On Day 14, we toured several sites in Cairo. Our original tour guide from our first few days was our guide again for this portion of the trip. We did request to have him again and was glad to see our request was granted.
Our first stop of the day was the Egyptian Museum. This museum hosts artifacts from pre-historical times all the way to our current day. The museum was built in 1902, however, a new Grand Egyptian Museum, is being built and everything will be transferred to the new museum upon completion.
The Egyptian Museum is home to King Tutankhamun’s sarcophagus and many of his funerary items. Photos are not allowed of the King Tut items (photos of other items are okay) if you are using a DSLR unless you pay for a photo pass. But you can use your phone’s camera for free. That said, at the time of our visit, you were not allowed to use your camera phone without the pass, so this photo of King Tut’s sarcophagus was the only one I (sneakily) took.
We did, however, get to see a lot of other antiquities such as mummies, funerary items, and more.
Admission Costs:
The entrance fee for tourists is E£300 for adults and E£150 for students. Children under 6 are free.
The museum is open daily from 9:00 AM – 7:00 PM.
Next, we visited the Hanging Church (pictured above). It’s a beautiful church built on Roman fortress ruins. It got its name because part of the church is “hanging” above a passage in the old Roman fortress. I was unable to find admission costs and opening hours online, but if you visit as part of an escorted tour as we did, it is included in the tour.
Ben Ezra Synagogue was next on the list of sites to see in Cairo. It’s one of the oldest synagogues in the world. It’s since been closed temporarily for restoration and reopened, so we were fortunate that it was open for us to visit in 2021. It has been suggested that baby Moses was found here. Unfortunately, I did not take any photos of the synagogue.
Our last stop of the day was the Khan El-Khalili Bazaar. The bazaar is an open-air market, with all types of items available. You can find lamps (like in the photo below,) spices, tourist souvenirs, and so much more. Expect to haggle for anything you want to purchase.
We have one more day to explore Cairo and honestly, it isn’t enough. But stick around for that post! In the meantime, don’t miss out on the rest of my Egypt trip report!
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