Egypt is the oldest tourist destination on Earth with its fascinating history that reaches back to the dawn of Civilization Egypt with its ancient monument captured the imagination of the travelers for thousands of years, Egypt now receives about 14 million tourists a year from all over the world.
The country is blessed with a lot of amazing attractions, as it contains two-thirds of the world monuments. No one would ever miss the chance to explore all the allure and greatness of this majestic land. Cast your eyes on the magical Egypt tourist attractions like Cairo, Aswan, Luxor, and Alexandria and discover the true meaning of the words Vacation and adventure.
Here we will guide you to the best tourist attractions to visit in Egypt, and we will give you a brief about the best of Egypt Sights and vacation spots in Egypt.
Egypt tourist attractions
Cairo
Mosque of Ibn Tulun
Built between 876 and 879 AD, the Mosque of Ibn Tulun is one of the oldest mosques in Cairo. It was commissioned by Ahmad ibn Ţūlūn, the Abbassid governor of Egypt. The mosque is constructed around a courtyard, with one covered hall on each of the four sides. The minaret, which features a helical outer staircase similar to that of the famous minaret in Samarra, was probably built several centuries later. Parts of the James Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me were filmed at the Mosque of Ibn Tulun.
The Hanging Church
The Saint Virgin Mary’s Coptic Orthodox Church is located above the Babylon Fortress’s gatehouse. With its nave suspended over a passage, it is commonly known as The Hanging Church.
Beit El-Suhaymi
A family mansion and a caravanserai, famous for its unique mashrabiya and wooden-lattice screens; Beit El-Suhaymi is also a unique architectural beauty.
Sultan Hassan Mosque
Considered to be one of the largest mosques in the world, the Sultan Hassan Mosque covers an area of 7,906 square meters (around 85099.4 square feet). It consists of a mosque as well as an educational institution, and it is famous for its innovative-architectural components.
Alexandria
Away from the famous Bibliotheca Alexandrina, Alexandria have many amazing sites and attractions that’s unknown to most visitors.
Catacombs of Kom el-Shuqqafa
The Catacombs of Kom el-Shuqqafa are hewn from the rock on the southern slopes of a hill, in the Carmous district. Thought to date from the 2nd century AD, they offer an admirable example of the characteristic Alexandrian fusion of Egyptian and Greco-Roman styles. Discovered in 1900 (thanks to a donkey falling into them) they are laid out on several levels of sarcophagi and loculi (shelf tomb) chambers.
A spiral staircase leads down into the ground to the main rotunda. To the right, you can enter the main burial chamber and also the Sepulchral Chapel with 91 loculi, each large enough to accommodate three or four mummies. To the left is a large room known as the Triclinium Funebre, which would have been used for banquets in honor of the dead.
Pompey’s Pillar
In Carmous (in the southwest of the city) is a hill littered with the remains of ancient walls, architectural fragments, and rubble on which Alexandria’s only ancient monument is left standing. Pompey’s Pillar rises from the ruins of the ancient and famous Serapeion (Temple of Serapis), which was once used to store the overflow of manuscripts from the Great Library of Alexandria. This column of red Aswan granite with a Corinthian capital, standing on a badly ruined substructure and rising to a height of almost 27 meters, actually has nothing to do with Pompey and was instead set up in AD 292 in honor of Diocletian, who supplied food for the starving population after the siege of the city.
Diving in Alexandria
Diving is the big activity in Alexandria. Unlike Egypt’s other diving centers, you’re not here for the colorful coral reefs. Instead, in the eastern harbor area, Alexandria’s diving is all about ancient underwater ruins. For divers, this is a unique opportunity to see the toppled statues and columns strewn across the sea bed.
Other places around Egypt
Abydos
One of the oldest cities of ancient Egypt, Abydos once contained some of the most-ancient temples as well as the tombs of early Pharaohs. It is a sacred city, and it is considered one of the most important archaeological sites of Egypt.
Located in Upper Egypt about six miles (10 km) from the Nile River, the site of Abydos played a pivotal role in ancient Egyptian religious life.
The earliest kings of Egypt, including those from the first dynasty of Egypt’s history (3000-2890 B.C.), appear to have been buried at Abydos. Their tombs and funerary enclosures may have been a first step on an ancient architectural journey that would see the Great Pyramids constructed centuries later.
WESTERN SAHARA DESERT
The Western Desert is home to many popular Egypt tourist attractions, most of which are located in or near to the various oases. The best way to view these attractions is by booking an oases package tour or a Sahara desert adventure tour. Most good oases tours will include a visit to all the different oases, and you will often be taken to see the best sites found at each of them.
In addition to the oases and their historical monuments, the Western Desert is also home to several natural Egypt attractions, including the White Desert; the Black Desert, and the Valley of the Whales, to name just a few.
The White Desert is a unique white-colored rock formation of the White Desert, the Bedouin-inhabited national park north of Farafra.
Siwa Oasis
Way out west, Siwa is the tranquil tonic to the hustle of Egypt’s cities. This gorgeous little oasis, surrounded by date palm plantations and numerous fresh water springs, is one of the Western Desert’s most picturesque spots. The town is centered around the ruins of a vast mud-brick citadel that dominates the view. This is a top spot to wind down and go slow for a few days, as well as being an excellent base from which to plan adventures into the surrounding desert.
St. Catherine Monastery
Officially known as the Sacred Monastery of the God-Trodden Mount Sinai, the Monastery is named after a Christian martyr called Catherine of Alexandria. It is believed that her remains were taken by angels to Mount Sinai after she was beheaded.
This attraction is considered one of the oldest monasteries in the world, St. Catherine’s stands at the foot of Mount Sinai, where Moses is said to have received the Ten Commandments. This desert monastery is home to an incredible collection of religious iconography, art, and manuscripts (some of which can be seen in the on-site museum), as well as the burning bush. For most visitors here, a trip to St. Catherine’s also involves a hike up Mount Sinai to see sunrise or sunset. Take the camel path for the easy route or climb the famous Steps of Repentance if you want better views.
Egypt Travel Guide 