Culture and history info

Cairo at a glance

History

• Ancient roots: Cairo sits next to Memphis, the capital of the Old Kingdom, and the Giza pyramids lie on its western edge.
• Roman and Coptic period: The Roman fortress of Babylon became the core of Coptic Cairo, with some of Egypt’s oldest churches.
• 641 AD: The Arab conqueror Amr ibn al-As founded Fustat, the first Islamic capital of Egypt.
• 969 AD: The Fatimids founded al-Qahira (“The Victorious”), the walled city that gave Cairo its name. They built Al-Azhar Mosque, whose university is one of the oldest in the world.
• 1176: Saladin began the Citadel, the seat of rulers for about 700 years.
• Mamluk era (1250-1517): Cairo became a leading city of the Islamic world, with the grand mosques, madrasas and markets of Islamic Cairo. This is why it is called the “City of a Thousand Minarets”.
• Ottoman rule and Napoleon: The Ottomans took Egypt in 1517, and Napoleon’s expedition arrived in 1798.
• 19th century: Muhammad Ali’s dynasty modernised Egypt. Khedive Ismail built the European-style downtown, the “Paris on the Nile”, and the Suez Canal opened in 1869.
• 20th century: The 1952 revolution ended the monarchy, and Nasser made Cairo a centre of Arab politics. In 2011, Tahrir Square became the focus of the uprising.
• Today: The Grand Egyptian Museum near the pyramids opened in late 2025, and the new Administrative Capital is under development east of the city.

Culture

• Heritage: Historic Cairo has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1979.
• Faiths: Mosques and churches stand side by side. Muslims and Coptic Christians have lived here for centuries.
• Arts: Cairo has been the “Hollywood of the East” for Arabic cinema and music. Umm Kulthum, the most famous Arab singer, was Egyptian, and Naguib Mahfouz, who set many of his novels in Cairo’s old quarters, won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1988.
• Markets: Khan el-Khalili has traded since the 14th century.
• Daily life: People meet in the traditional ahwa (coffeehouse) over tea and shisha. Koshari, ful and ta’meya are the classic street foods, and during Ramadan the streets are hung with lanterns (fanous).
• Language: Egyptian Arabic is understood across the Arab world thanks to the country’s films and TV.