Cairo

Cairo History

Cairo is located along the banks of the River Nile for 40 km (25 miles) north to south and is characterized as the largest City in the Middle East and Africa and is Egypt's administrative center and, along with Alexandria, the heart of its economy. Though, Cairo as a city did gain its position as a prominence in the long timeline of Egyptian
History recently as it did not exist until the Romans rebuild an old Persian fortress along the Nile in AD 116, Babylon - in - Egypt (in today's Old Cairo district).

Cairo itself was founded in 969 by the Fatimid general "Juhar AL Rumi" to be the capital of Egypt. Along the years and exactly from the latter ninth century the Arab rulers made their marks on the city. In the 12th Century Saladin ended Fatimid rule and established the Ayyubite dynasty (1171 - 1250) to defend the city against Crusaders and erected (c. 1179) the citadel and extended the walls of the city, parts of which remain. In the 13th century, the Mamluks rose to power, then the Ottomans, the French under
Napoleon and finally the British ruled in their turn.
Under the rule of the Ottoman, Muhammad Ali (ruled 1805 - 49) Cairo became the capital of a virtually independent country and grew in commercial importance.
The actual birth of modern Cairo came in 1863, when the ruler Ismail expanded the city along the nile in the style of the European cities. After the Country returned to the Egyptian rule in 1952, Cairo rose to the forefront as the capital of the Arab world.

Entertainment in Cairo

Cairo comes alive at night, the best time to shop, eat delicious Middle Eastern cuisine, or simply watch the world go by from a pavement café. You can dine in a floating restaurant on the Nile, enjoy the atmosphere at an Egyptian coffee-shop or see oriental shows at hotels. The splendid Opera House complex houses several galleries (including the Museum of Modern Art), restaurants and concert halls. Listening to Arabic music under the stars, in the open-air theater, is a magical experience. At El-Ghuriya, in the heart of Islamic Cairo, you can watch folk musicians and whirling dervish dancers. Make sure not to miss the most essential after-dark experience, the Sound and Light show at the Pyramids, a dramatic fusion of light and music recounting the story of antiquity.

Modern Cairo vs Old Cairo

Modern Caireans consider Central Cairo to consist of the area bordered by Old Cairo to the south, Islamic Cairo to the east and the Nile River to the west, but this covers a number of different districts.
Two distinct cities, the new and the old, make up Cairo. Modern Cairo faces the Nile. Its wide avenues are lined with blocks of modern apartment houses, skyscraper office buildings, government buildings, theaters, and smart shops. It extends eastward from the Nile to the Place Ezbekieh, which adjoins the 20-acre Ezbekieh Gardens. On the place stands the opera house, built for the celebrations that attended the completion of the Suez Canal. Here also stood the first Shepherd's, a world-famous Swiss hotel that catered to foreigners.

Old Cairo actually predates Cairo itself to old Babylon and the Romans. Located here are some of the oldest Christian Churches in the World, as well as one of the oldest Mosques.
Although old Cairo has many fine examples of Arab architecture, most of it is a slum of crumbling mud-brick tenements. Therefore are many streets narrow and unpaved.
From the Place Ezbekieh, Muski Street runs eastward into the oldest section. On Muski is Cairo's most famous bazaar, where one can buy almost anything. Narrow alleys are lined with tiny shops that are open to the street. In the shops craftsmen sit cross-legged, tooling leather, weaving rugs, or working metal. Passersby are besieged by peddlers selling sweets and souvenirs and by beggars--the crippled, the blind, and the very poor.