Shopping Keeps The Essence of Cairo Holidays Alive

If you are fond of shopping, plan holidays to Cairo and experience an incredible blend of shopping and history. The city is home to old bazaars as well as several malls.
Cairo is widely known for its intriguing Egyptian history. However, if you think Cairo is only about pyramids and ancient monuments, you are slightly wrong as the capital city of Egypt is the largest metropolitan region in the entire Africa. So, while enjoying holidays in Cairo, you don’t find dearth of world class hotels and top rated service. Large number people visit Cairo to enjoy shopping as well.

The city is home to several bazaars also known as souqs. While visiting these bazaars, you get an opportunity to experience rich Egyptian culture. Walking through bustling streets, you would come across different sights and variety of items. From these bazaars, you can buy shoes, camels, books, household items, carpets and variety of other products. According to experts, if you are going to shop around in the bazaars, leave your precious belongings such as jewelry back in hotel so that you don’t need to bother about the security and safety of your belongings. Cairo holidays satiate the hunger of shopaholics looking for great souvenirs.

One of the oldest bazaars in the city is Khan Al-Khalili. If you know the art of bargaining, this bazaar is the place for you. You can get your favorite mementos at reasonable price. This medieval souk has become an integral part of cheap Cairo holidays. While strolling around the bazaar, you would come across variety of traditional items such as handicrafts, jewelry, metalwork, textiles, lamps and spices. On Sundays, most of the shops are closed.

Another popular shopping spot in Cairo is Mahmoud Abd El Ghaffar - Al Wikalah. This outlet has four floors and it specializes in dance costumes. Besides new styles and designs, you would also come across old dresses. Wide range of folklore costumes, hip scarves and dancing shoes is available in the outlet. Another shop that can be tried to buy good traditional costumes is Yasser. This outlet is known for offering most trending clothes in the entire city. Therefore, shopping buffs never miss out von visiting this shop while enjoying Cheap holidays in Cairo.

If you are a brand freak, you can visit any of the malls in the city. One of the most popular malls in Cairo is Arkadia Mall. This is the largest one in the downtown area. The mall features more than 500 shops. Kids can have great time at the games arcade. Other popular malls in the city are Galleria, Towers Mall, Maddi City Centre and City Stars.

Museums that should be a Part of Cairo Holiday Packages

Holidays in Cairo are incomplete without visiting its museums. Visit the city’s museums to peep into the rich history and explore spectacular arts.
Are you interested in exploring ancient history? If your answer is yes, you cannot miss on visiting Cairo. This is the city where you can explore some of the most important chapters of ancient history. So, plan cheap holidays to Cairo to spend time at the pyramids and peep into the intriguing the past of the region. The Egyptian city is also famous for its spectacular arts and religious richness. Visiting museums in the city is the best option to experience every bit of this charming city.

Cairo is home to several museums. One of the most important museums in the city is the Museum of Islamic Art and Islamic Ceramics. If you are an art lover, you should refrain from plan Cairo holiday packages that don’t have this museum in the list of attractions. While walking around the museum, you would come across extensive collection of spectacular antiquities. These antiquities allows you to take a look at the different periods that city/country has gone through.

Objects that have been exhibited in the museum are collected from various mosques in the country. Today, it has emerged as one of the most important Islamic museums in the world. Collection that you would find in this museum was housed in National Library. The objects are displayed in chronological order. The collection consists of tapestries, glassware, textiles, mosque lamps Iranian and Turkish carpets, pulpits and ceramics. Main attraction in the museum is the depiction of calligraphy which is being used all through the Muslim world.

Another museum that cannot be missed while enjoying Cairo holidays is the Coptic Museum. This beautiful museum is located in the old city. It is a just a walk away from St. George metro station. Morkos Smeika Pasha founded this museum in 1910. While walking around the museum, you would come across magnificent examples of tapestries, and textiles. The museum is situated between lush gardens and courtyards. Exhibitions in the museum focus on history of Christianity in Egypt. The museum is surrounded by six churches. The church of St Sergius and Hanging Church’ of the Virgin Mary are two of them.

If you are planning cheap Cairo holidays with your kids, you cannot afford to miss on visiting The Child Museum. Kids can learn a lot about culture, history and civilization of Egypt. The museum is divided into halls namely Discovery Hall, the Hall of Deserts, the River Nile Hall and Red Sea Hall. If your kids are interested in their own research, take them to the Information Hall where they can explore through variety of books and CD ROMs.

Popular and Old Mosques to See in Cairo Holidays

Cairo is also known as the historical and religious place of Egypt. This town offer different old churches and mosques. While planning holidays to Cairo visit popular mosques like Mohamed Ali Mosque, The Ibn Tulun Mosque and the Al-Azhar mosque.
Cairo is the capital of Egypt and this place offer different religious places to see. Those who are planning holidays in Cairo can visit oldest, largest and popular mosques of the town. Start from the Mohamed Ali Mosque also known as Citadel of Saladin. The Mohammed Ali Mosque was constructed between 1824 and 1857 in the Ottoman designs.

The mosque was planned to boom the huge imperial mosques of the Ottoman Empire. This wonderful structure was constructed by Mohammad Ali Pasha who is considered the originator of modern Egypt. This mosque is open daily and you can visit this in your cheap Cairo holidays. This place is significant exploring for its bazaars and warren like streets. Islamic Cairo is particular place where you'll see many mosques such as the Citadel and the Khan Al-Khalili bazaar. This bazaar is known for shopping.

The Ibn Tulun Mosque is another great and one of the largest mosques in the world. This is also known as the historic mosque of Cairo constructed by Ahmad Ibn Tulun. This is one recognized for its beautiful architecture and inimitable minaret. While booking holidays to Cairo include this mosque for sure and see one of the most historical, largest and oldest structures of Cairo. The whole compound of the Mosque of Ibn Tulun is encircled by a wall and wraps more than six acres. Total area of the complex is 26, 318 sq m, it is considered as the third largest in the world. Visit this mosque in Cairo tours and see this great place. The archway of the courtyard galleries are decorated with delightfully carved stucco, for the first time this standard was used in Cairo. This is one of its kinds in Egypt and sculpted after the minarets of Samarra with a curved stairway around the outside. Andalusian persuades can also be seen in the horseshoe curves of the minaret windowpanes and other places. This was brought to Egypt by Muslim refugees who were determined out of Spain by the Reconquista.

Another most popular mosque is the Al-Azhar mosque it houses the oldest university in the world from 970AD. This is also known as the Al-Azhar University in Cairo and considered as one of the oldest working universities in the world. The Islamic university is associated to the attractive and notable Al-Azhar Mosque. While enjoying Cairo holidays visit this place and see huge structure of this place that depicts the styles of various centuries.