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As its name says, the Old Cairo is the
oldest part of the Egypt’s capital and maybe the most
interesting part of the city, where the Roman ruins of Babylon
can be admired. There are numerous touristic attractions such as
the Hanging Church 9built in the 7th century, is the most famous
church from Cairo), The Coptic Museum (founded in 1910 AD by
Pasha Morcos Smeika), the Jewish Synogogue, the Amr ibn al-'As
Mosque – founded in 641, the Saint George`s Greek church, as
well as some of the most old Christians churches: the Saint
Sergius Church ("Abu Serga", the oldest church in Cairo, built
in the 4th century AD), the Saint Barbara’s Church (initially it
was the Saint Cyrus "Abu Kir" church, restored in the 11th
century after the 750 AD fire), the Church of the Virgin Mary
(dating from the 11th century), numerous Coptic churches, the
Egypt’s oldest synagogue, dating from the 9th century- Ben Ezra
Synagogue. Another interesting monument is the Ibn-Tulun mosque,
the oldest mosque of Egypt kept in its original form. It was
built between 876 and 879 and it is the world’s third mosque as
proportion. The Egyptian Museum of Antiques represents another
place that is very visited by tourists. Built between 1900 and
1902 under the instructions of the French architect Marcel
Dourgnon, the museum is situated in the Tahrir market and has
107 halls with about 120,000 exhibits. The mommies of the pharos
belonging to the 18, 19 and 20 dynasties and discovered in the
old Theba’s tombs, the treasures found in Dahshur, the treasures
of the Tutankamun’s tomb, are one of the most interesting
exhibits in this museum. If you choose to visit the Old Cairo
you will definitely feel the atmosphere of the ancient Egypt. |
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