In Cairo it often feels like this great city is an intriguing melting pot of age-old history and modern life. Cairo is a mass of people, traffic and animals with a skyline of ancient monuments and modern buildings punctuated by the timeless river Nile, which flows through the city simultaneously uniting and dividing it.

 

A visit to the Great Pyramid of Giza is sure to be the highlight of a holiday to Cairo. It is the only one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World still to be standing today. Although this may be the best known there are some 110 pyramids in Cairo and the surrounding area, where the capital of Memphis was situated during the Old Kingdom period. Despite the huge resources and the effort and knowledge dedicated to their study, there are still many mysteries surrounding the pyramids. They remain a huge draw for today’s traveller to Egypt, and the Pyramids of Giza and the Sphinx are sure to be on your list of must-see attractions, whether you choose to make your holiday to Cairo a city break or combine it with a Nile Cruise or visit to a Red Sea resort. A uniquely atmospheric experience is the dramatic Sound & Light show at Giza. The nearby Pyramids of Saqqarah are also well worth a visit, including the famous Step Pyramid of Zoser built by the great architect Imhotep.

 

Egypt’s greatest treasures are housed in Cairo’s stunning Egyptian museum – a must-see for anyone on holiday in Cairo with some 120,000 artefacts, including those found in the tomb of the boy Pharaoh Tutankhamun. Many of these exquisite exhibits were originally housed in the tombs and temples of upper Egypt.

 

A great place to soak up the atmosphere of this dramatic city is the ancient Citadel, one of the most prominent features of Cairo’s skyline, a centuries old bastion crowned by the minarets of the great Mosque of Mohammed Ali. Don’t leave without hunting out some souvenirs of your holiday in Cairo in the maze-like streets of the famous Khan-el-Khali Bazaar.