Americans Visiting Islamic and Coptic Cairo
Our guide (Essam) and driver (Tolba) picked us up from our AirBnB promptly. They were friendly and evene accommodated our request to grab coffee from Starbucks. They even opened and closed the doors for us at every stop. True service.
I strongly recommend asking for Essam if you’re thinking of ANY tour. Essam was our guide for this tour and Alexandria. Wish we had him for Giza Pyramids.
Essam spoke excellent English. He had great energy and we had many laughs throughout our day.
Essam briefed us on the day and we ventured through Islamic Cairo, then Christian Coptic Cairo, then the only synagogue in the country. Essam’s knowledge on all the sites was great and he welcomed questions, which we had plenty. All tickets were included, which was super helpful, and he made the transition from location to location seamless.
Lunch was included and we lunched on the Nile. We had some amazing fish and lamb with other delicacies. Essam even requested they grill chicken for us, though it wasn’t on the menu.
Throughout the day, Essam and Tolba would make sure that we were ok and enjoying our experience. Between sites, we’d stop at local juice bars and have the local mango or sugar cane drinks - Amazing!
One tidbit for tourists, HAVE A TOUR GUIDE when visiting sites. It’ll deter the peddlers from pushing you to buy what they’re selling. It becomes a bit much.
On our first tour (Not Emp Tours but another agency), our guide took us to souvenir shops and didn’t deter peddlers from selling us stuff. But Essam deterred the vendors and didn’t take us to any of the souvenir shops. It was a welcomed experience. He had our best interest at heart.
CBut23 · вер. 2018 р. · через Tripadvisor
American’s visit Islamic Cairo
This tour highly exceeded my expectations. I came to Cairo with my husband and he was more geeked out about Egypt and their history than me and I was excited too, but more so along for the ride.
First we visited the huge Citadel of Saladin and it overlooks all of Cairo at the highest point in the city. OUR GUIDE ESSAM, was amazing. He was intelligent and had so much knowledge of the background, how it was built and when, and also the background of Saladin himself.
I highly recommend that you ask for Essam. He was kind and always made sure we were good to go. There are so many great things about Essam, he always makes sure you have water, or a nice cool drink during the day to cool you down and also if you like coffee, he takes you to get coffee after your meal.
Another great thing about this tour is that lunch is included. He took us to have lunch on the Nile buffet style which was really nice. A heads up is that you typically have to pay for your drinks.
We visited the many famous Mosques of Cairo and the architecture was really amazing.
In general, I would always go with a tour guide in Egypt. Always. They make everything flow smoothly and also they drive you everywhere without the hassle of booking an Uber or a taxi. That’s definitely one of the huge pro’s is they always pick you up and drop you off exactly where you need to be.
Gia T · вер. 2018 р. · через Tripadvisor
Fantastic well-tailored private tours
Super glad that I booked my trip with Emo! I was lucky to have two best companions for my trip, my wonderful guide Ahmed Salem and my amazing driver Fares.
The first day we went to see the Islamic & Coptic Cairo, including all the highlights of the city’s unique religious history. My guide Ahmed was incredibly knowledgeable about everything —he knew the Islamic/Christian history inside out and understood exactly what I need & want during the trip.
When I mentioned to him that I’m interested in the Ibn Tulun mosque, which the Museum of Islamic Arts in Qatar (where I live) was modeled after, he immediately added that to the itinerary and we headed straight off to Ibn Tulun in the afternoon. The mosque is in the middle of old Cairo, and my driver Fares navigated us through the crazy traffic in the old city effortlessly. Both of them were always on time, and there was not a single time that I’ve waited for them. Fares was also a great DJ on the road.
That night I had the Pyramid sound & light tour with Ahmed & Fares. The next day we went to the Egyptian museum, where Ahmed gave me an informative 2-hour tour on ancient Egyptian history. After that we went to the best koshari place in Cairo for lunch, and headed off to the airport.
Overall, I had an amazing time with Ahmed & Fares, and I highly recommend Emo for all travelers, especially if you want your stay in Egypt to be fun & unforgettable!
David W · лип. 2018 р. · через Tripadvisor
Lovely full day tour with Ahmed!
