Step into Cairo’s fascinating history on a private guided journey through its Islamic, Coptic Christian, and Jewish heritage. Visit the impressive Saladin Citadel, Mosque of Muhammad Ali, Sultan Hassan and Al-Rifai Mosques, and explore the historic churches of Coptic Cairo. Discover the Hanging Church and Church of St. Sergius and Bacchus, as well as the historic Ben Ezra Synagogue, offering a fascinating insight into Cairo’s diverse religious heritage. Continue to Khan el-Khalili Bazaar, one of Cairo’s most famous historic markets, and experience its lively atmosphere, traditional shops, and local crafts. Enjoy a comfortable private experience with air-conditioned transportation, convenient pickup and drop-off, and an experienced professional guide. The tour offers a flexible start time and personalized service. Entrance fees and lunch are included when the corresponding option is selected at booking.
Our Gem Explore Egyptologist will pick you up at your requested location to start your journey in Cairo heading to the largest Islamic Monument Cairo Citadel ,Called Also Saladin Citadel, Dates back to the eleven century and was built by the great warrior Saladin and his minister. The Citadel contains 13 fortified towers, contains 7 mosques, Citadel was the seat of government and the residence of its rulers for more than 700 hundred years, what a chance to know the modern history of Egypt. Then it will be the time to visit one of the Islamic wonders here is Mohammed Ali Mosque.
The Mosque of Mohammed Ali Basha or the Alabaster Mosque ( Ottoman Mosque, its minarets are very unique and high (86m), the domes inside are plated with gold, walls outside and inside is alabaster !! The Mosque has been completed and finished in 1848 AD.
Then, the tour continues by visiting Islamic Cairo. It is the area that holds the greatest and most famous Islamic monuments. The place was founded by Amr Ibn Al-A'as by 640 AD. The Islamic Cairo tour starts by visiting Mosque-Madrassa of Al Sultan Hassan. The Mosque was built between 1356 and 1363 AD by order of Al Sultan Hassan-An-Nassir; it is known as and architectural wonder by its fascinating size and Mamluki Islamic designs. The tour then continues by visiting AL Rifa'ei Mosque, which was built with more of a modern design in the nineteenth century to complement its fourteenth century neighbor.
The Mosque is located in Citadel Square, adjacent to the Cairo Citadel. Now, it is also the royal mausoleum of Muhammad Ali's family. The building is located opposite the Mosque-Madrassa of Sultan Hassan. The Mosque Been Completed and finished in 1912. Beside the royal family you will see as well the tomb of the last Shah of Iran Mohammed Reza pahlavi !!
After Lunch break you will start another journey With your Tour Guide through Cairo to one of the most religious places called Coptic Cairo. Coptic Cairo is apart from Old Cairo contains the Pabylon Fortress , Hanging Church , Greek Church of St. George , Saints Sergius and Bacchus and many Coptic churches around. It is believed in Christian tradition that the holy family stayed at the site of saints Sergius and Bacchus church to be a way from the roman army , with your guide you will know a lot more and learn about the Christianity in Egypt .
Around Fort Babylon, Egyptian Christians’ oldest churches were built. In addition to being the destination of pilgrimage for people of different religions all over the world, this area holds ruins of the Roman fortifications and several churches, a visit to Hanging Church.
The tour continues by visiting Church of St Sergius and Bacchus, 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.
The tour continues by visiting Ben Ezra Synagogue, The Ben Ezra Synagogue is situated in the Fustat part of Old Cairo, Egypt. According to local folklore, it is located on the site where baby Moses was found. This was the synagogue whose geniza or store room was found in the 19th century to contain a treasure of forgotten, stored-away Hebrew, Aramaic and Judeo-Arabic secular and sacred manuscripts.
Nearby Khan Elkhalili, is located one of the most sacred Islamic sites in Egypt, this mosque is the reputed burial place of the head of Hussein, the grandson of Prophet Mohammed. the mosque has been renovated recently. Opportunity to take nice photos.
Then, the tour continues by visiting Khan El-Khalili Bazaar. The Bazaar is in the historic center of Cairo; It was established as a center of trade in the Mamluk era. The Bazaar has various products of all kind and shapes; not limited to Silver, Copper, Brassware, Gold and Leather Goods.
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
4.9★121 reviews
Very interesting and comprehensive tour of Coptic Cairo. Tour guide Ali Nagoya was a wealth of information. He gave us many details at each location. He arrived at the hotel 20 minutes early to be sure he was on time. He had a very proficient driver with him who maneuvered us easily through Cairo’s traffic.
Trail59278338015 · Feb 2025 · via Tripadvisor
My guide was Ola - she was extremely knowledgeable, well coordinated, well paced and delightful. We covered all our itinerary and more. Our driver was Hazem, who kept us safe and made good time to our destinations. I would recommend both and this tour. .
colleenhO3990SI · Feb 2025 · via Tripadvisor
Summer and Ahmed were amazing guides, very friendly and helpful plus they gave is great tips of places to go, food to eat, took great pictures for us and explained everything well. Highly recommend these guides and tours!
