual flooding of the Nile River.

In 1881, Maspero reopened the Boulaq Museum and became its director.  In 1891, the contents of the Boulaq Museum were transferred to the palace of Khedive Ismail.

On November 15, 1902, the current museum in Tahrir Square is opened by Khedive Abbas Helmy II result of Maspero’s suggestion to exhibit the contents which were in the palace of Khedive Ismail.

Let’s go on a tour in the Egyptian Museum The design of Museum building was selected in an international competition launched in 1895. The uniqueness in this design is that it is mixing between ancient Egyptian and Greco-Roman styles.

The museum houses approx. unparalleled 160,000 objects dating from the prehistoric period to the Greco-Roman period displayed on two floors in 107 halls.

These unique collections are such as the statuette of King Cheops, Narmer Palette, Thuya and Yuya treasures, jewelry of Tanis, etc.