Sightseeing

Ben Ezra Synagogue in Coptic Cairo is one of the most important and famous synagogues in Egypt. It is considered the oldest synagogue in Egypt. It dates back to the 9th century AD.

This synagogue had an old copy of the Old Testament, and it is believed that it was written by the prophet Ezra or Al-Azir, so it is called with Ben Ezra Synagogue.

The history of this Synagogue: Originally, this building was a Christian church called El-Shamieen Church. But in 882, it was being sold to a group of Jews led by the Jewish religious scholar and philosopher Abraham Ben Ezra for 20,000 dinars.

It is built in the shape of a basilica style. It includes two floors. The first floor is dedicated to men and it contains the bimah, while the second one is dedicated to women.

It is decorated in Arabesque style and inlaid with mother of pearl, displaying a merge of artistic traditions.

Stories about this synagogue: It is said that this place of this Synagogue was where the box of Baby Moses was found.

Visit Ben Ezra Synagogue with Egypt Vacation Tours team Cairo day tours.

The Hanging Church is considered the oldest and most famous church in Egypt. It lies in Coptic Cairo beside the Babylon fortress.

The history of this church: This building was originally a Roman temple, but in the fourth century AD, after Christianity entered Egypt, it was transferred to be a church.

The Hanging Church became the seat of the Coptic Pope at the beginning of the eleventh century AD. Now, it is transferred to Abbasiya.

Let’s take a tour on the church: The first thing you will see is a group of mosaic icons referring to important events in Christianity as the miracle of transferring Mount Mokattam and the Journey of The Holy Family.

After that, you will see its Truss roof distinguishing this church. It is said that this roof referring to Noah’s Ark as a symbol of salvation and peace.

Then, you will enter the building of the church. It takes the Basilic design. At the end of the nave, there are three shrines for Mar Girgis, Virgin Mary, and John the Baptist.

At the end of this article, we will tell you why this church is called a hanging church. Originally, this church was called the Virgin Mary Church, but after that, it is called the Hanging Church because it was founded on two towers of the Babylon fortress, so it appeared as hanging.

Visit the oldest church in Egypt with Egypt Vacation Tours team with Day Tours to Coptic Cairo.

The Cavern Church has several names as Abu Serga Church, the St. Sergius Church, or Saints Sergius and Bacchus Church. It lies in Coptic Cairo beside the Hanging church.

The church is dedicated to Sergius and Bacchus, who were soldier-saints martyred during the 4th century in Syria by the Roman Emperor Maximian.

The Importance of Abu Serga Church In this place, there is the cave, where the Holy family (Virgin Mary and the Christ) hid during their journey in Egypt, fleeing Roman persecution. After that, the church was founded upon this cave because of its sanctity.

Visit the Cavern Church with Egypt Vacation Tours team with Day Tours to Coptic Cairo.

Monastery Palace is an artistic and architectural masterpiece overlooking the Nile River directly. Also, it is known as the Kiosk.

It was built by Hassan Fouad Pasha Al. Monastery, the Cairo Governor and Minister of the Interior in Abbas Pasha Period in 1851.

The palace is famous for its beautiful decorative style, and wooden architecture design, and the music room has a ceiling taking the dome shape making the music spread all over the room. Now, there are concerts are held in this room.

The Ministry of Antiquities turns this palace to be a museum in 1951.

Additionally, there is a wooden bridge is attached to this palace is called the Manasterly bridge.  You will be able to take fabulous photos there.

Visit this amazing palace with the Egypt Vacation Tours team with Day Tours to Coptic Cairo.

Also, enjoy visiting this palace and the Nilometer on a virtual tour provided by the ministry of tourism and antiquities via this link

Alexandria is the second largest city in Egypt and the largest city on the Mediterranean Sea. It is called with the Bride of the Mediterranean Sea.

The history of Alexandria This city was established by Alexander the Great in c. 331 BC. It was the center of Hellenistic civilization. He named this city Alexandria to bear his name throughout history. Unfortunately, the establishment of Alexandria city was completed, after Alexander the Great’s death.

Ptolemaic rulers and Roman emperors took it as their main capital for almost 1,000 years.

After that, in the Christian period, it became the center of the Patriarchate of Alexandria.

Also, Alexandria had a great position in the Islamic period. In the Mamluk period, Sultan Qaitbay contracted The Citadel of Qaitbay, which is one of the most landmarks in Alexandria.

Let’s take a tour in Alexandria City to see its sightseeing It is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Egypt.  It includes attractions from several times and cultures.

1 – The Lighthouse of Alexandria: It was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, but it does not exist now.

2 – The ancient library of Alexandria: It was the largest library in the ancient world.

3 – The catacomb of Alexandria

4 – Pompey’s Pillar

5 – Roman Amphitheater

6 – The Citadel of Qaitbay

7 – Montazah Palace

8 – Bibliotheca Alexandrina

9 – Eliyahu Hanavi Synagogue

10 – St. Mark Cathedral

11 – Abu Al-Abbas Al-Mursi Mosque

12 – Alexandria National Museum

13 – The Graeco-Roman Museum

14 – Royal Jewelry Museum

Visit this great city and discover its unique attractions with Egypt Vacation Tours  team. Kindly, submit on our day tours and packages to Alexandria.

Have you ever visited a royal palace? Do you want to do that and see designs from various cultures and countries? Manial Palace Museum in Al Rawda Island allows you to do this easily.

The history of Manial Palace Museum It belongs to Prince Mohamed Ali Tawfiq, a member of Muhammad Ali Pasha’s family. He decided to establish this palace to be his rule seat because he became the crown prince many times.

Let’s go on a tour in Manial Palace Museum It is good to be mentioned that Prince Mohamed Ali put the design of this palace by himself and this is documented on the slab placed on the gate.

