Cairo Citadel, Civilization Museum and Old Cairo

Highlights

Inclusions

Itinerary

1. The Citadel was built on a promontory beneath the Muqattam Hills, a setting that made it difficult to attack. There have been three major construction periods leading to the Citadel's current form: 12th-century Ayyubid (starting with Saladin), 14th-century Mamluk (under al-Nasir Muhammad), and in the 19th century under Muhammad Ali

   2 h

2. The permanent collection is divided into two separate regions, one chronological the other thematic. The chronological areas will be the following: Archaic, Pharaonic, Greco-Roman, Coptic, Medieval, Islamic, modern and contemporary. The thematic areas will be the following: Dawn of Civilization, The Nile, Writing, State and Society, Material Culture, Beliefs and Thinking and the Gallery of Royal Mummies. UNESCO provided technical help to the museum. The collections was taken from other Egyptian museums such as the Egyptian Museum, the Coptic Museum, the Museum of Islamic Art, the Manial Palace and Museum in Cairo, and the Royal Jewelry Museum in Alexandria. On 3 April 2021, the museum was officially opened, right before the moving of 22 mummies, including 18 kings and four queens, from the Egyptian Museum in an event termed the Pharaohs' Golden Parade.

   2 h

3. Saints Sergius and Bacchus Church is traditionally believed to have been built on the spot where the Holy Family, Joseph, Mary and the infant Jesus Christ, rested at the end of their journey into Egypt. They may have lived here while Joseph worked at the fortress. The church is of significant historical importance, and in fact, it is where many patriarchs of the Coptic Church were elected

   1 h

4. Discover the historical treasures of the Coptic Christian community on this 3-hour private tour of Coptic Cairo. Travel into this captivating neighborhood, also known as Old Cairo, with your private guide, and visit a medley of early, icon-adorned churches, including the Hanging Church and Abu Serga, where the holy family is said to have found refuge. Learn about Egypt’s rich Coptic heritage, and visit the Coptic Museum, a treasure trove of ancient artifacts that tell the story of this Christian community, one of the world’s oldest.

   1 h

Cancellation

Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the experience starts, for a full refund.

Reviews

Ratings come from 11 reviews collected by our booking partner. They are travellers' own words, in the order they were written — never reordered to flatter the experience.

Know before you go

How it compares in Cairo

• Its from-price is 28% below the median of the 1157 city tours we list in Cairo.
• Its length is typical for the group.
• By number of reviews it ranks 194 of 1157.
• The operator lists free cancellation on it.

About Cairo

Cairo is Egypt's sprawling capital on the Nile, where the Pyramids of Giza meet medieval mosques, busy bazaars and the treasures of the pharaohs.

On the western edge of the city, the Pyramids of Giza and the Great Sphinx rise from the desert plateau, with the step pyramid of Saqqara and the ruins of Memphis further south. Cairo's great museums, the Egyptian Museum on Tahrir Square and the vast Grand Egyptian Museum beside the plateau, hold artefacts spanning thousands of years.

Top-ranked sights in Cairo: Egyptian Museum (Museum of Egyptian Antiquities), Saqqara (Sakkara), Khan El-Khalili.

See all 10229 experiences in Cairo