Is the capital and largest city of Egypt. The city's
metropolitan area is the largest in the Middle East and the
Arab world, and the 15th-largest in the world. It is
associated with ancient Egypt; as the famous Giza pyramid
complex and the ancient city of Memphis that are located in
its geographical area. Located near the Nile Delta, modern
Cairo was founded in 969 CE by the Fatimid dynasty. Today the
city is the site of ancient national capitals whose remnants
remain visible in parts of Old Cairo. Cairo has long been a
center of the region's political and cultural life, and is
titled "the city of a thousand minarets" for its preponderance
of Islamic architecture. Cairo is considered a World City with
a "Beta + classification according to GaWC. Has the oldest and
largest film and music industry in the Arab world, as well as
the world's second-oldest institution of higher learning,
Al-Azhar University. Many international media, businesses, and
organizations have regional headquarters in the city; the Arab
League has had its headquarters in Cairo for most of its
existence. With a population of 6.76 million spread over 453
square kilometers (175 sq mi), Cairo is by far the largest
city in Egypt. An additional 9.5 million inhabitants live in
close proximity to the city. Like many other mega-cities,
suffers from high levels of pollution and traffic. Cairo's
metro, one of the two major ones in Africa (the other in
Algiers, Algeria), ranks among the fifteen busiest in the
world, with over 1 billion annual passenger rides. The economy
of Cairo ranked first in the Middle East in 2005, and 43rd
globally on Foreign Policy's 2010 Global Cities Index.
Full day Old Cairo Tour * (9:30 Citadel of Saladin + 12:00
visit El-Moazz Street and El-Akmar Mosque and Fatimid School +
13:30 Lunch at Mahoney Restaurant + 16:30 City tour at Khan
El-Khalily)
Full day Old Cairo & Egyptian Museum Tour * (9:30 Egyptian
museum + 12:30 Lunch by the River Nile + 13:30 pm Old Cairo
area (Coptic & Islamic) + 19:00 Nile Cruise Dinner