Islamic Cairo is an area replete with medieval mosques, apartment buildings, and the greatest density of the people in the country - and probably the Middle East. Splendid mosques and imposing buildings still loom over narrow, crowded streets and bustling squares; the sweet, pungent aromas of turmeric, basil and cumin drift from open barrels, mix with the offensive odors of livestock, and grab at your nose like invisible fingers; and people go about...

The Great Pyramids consist of the Great Pyramid of Giza (known as the Great Pyramid and the Pyramid of Cheops), the somewhat smaller Pyramid of Khafre (or Chephren) a few hundred meters to the south-west, and the relatively modest-sized Pyramid of Menkaure (or Mykerinos) a few hundred meters further south-west. The Great Sphinx lies on the east side of the complex, facing east. Current consensus among Egyptologists is that the head of the Great...

Originally a Roman fortress town called Babylon, this part of Cairo was of a great importance to the early Christians. Egypt was one of the first countries to embrace the new Christian faith in the 1st century AD. The fortress was built about 900 years before the Fatimids founded Cairo, on a then-strategic point on the Nile. The river has since shifted its course about 400 meters west.The development of Coptic Christianity, and the monastic tradition...

Memphis, one the glorious Old Kingdom capital of Egypt, has almost completely vanished. It is believed that the city was founded around 3100 BC, probably by King Menes, when Upper and Lower Egypt were first united. It had many splendid palaces and gardens, and was one of the most renowned and populous cities of the ancient world. Like most Egyptians cities with any degrees of importance, Memphis also had it own deity, the all-powerful creator-god...

Queen Cleopatra of Egypt is the most well known of all the ancient egyptian queens. Cleopatra was born in Alexandria in 69 B.C. during the reign of the Ptolemy family to Ptolemy XII. Cleopatra appears to have been a popular name in the family, as her mother bore the name as well as an older sister, making the new daughter Cleopatra the Seventh, although she is rarely referred to as such. Cleopatra and her family were not Egyptian, but rather Macedonian,...