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| The Great Sphinx and the Pyramid of Cheops (Cairo, Egypt) |
Cairo, Egypt
Cairo is the capital of Egypt. It is the biggest city in Africa and the Arab world and the 17th largest metro area in the world. The modern city of Cairo extends to the north of the old Muslim city and located between the fortress of the citadel and the Nile. Today, Cairo is Africa's most populous city and the cultural center of the Arab world. Cairo has been a tourist destination since the 19th century, as people from all over the world visited the monuments and antiquities of ancient Egypt, especially the pyramids.
The Great Sphinx and the Pyramid of Cheops
The Great Sphinx of Giza is a sculpture that was cut in the 26th century BC, probably as part of the funerary complex of the Pharaoh Khafre, who was buried in the central pyramid of the necropolis. Behind it is the Great Pyramid of Cheops, Built between 2551 and 2528 BC, the Great Pyramid is the largest of the pyramids in the Giza necropolis, on the outskirts of Cairo.
The Necropolis
Located on the outskirts of the city of the same name, some 20 km to the south of Cairo, this necropolis holds the pyramids of the pharaohs Cheops, Khafre, and Menkaure - the only one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World still standing. This enclave was first used as the necropolis of Memphis, the capital of Ancient Egypt from the Second Dynasty, between 2850 and 2700 BC. The three pyramids were raised as a funerary monument for the aforementioned pharaohs from the Fourth Dynasty.
Mosque of iban Tulun
Built in the 9th century by the Abbasid governor Ahmad iban Tulun, this great Islamic mosque is the oldest mosque in the city still standing in its original form.
Saladin's Fortress
Located on a hill to the east of the old city, this fortress was built in 1176 at the orders of the sultan Saladin, the rival of the Christian kings during the Third Crusade. It was the castle of the governors of the region until the 19th century.
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