Sightseeing

Baron Empain Palace is the most famous landmark of Heliopolis, the city of the sun. This palace suffered from neglect for many years until the Ministry of Antiquities bought, received it from its owners, and began to restore it in 2007. The restoration work finished, and the palace is opened on Jun 29, 2020.

But before talking about this great palace, we should first talk about the owner or the founder of it, Baron Edward Empain. 

Let me introduce Baron Edward Empain to you.  He was a Belgian engineer and businessman. Empain is not a part of his name. It is a title. Baron Edward was awarded this title by the king of France due to his efforts in the establishment of the Paris metro. 

He came to Egypt in 1894 and adored it, so he decided to stay in it and asked the Egyptian government to build a new city in the desert, It became Heliopolis city. He founded this whole city with the help of Ernst Jasper, the Belgian architect. Additionally, he built the first tram in Cairo to connect between Cairo city and Heliopolis.

Baron Empain died on July 22, 1929, in Belgium, though was buried in Egypt in Basilica Church as he willed. 

Now, let’s go to visit Baron Empain Palace

Baron Edward Empain got help from Alexandre Marcel, the French engineer, in the construction of this palace. 

The first thing you will see is its amazing garden. It fills with several statues taking the Indian and Cambodian style. This garden houses the building founded by the reinforced concrete structure that was a new thing in Egypt at that time. 

Let go inside the palace.

The palace consists of four floors: 

 – The basement

 – The first floor contains three rooms. The middle one is decorated with the Indian and Cambodian style, but another two rooms are decorated with the European style. 

 – The second floor contains four bedrooms, including bathrooms. 

 – The roof was used in holding the concerts and parties. 

Now is the time for legends

It is said that this palace has a legend in every corner of it

– One of the stories says that the palace tower rotates to offer a 360-degree view of the surrounding area to follow the sun.

– Baron Edward Empain used magical tricks during the construction of the palace. 

– Baron Edward Empain killed Alexandre Marcel and buried his corpse in the garden of the palace.

All of these stories and more link with this palace due to the neglect it suffered for many years.

Enjoy discovering this unique landmark with Egypt Vacation Tours day tours. 

Salah El-Din Citadel or Cairo Citadel is built by Salah El-Din Al-Ayoubi, the founder of the Ayyubid Dynasty in 1176 to be a fortress and seat of rule for nearly 700 years. It stopped being the seat of the rule when Khedive Ismail transferred it to Abdeen Palace in 1874.

Salah El-Din Al-Ayoubi decided to construct this citadel on Mokattam hills for use this strategic position allowing him to expose the whole city and made it difficult to attack. In 1976, UNESCO considered it one of the heritage sites in Islamic Cairo.

This citadel houses several museums as the National Military Museum and the Police Museum and mosques as Sultan Al-Nasir Muhammad Mosque, Mosque of Suleiman Pasha El Khadim, and Muhammad Ali Mosque.

Al-Nasir Muhammad Mosque It was built in the Mamluk period in 1318. It distinguishes with its green Dom.

Muhammad Ali Mosque Muhammad Ali Pasha began its construction in 1830, but it was completed in 1857 by Said Pasha, son of Muhammad Ali Pasha. Muhammad Ali Pasha willed to be buried in this mosque so you can see his cemetery inside the mosque.

Muhammad Ali Mosque is also known as the Alabaster Mosque due to its walls are coated with alabaster. It was established in the Turkish style, as the mosque is divided into two parts. The first part is the courtyard, while the second is the house of prayer. Also, it distinguishes with its domes and minarets taking the pencil shape. Some opinions believe that this mosque is similar to the blue mosque belonging to Sultan Ahmed in Turkey.

Enjoy visiting Salah El-Din Citadel and Islamic Cairo sightseeing with Egypt Vacation Tours experts.

Khan El khalili Bazaar is the most famous souq, It was built in the Mamluk period as a center of trade.

Also, it includes workshops for the Egyptian artisans, who create and produce traditional crafts and souvenirs.

Let’s know about the history of this bazaar When the Fatimids founded Cairo city, they divided it into two sections. The first one contained the eastern royal palace, while the second houses the western royal palace. Today, the location of Khan El-Khalili Bazaar is the southern end of the eastern Fatimid Palace.

Dajaharks Al-Khalili founded this bazaar in the 14th century, so it is called El khalili Bazaar.

The design of the bazaar was multi-storied structures. The bazaar centered around an inner peristyle courtyard, where traders could store their merchandise, while the upper levels were used for housing.

The bazaar contains several coffeehouses, shops, and restaurants. The most famous traditional Arabic coffee there is El Fishawi. In this coffee, the Egyptian author Naguib Mahfouz spent a lot of time.

Enjoy your time in this fabulous bazaar and buy a unique souvenir making you do not forget this unique tour with Egypt Vacation Tours team.

El Moez Street or El Moez li-Din Allah al-Fatimi Street is one of the oldest streets in Cairo city. It was founded within the construction of Cairo city during the Fatimid period under the caliph Al-Mu’izz li-Din Allah.

El Moez St. runs from the north, where the gate of Bab al-Futuh to the south, where the gate of Bab Zuweila. Both entrances were established by the vizier Badr al-Jamali in the 11th century when he rebuilt some buildings in Cairo city, including its walls. Its length is approx. one kilometer long, which makes it considered one of the longest streets in the walled city.

The vital role of this street made people were building in it souqs as Khan El khalili Bazaar, religious buildings as Al-Hakim Mosque, and charitable buildings as Madrasa of Barquq. These buildings date back to different Islamic periods such as the Abbasid, Fatimid, Mamluk, and Ottoman periods.

Let’s go on a tour in El Moez Street to see some of its sightseeing
• Madrasa of Barquq: This complex contains a mosque, a mausoleum, and a school. This school or madrasa (in the Arabic language) was for teaching the four Islamic schools.
• Al-Hakim Mosque:It lies beside the gate of Bab al-Futuh in the north of Cairo city. This mosque originally built by Al-Aziz, the father of Al-Hakim, but Al-Hakim completed it, so the mosque is called Al-Hakim Mosque.

  

• Sabil of Sulayman Agha al-Silahdar: This sabil is a good example for displaying how people used to drink in old times while walking around the street.

  

Discover more attractions of El Moez St. with Egypt Vacation Tours experts by submitting on our day tours.

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.

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.