After entering from the main gate, you will find the reception building, containing two floors, and has different rooms decorated with different styles like the Levantine hall and the Moroccan hall. Prince Mohamed Ali dedicated it to receiving his guests in ceremonies. 

After that, you will see the mosque. He was very keen on containing a mosque in this complex.

Then go to the residential building, where bedrooms, dining room, and office room.

Are you ready to be impressed? Now you will enter the throne hall, where Prince Mohamed Ali dreamed to rule Egypt. It distinguishes with the decorations on the ceiling presenting the sun disk with its golden rays.

This building consists of two floors. On the second floor, there are three rooms. The first one is the Abison room. It is called with its name because its walls are covered with Abison fabric.

After that, the summer salon where they are used to stay in the summer season because of the Iranian faience covering the walls providing cool the atmosphere.

Then the winter salon where they are used to stay in the winter season because its walls are covered with wood for warming the climate.

At the end of your tour, you will visit the hunting museum, displaying mummified animals, birds, and reptiles hunted by Khedive Tawfiq and Prince Yusef Kamal.

Visit this fabulous palace with Egypt Vacation Tours day tours to enjoy discovering it with our experts.

Abydos Temple lies in Sohag Governorate, north of Luxor. It is considered one of the most important archaeological sites in Egypt.

The history of Abydos City Abydos was one of the oldest cities of the ancient Egyptian civilization. It had a great position, as the ancient Egyptians thought that the god Osiris (the god of the dead and the underworld) was buried there. So it became a destination for pilgrims and kings of the 1st and 2nd dynasties who decided to found their tombs and temples in this holy city as king Narmer, the first king of a unified Egypt.

Let’s take a tour in Abydos Temple or Temple of King Seti I Firstly, you should know that this temple was constructed by King Seti I and completed by his son, the great king Ramesses II. You will note that the design of this temple taking the shape of “L” letter.

The façade takes the shape of a square-columned façade with 12 massive pillars. This façade leads to 7 chambers dedicated to 7 ancient Egyptian gods, who are Ptah, Ra Hor Akhty, Amun-Re, Osiris, Isis, Horus, and king Seti I as a god.

This temple distinguishes with its inscriptions, which depicted king Seti I and king Ramesses II giving offerings to many gods.

But what distinguishes this temple is containing Abydos King List, the complete list for the ancient Egyptian kings. This list is from the 19^th dynasty. It is a chronological list showing 76 cartouches of most dynastic pharaohs of Egypt from Menes until Seti I.

Also, there is a mysterious relief showing a Helicopter. Do you think the ancient Egyptian knew Helicopters? Our experts will till you during your tour.

Enjoy Temple of Seti I with Egypt Vacation Tours experts, and discover the history ancient Egyptian kings.

Dendera Temple Complex or Hathor Temple, the magnificent temple, is the best-preserved temple in Egypt. It lies on the west bank of the Nile River in Qena city, north of Luxor.

The history of Dendera Temple Dendera city houses a necropolis containing mastabas dating back to the Early Dynastic Period.

The remains of Dendera Temple dates back to the first dynasty, but the current one is back to the Greco-Roman period during the era of the Ptolemy Auletes.

This temple was dedicated to worshipping the goddess Hathour, the goddess of love, music, and maternity.

Let’s have a tour in Dendera Temple It was established on 40,000 square meters. You will enter from the gateway established during the Roman Emperor Domitian. Then you will move to the great hall decorated with columns holding the face of goddess Hathour. Finally, you will see the Holy of Holies, where the triad (the god Horus, the goddess Hathour, and their son Ihy), and astonished with its magnificent ceiling, decorated with stars.

Here, you will find stairs leading to the roof, where several festivals occurred as the celebration of the New Year.

In Hathor Temple, you will be fascinated with its well-preserved inscriptions.

Also, it is famous with the zodiac of Dendera. It includes the twelve figures as the ram, the bull, the heavenly twins, the crab, the lion, the virgin, the scales, the scorpion, the archer, the goat, the watering pots, and fishes with glittering tails. A sketch was made of it during the Napoleonic campaign in Egypt. In 1820 it was removed from the temple ceiling by French colonizers and replaced with a fake. The real one is now in the Louvre.

Additionally, the relief of the light Dendera. It is one of the ancient Egyptian secrets. Do you believe that the ancient Egyptians knew the lightbulb?

Enjoy the magic of Dendera Temple Complex with Egypt Vacation Tours experts, and discover the ancient Egyptians’ secrets.

Finally, you can discover the step pyramid from inside. After 14 years of restoration, the step pyramid opens its doors to the public for exploring it from the inside.

Firstly, we need to take about the King Djoser Complex This complex belongs to King Djoser from the third dynasty, the old kingdom. The vizier, Imhotep, designed this complex to be the first complete stone building complex in the ancient Egyptian civilization.

This complex contains the burial tomb of King Djoser, the step pyramid. The step pyramid is the most conspicuous sightseeing of Saqqara. It stands 60 meters high and was constructed with six mastabas, so the researchers believe that this pyramid refers to the architectural development of the royal mastabas in the first and second dynasties.

Let’s go on a tour inside the step pyramid We will enter the step pyramid from the southern entrance. This entrance is not the main entrance but was established in the 26th dynasty to discover what is inside this pyramid. The main entrance built during the King Djoser period is the northern one.

The southern entrance leads to tunnels taking approx. 28 meters, where you will be allowed to see the burial chamber of King Djoser from the top and his sarcophagus. Also, you will be able to go down to see the sarcophagus closely.

Discover the secrets of Saqqara, the step pyramid from inside, and its attractions with Egypt Vacation Tours experts.