S3405GMdanielc · Nov 2024 · via Tripadvisor
We had an amazing experience provided by Mohamed Doma, our guide. Traveling to another country is not only do the sightseeing, but also experiencing a part of the local culture. Doma has patiently explained each and every detail in the Islamic part of Cairo, including aspects of the Islamic culture and religion. In the Coptic area, he showed unparalleled knowledge of the history behind the sites visited. The tour was held in Spanish, which is a plus to my daughter as she could have the explanations with no filter. Doma is studying history and I am pretty sure he can be a good guide for the Egyptian part of Cairo - pyramids and historical sites. He is patient and can explain everything we ask about. Definitely recommend him!
HenriqueB427 · Nov 2024 · via Tripadvisor
I would have given this tour maximum 2 stars, and I will elaborate why later. I’ll begin with the pros of the tour: the car they pick you up in is air conditioned, clean, and had efficient drop off and pick up. Ola had all of our tickets bought and with her which made entering the sights very easy and convenient. Ola was very friendly at the beginning and asking us about ourselves which was nice. At the beginning of the tour at the first stop of the tour at the Citadel Ola had a lot of interesting history and was very elaborate about everything we saw which we really appreciated as my husband is a history buff and it was his first time in Egypt. She also took nice photos of us at all the sights. However, this leads me to the cons of the tour: unfortunately, as we carried on with the tour, Ola’s explanation of the tours dropped significantly to eventually just telling us a sentence or two about the sight and telling us she’ll wait outside while we take pictures. This tour is at a very premium price and boasted a very full history tour of the sights we were seeing which was the only reason why I opted for this tour over any other option available. If the tour had more history I would not have mind paying that price, but unfortunately every stop we were getting less and less information. My husband and I have been on many tours around the world (and for less money) where we learned a lot more and were immersed in history and culture. It felt like Ola was stressed and on her phone calling and texting a lot rather than interested in the tour. That’s the first issue. The second issue is that the price of lunch on this tour when converted to Egyptian prices makes you wonder just what they plan on feeding you for 1,440 EGP a person. We did not sign up for the lunch option and Ola offered to stop for lunch for $15 each person (my husband and I) rather than $30. That would still be the 1,440 EGP total for the 2 of us. What kind of lunch of kings are we having for 1,440 EGP? My husband and I’s nicest dinner with meat and chicken we had in Egypt with dessert didn’t even cost this much. I think they realize they can take advantage of tourists with these prices. Lastly, the only truly unforgivable offense my husband and I encountered was that Ola took advantage of us and set us up in a tourist trap. The tour we signed up for was a tour of Coptic Cairo and Islamic Cairo and she all of a sudden had us get out of the car and go to a perfume scam station. It is a tourist trap where there are several sections set up and they have people let you smell Egyptian oils and lightly pressure you to buy oils that are more expensive than some of the more upscale perfumes I have seen. We didn’t know why she brought us there as it wasn’t part of the tour and it was not listed on the tour website and it seemed like she was hoping we would buy something and her friends would get some profit off of us. She asked if we then wanted to go to a papyrus museum for the same experience and we were like … no thank you… at least this time she had the respect to ask us if we wanted to go into the tourist trap. All in all, it was such a disappointment that my husband’s first time in Egypt to have this tour experience, and unfortunately I cannot in good conscience recommend this tour to anyone else.
nouraaA552RV · Oct 2024 · via Tripadvisor
We had the greatest time on this tour, and got to see everything we wanted to see and then some. Aly was our tour guide and took good care of us all day. His knowledge enhanced our understanding and appreciation of each site we visited. He always seemed to anticipate what we needed, whether it was more time to look around, or water, or a break for lunch, and he took us to the market to take pictures and the government shops to buy authentic souvenirs. If I come back to Cairo someday, I would not hesitate to do a different tour with Aly and with GEM.
kristenmR6829VU · Oct 2024 · via Tripadvisor
Menna our guide was great !!!! She speak very good english, motivated, she seems loving her job and enjoy giving knowledge. We really enjoy her compagnie. Thank you so much !😊
Tinablank · Oct 2024 · via Tripadvisor
Our guide and driver were both excellent!! Made sure that we had the best experience possible! He made sure that all of our pictures were present with us enjoying our great tour!
Phyllis_s · Sep 2024 · via Viator
My family and I spent the day with Ali on this tour which was excellent. Ali was very friendly and knowledgable and took great care to make sure our experience was as good as it could be. The sights were amazing and the experience memorable. I highly recommend this tour.
martinbL979UL · Aug 2024 · via Tripadvisor
Aly and Yaser took us around Cairo in a comfortable car, offered a highly insightful and pleasant guide through the wonders of Cairo. We visited churches, mosques and the famous Khan el Khalilii market. Very much enjoyed talking and learning about Islam and the deep rooted history of the religion. Aly had so much to offer, thank you!
eubenedicto · Aug 2024 · via Tripadvisor
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