Tourist information on Cairo, Egypt

Located on the banks of the River Nile, Cairo is the capital of Egypt and an important economic hub for North Africa and the Middle East. With a population of around 17 million, it is one of the mostly densely populated cities in the world. As well as being a centre of commerce, industry, religion and education, it is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world because of its rich cultural heritage and connection with the ancient world. The city's abundance of Islamic architecture has earned it the nickname the City of a Thousand Minarets. The best time to visit Cairo is during the winter (November to March) or spring (March to May). In the summer months, the elevated temperatures (which can reach 40 Celsius) are aggravated by the city's notorious traffic pollution problems.

Most visitors to Cairo arrive by air at Cairo International Airport, the second largest airport in Africa. The airport is served by the national carrier Egyptair and its Star Alliance partners, and is situated on the northeast outskirts of Heliopolis. Taxis and limousines provide a convenient way to get from the airport to downtown Cairo. Alternatively, take a public bus to Midan Tahrir or Midan Ramses from the bus station, which is connected to the airport terminals by a free shuttle bus. Ramses Station, Cairo's main train station, and Mubarak Metro Station are both located at Midan Ramses. There is a train service from Ramses Station to Alexandria, but to get to Luxor and Aswan you must catch a train from Giza Railway Station (which is twenty minutes from Ramses Station via the Metro). The Metro is the easiest way to get to Giza to see the Pyramids, although you have to change to bus for Al-Haram at the Giza train station.

It is Cairo's association with Ancient Egypt that has most made it a tourist hot spot. Top of the list of any visitor's itinerary should be the Pyramids of Giza and the Sphinx, the last surviving relics of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. This is closely followed by the Egyptian Museum on Midan Tahrir, the world's foremost collection of ancient Egyptian artefacts. Other attractions are: the Citadel in Islamic Cairo, a grand castle built by Saladin; Al-Azhar Mosque, home to the world's oldest university; Ibn Tulun, near Sayida Zeinab, the oldest and most beautiful mosque in Cairo; the Coptic Museum; the Hanging Church (in Zabaleen Area; and Cairo Tower on Gezira Island, offering a 360-degree view of Cairo.

The one area where Cairo is deficient in is in green open spaces. Of the few parks and gardens the city has to offer, the most visit-worthy are: Giza Zoo; Hadiqat Al Orman, a large park in the Giza district; Hadiqat Al Azbakiya, in the Azbakiya area; Genenet El Asmak, in Zamalek, which also offers caves and aquariums; Merryland, in Heliopolis, with attractive gardens and scenery; and El Hadiqa El Dawliya, in Nasr City, a park containing scale reproductions of famous buildings from around the world. Anyone looking for local bargains and wanting to master the art of haggling should visit the Khan al-Khalili bazaar, Cairo's busiest open air market.

Cairo's many districts vividly reflect the diversity of life in the city. Midan El Tahrir in at the heart of Cairo, a bustling city centre that includes the transport nexus and the Egyptian Museum, a must-see for all visitors to the city. Midan Ramses contains Cairo's main railway station and has become a major shopping area. Ma'adi and Heliopolis are modern suburbs (popular with expatriates and wealthy locals), whilst Zamalek is an upmarket, quieter area on Gezira Island. Islamic Cairo, towards the east, is the city's Islamic centre and contains the Citadel, the Mohamed Ali Mosque, Khan el Khalili (the main bazaar or souq), historic mosques, medieval architecture and the Turkish baths (Hammams). Old Cairo to the south includes Coptic Cairo, Fustat and Rhoda Island. Dokki and Mohandeseen, on the west bank of the Nile, offer upmarket shopping, restaurants and hotels. Giza, a sprawling western district, contains Giza Zoo and Giza Governorate (where the Giza Pyramids are located). Nasr City is a newer area which boasts City Stars, Cairo's largest and most up-to-date shopping mall (which includes a cinema and amusement park), situated near to Cairo's main airport.

Sited close to the ancient Egyptian cities of Memphis, Giza and Fustat, Cairo began to take its present form in 641 A.D , when the Arab general Amr Ibn Al-Ase conquered Egypt and founded a new capital called Misr Al-Fustat, the City of the Tents, which became a centre for Islam. The city was captured by the Tunisian Fatimid dynasty in 969 A.D and a new city, Al-Qahira (which means The Conqueror), was founded to the north of Al-Fustat. It is from Al-Qahira that the city derives its English name Cairo, but the locals refer to it as Masr. In 1168. the Fatamids, led by Vizier Shawar, set fire to Fustat, the country's administrative centre, to prevent it from falling to the Crusaders, and thereafter established Cairo as Egypt's capital. The city was expanded to include the ruins of Fustat and the previous capitals, Al-Askar and Al-Qatta'i. In 1169, Saladin became the first Sultan of Egypt, establishing the Ayyubid dynasty that brought an end to the Fatimid reign. It was Saladin who built the Citadel, which provided Egypt's seat of government until the mid-1800s.

Cairo fell to the Mamluks, slave soldiers who initiated extensive building work that pushed the city outwards. Cairo continued to flourish as the main centre of Islamic scholarship in the region. In 1517, the Mamluk reign passed to the Ottomans, under whom the city's importance diminished considerably. The Cairo continued to expand and became the second largest city of the Ottoman empire, after Istanbul. Various attempts by the French and the British to capture the city in the late 1700s, early 1800s failed and it was the instability resulting from the Ottomans' weakening grip on the area that allowed the Albanian Muhammad Ali Pasha to become viceroy of Egypt in 1805. Muhammad Ali initiated a number of large building projects and reforms which would not be completed until his grandson Isma'il Pasha came to power. It was Isma'il who brought Parisian design to the city, notably in the city's new wide avenues. Isma'il's attempts to modernise Cairo were very costly and allowed the city to fall under the control of the British in 1882. Egypt only succeeded in gaining independence from the British in 1922, and British troops remained in the county until 1956. It was in 1952 that much of central Cairo was devastated by a fire. Following independence, President Gamal Abdel Nasser continued the city's development, instigating important improvements to its infrastructure to accommodate its ever growing population.