I highly recommend this tour to anyone with an interest in the history of Cairo. We saw so many beautiful religious sites and Ahmed was wonderful at explaining in so much detail and significance for us, but was also so flexible with our young child on the tour. He answered all of our questions and shared histories as well as personal stories which made the tour so enjoyable! We had a great lunch stop at the Khan Al-Khalili and Ahmed was very helpful in making our shopping experience a very positive one with plenty of time to shop including a stop for tea at the famous El Fishawi.
Cali-vagabond · січ. 2018 р. · через Tripadvisor
Excellent Visit to Islamic and Coptic Cairo by Ahmed Zackariya of Emo Tours.
Excellent tour of Islamic and Coptic Cairo by Ahmed Zackaria of Emo tours.
The guide was extremely helpful and very knowledgeable about the heritage sites.
He even showed the very first mosque in Egypt which was not part of the tour package.
Brother Ahmed Zackaria was very punctual and he was at the hotel at sharp 8 am.
Overall an amazing experience from brother Zackaria and I highly recommend his service.
Mahmood Zayeem M · січ. 2018 р. · через Tripadvisor
Mahmoud El Wakeel is an awesome guide.
On a recent trip to Cairo, I signed up for Emo's half day tour to the pyramids and full day tour to the Muslim+Christian Quarters. My guide Mahmoud El Wakeel was knowledgeable and friendly. Beyond introducing the sites and their history, he also helped to make arrangements when I decided to extend my time in Egypt to also include Aswan and Luxor. He comes highly recommended.
RobinQ_sg · груд. 2017 р. · через Tripadvisor
They were perfectly on time my guide...
<p>They were perfectly on time my guide Emmie I would recommend highly she was knowledgeable,and I if wanted to see something along the way she had no problem ,I did it in my time no push and lunch by the Nile was very laid back.They dropped my out to the airport instead of my hotel and I was out with them for around 8 hours ,couldn't ask for more George and good luck to Emmie she's a lovely girl ,George</p>
George G · бер. 2017 р. · через Viator
I had only one day in Cairo and I...
<p>I had only one day in Cairo and I was very happy to spend it touring with Ola. She is very kind and thoughtful, in addition to being highly educated and knowledgeable about the Islamic and Christian sites. We went entirely at my pace and she adjusted the itinerary around prayer times so that I was able to see all that I wanted to see. She provided snacks and the option of a western or local lunch, and allowed me to eat later, which was better suited to my day. She put all the layers of religious and political history together in a way that was accessible and stayed with me. Her English is excellent and her accent easy to understand. If you want to have a thorough understanding of the history and geography of Cairo, ask for Ola!</p>
michal r · січ. 2017 р. · через Viator
I live in Bangalore, India. I had...
<p>I live in Bangalore, India. I had just 2 days for tourism in Cairo combined with a business trip. I had not paid attention to what and how I want to see around Cairo. Went to Tripadvisor as my resource. Found an attractive full day tour to Old Islamic Cairo and Coptic Church area. Booked it. I was anxious given that it was my first visit and an unknown part of the world.</p>
<p>I promptly received a mail within hours of my online booking giving me instructions that at assigned time of 8 am someone would be there with a placard at hotel. I was impressed at the detail and courtesy.</p>
<p>On the day of the tour I found a pleasant a young man Ahmed right in the lobby. He was polite, warm and communicated in English perfectly. As we moved to lobby, there was a clean, spacious and comfortable cab waiting for us with a driver. I was offered a bottle of water and a few snacks were kept around as and when I needed. I was already in a happy mood.</p>
<p>The tour itself was phenomenal. Ahmed told me clearly where he was taking me. Once we got there he explained the significant, architecture and history of the place. He answered questions patiently. If I wanted to wait around more, he patiently stuck around. I had total choice of what and how much I wanted to do throughout the trip.</p>
<p>I learnt Ahmed is a qualified tourist guide with 4 years tourist education and a certification from Tourist Authorities in Egypt. Clearly that knowledge and training made the tour a pleasant and educative one.</p>
<p>What made the tour even better was Ahmed's free sharing of my curious and maybe sometime even intrusive! questions about life in Egypt. I felt like we were friends at the end of it.</p>
<p>Thank you Ahmed and Emo for making my visit to Egypt a memorable one. Whenever I come to Egypt - guaranteed that my first port of call with be Ahmed and Emo.</p>
Sanjay D · лип. 2016 р. · через Viator
