Cairo, Egypt

Islamic and Coptic Cairo — the Citadel, Al-Muizz and Old Cairo

A thousand years of Cairo in a day: the Citadel above the city, the medieval street the city grew along, and the churches and synagogue in the oldest quarter of all.

Full day, about 8 hours Private tour Private — your group only Hotel pick-up anywhere in Cairo, Giza or Zamalek, included.

Trip highlights

The Citadel of Saladin and the alabaster Mosque of Muhammad Ali
Walking Al-Muizz Street, a thousand years of architecture still in use
Khan el-Khalili with time to actually look, and honest advice on prices
The Hanging Church, Ben Ezra Synagogue and Coptic Cairo
Tea where Cairenes drink it, not where coaches stop

About this tour

This is the Cairo that people who only see the pyramids go home without.

We start high, at the Citadel of Saladin, built in 1176 and still looking down over the whole city — the Mosque of Muhammad Ali inside it is all alabaster and Ottoman domes, and the terrace outside gives you the best overview of Cairo you will get from the ground.

Then down into Al-Muizz Street, which has been the spine of the medieval city for a thousand years and is now one of the greatest concentrations of Islamic architecture anywhere. Mosques, madrasas, merchants' houses and sabils, most of them still in use. It runs straight into Khan el-Khalili, where the bazaar has been trading since the fourteenth century — we give you time there without a stopwatch, and your guide will tell you what a fair price actually is.

We finish in Coptic Cairo, quiet and shaded, where the Hanging Church stands on a Roman gate tower and the Ben Ezra Synagogue sits a two-minute walk from it. Three religions inside a few hundred metres, which is the truer story of this city than any single monument.

How the day runs

1Step
The Citadel of Saladin

The fortress and the Mosque of Muhammad Ali, and the terrace view across the whole city to the pyramids on a clear day.
2Step
Coptic Cairo

The Hanging Church, the Church of St Sergius and Bacchus, and the Ben Ezra Synagogue, all within the walls of Roman Babylon.
3Step
Lunch

Egyptian food at a restaurant locals use.
4Step
Al-Muizz Street

On foot down the medieval spine of Cairo
5Step
Khan el-Khalili and tea

The bazaar, and a stop at one of the old coffee houses in the lanes behind it.
6Step
Return

Back to your hotel in the late afternoon.

What's included

Private air-conditioned vehicle and professional driver
Licensed English-speaking Egyptologist guide
Hotel pick-up and drop-off
All entrance tickets on the itinerary
Lunch at a local restaurant
Bottled water throughout the day

Not included

Shopping
Tipping for your guide and driver
Personal expenses

Questions about this tour

A good deal, and much of it on uneven medieval paving. It is the nature of the day — Al-Muizz cannot be driven. Comfortable shoes, and tell us if that is a problem so we can shorten the walking sections.

Shoulders and knees covered for the mosques and churches. Women should bring a scarf for the mosques rather than relying on the ones at the door. Otherwise, whatever is comfortable.

You will be approached — that is Khan el-Khalili and always has been. Your guide stays with you, and a firm "no thank you" once is enough. We do not take commission from shops, so nobody is steering you anywhere.