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