Architecture in Cairo

Abdin Palace

Cairo

Al-Aqmar Mosque

Cairo

Al-Azhar Mosque

Cairo

Al-Azhar Mosque stands at the heart of historic Islamic Cairo and is one of the oldest and most revered mosques in the Islamic world. Founded in 970 CE by the Fatimid Caliph al-Mu'izz li-Din Allah, it was the first mosque of the new capital and inspired Cairo's nickname "City of a Thousand Minarets." Its name is thought to derive from az-Zahrā', an honorific for Fatima, the daughter of the Prophet Muhammad. Part of the UNESCO World Heritage site of Islamic Cairo, the complex layers more than a thousand years of architectural history — from original Fatimid arches to later Mamluk and Ottoman additions. It remains an active place of worship and one of Egypt's most powerful historical monuments.

Al-Fattah Al-Aleem Mosque

Cairo

Al-Rifa'i Mosque

Cairo

Bab Al-Nasr

Cairo

Bab Zuweila

Cairo

Baron Empain Palace

Cairo

Blue Mosque

Cairo

Bubasteion of Saqqara

Cairo

Buried Pyramid

Cairo

Cairo International Airport

Cairo

Cairo International Airport is Egypt's primary aviation hub and one of the busiest on the African continent. Located in the northeast of the capital, it serves as the home base for state carrier EgyptAir and offers direct connections to all major continents. The airport acts as a key bridge between Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. For most travellers, it provides the first impression of Cairo — characterised by its busy energy, heat, and the hazy horizon that hangs over the Nile metropolis.

Cairo Tower

Cairo

Cathedral of the Nativity

Cairo

Egyptian Museum

Cairo

funerary complex of Sultan Qaytbay

Cairo

The funerary complex of Sultan Qaytbay was built between 1472 and 1474 by the Mamluk Sultan al-Ashraf Qaytbay in Cairo's Northern Cemetery (the City of the Dead). Art historians regard it as one of the finest masterpieces of Islamic architecture: the slender multi-tiered minaret and the intricately carved stone dome are considered pinnacles of Mamluk craftsmanship. The building is also depicted on the Egyptian one-pound note. The complex combines a mosque, mausoleum, Quran school, and inn, and remains an active mosque today.

Great Pyramid of Giza

Cairo

Layer Pyramid

Cairo

Madrasa of Sultan al-Nasir Muhammad ibn Qalawun

Cairo

The Madrasa of Sultan al-Nasir Muhammad ibn Qalawun is a medieval Quranic school and mausoleum complex in the historic Bayn al-Qasrayn area along al-Muizz Street in Cairo. Begun under Sultan Kitbugha around 1294 and completed by al-Nasir Muhammad, it was inaugurated in 1303. The building forms part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Islamic Cairo and is notable for its striking facade incorporating Gothic elements borrowed from Crusader churches. It stands immediately beside the earlier Qalawun complex and ranks among Egypt's most significant Mamluk structures.

Mahmoud Khalil Museum

Cairo

The Mohamed Mahmoud Khalil Museum in Giza is housed in a grand early 20th-century palace. It holds an important private collection of European art assembled by Mohamed Mahmoud Khalil and his French wife – including works of Impressionism and Post-Impressionism. Opened in 1962, it is one of the rare museums in the Arab world focused primarily on Western painting. The palace's elegant architecture forms a striking backdrop for the collection.

Mosque of Sultan al-Muayyad

Cairo

The Mosque of Sultan al-Mu'ayyad stands beside Bab Zuwayla, the southern gate of Fatimid Cairo, and is one of the finest examples of Mamluk architecture in Egypt. Built between 1415 and 1421 by Sultan al-Mu'ayyad Shaykh, it replaced a prison where the sultan himself had once been held. Its most distinctive feature: the two minarets were built not alongside but directly on top of the medieval towers of Bab Zuwayla — unique to this mosque in all of Cairo. The complex includes the Friday mosque, two mausoleums containing the sultan's tomb, and a former madrasa. Part of the UNESCO World Heritage site of Islamic Cairo, it represents the height of Mamluk architectural achievement.

Pyramid of Djoser

Cairo

Pyramid of Khafre

Cairo

Pyramid of Khendjer

Cairo

The Great Sphinx

Cairo

The Great Sphinx of Giza is the most famous and largest sphinx in the world – a recumbent lion with a human head, carved directly from the bedrock limestone of the Giza Plateau. Believed to have been created during the reign of Pharaoh Khafre (c. 2558–2532 BC) in the 4th Dynasty of the Old Kingdom, the sculpture measures approximately 73 metres in length and 20 metres in height. It was originally thought to have been painted in vivid colours. For millennia it lay almost entirely buried in desert sand until systematic excavations in the 19th and early 20th centuries uncovered it. The Sphinx guards the Giza necropolis with its three famous pyramids and is one of the last surviving monuments of the ancient Seven Wonders of the World.