Cairo

A short history

The Giza pyramids were raised more than 4,500 years ago as tombs for Khufu, Khafre and Menkaure, and they were already ancient when the city beside them was founded. Cairo itself dates to 969 CE, when the Fatimids laid it out and founded Al-Azhar in the same year — still one of the oldest continuously operating universities anywhere. The old quarter that grew around it, with its minarets, madrasas and the Khan el-Khalili bazaar, has stood largely intact since the Mamluk era, which makes it one of the most complete medieval Islamic cityscapes left standing.

Why travellers love it

Few trips pack this much history into so little distance, and fewer still do it this cheaply. Cairo is one of the better-connected cities in the region and one of the least expensive to spend time in, the food is generous, and a first-time visitor can stand in front of the Sphinx in the morning and be drinking tea in a fourteenth-century bazaar by the afternoon.

Before you go

Most nationalities can buy a visa on arrival or apply for an e-visa before travelling; check what applies to your passport, because the rules differ by country. Go between October and April — high summer in Cairo is genuinely punishing, and the pyramids offer no shade. Traffic is the real constraint on any itinerary, so plan two major sights a day rather than four.

Highlights

• The Giza pyramids and the Sphinx
• The Egyptian Museum
• Khan el-Khalili bazaar
• Al-Azhar Mosque
• A felucca ride on the Nile

Flights to Cairo

• From Abu Dhabi
• From Dubai