Cairo was founded by the Fatimads in 969 and quickly became one of the chief cities of the Muslim world. It has since grown monstrously to a city of sixteen million people. It is a seething riot of color and activity that can seduce and repel at the same time. It is also the center of five thousand years of history, from the first pyramid builders, to the modern Arab Republic.

The Pyramids of Giza

The Pyramids of Giza, or the Great Pyramids, were built some forty five centuries ago to be the burial places of ancient pharaohs. The largest pyramid, the Pyramid of Khufu, is 478 feet high and is built of two and a third million limestone blocks, each weighing two and a half tons each. The next smallest pyramid, the Pyramid of Khafre is about three meters or so smaller than the Pyramid of Khufu, though it is at a higher elevation and therefore looks taller. The smallest pyramid, the Pyramid of Menkaure, is about 203 feet tall. There is not much to see inside any of the pyramids, but the climb down to the lowest burial chamber is nevertheless impressive. The acoustics are remarkable too.

Nearby is the enigmatic statue known as the Sphinx, carved out of the natural bedrock at the end of the causeway from Khafre’s Pyramid and is thought to date from that pharaoh’s reign.

A great way to see the Pyramids of Giza is to hire a camel from one of the Bedouins who are encamped around the area. Be sure to bargain, as that is expected. Also, there is an excellent sound and light show that highlights all of the monuments on the Giza plain.

Egyptian Museum

The Egyptian Museum contains over a hundred thousand antiquities from every period of Egyptian history. The centerpiece of the collection is, of course, the burial treasure of young Pharaoh Tutankhamun, including the astonishing gold death mask. Also be sure to visit the Royal Mummy Room, the Amarna Room, devoted to Akhenaten, the 'heretic king' who tried to institute the worship of one God fifteen centuries before Christ, the Graeco-Roman Mummies; the glittering galleries in Room 2 that display an astounding array of finery extracted from New Kingdom tombs found at the Delta site of Tanis; and the larger-than-life-size statue of Khafre, which many consider to be the museum's masterpiece.