Cairo Tower

My visit to the Cairo tower turned out to be very disappointing, maybe because I had been looking forward to it for a long time-since the time I arrived in Cairo a year back. But the tower had been closed for renovations. The 187 m high tower with its lotus flower design seemed to beckon me every time I passed it.

The Cairo Tower has been the subject of controversy, mainly with respect to the source of funds for its construction. According to one theory, the tower is said to have been built with American hush money given to the then Egyptian President Gamal Abdal Nasser to bring him over to the side of capitalist America. Outraged that the Amercicans thought that he could be bought, he decided to funnel the money into building the Cairo Tower as a symbol to the Americans’ “monumental folly”. Also, this tower has been the favourite spot for suicide, including that of a German student who leapt to his death from the tower in 1998, to prove his Pharonic belief that the dead are resurrected. Read http://www.dailystaregypt.com/printerfriendly.aspx?ArticleID=2666 and http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2008/881/special.htm

In its newly-renovated avatar, the entrance fees are a steep LE 65 (foreigners) to go to the top of the tower and obviously raises expectations. I have visited the Berlin tower and expected something like it. A glass covered viewing station, model maps put up around the viewing station to serve as a guide to what you are looking over and powerful telescopes to give you a closer look…..

But what I found is the following…

A viewing station that is not covered-has only a railing running around it. It can be dangerous and also gets very cold and windy. No guidelines to tell you what landmark/ monument you are looking over. A couple of telescopes have been placed for better viewing but beware! I inserted the requisite two LE 1 coins and following the instructions, pressed the button and peered into the telescope but my eyes were met with only darkness. I made a couple of more jabs at the button but no luck. I tried to get my money back by hitting the telescope but the non-functioning telescope coughed up 1 LE only! My other coin was lost forever. So try the telescope at your own risk!

A single lift takes you up to the viewing station. The lift can hold only 7-8 people at a time-the wait can be long if many people are visiting. The waiting area outside the viewing level for the lift is small and gets very crowded with people jostling for space and trying to elbow their way to the front of the line. If you want to take a break from the viewing station, there is the coffee shop one level below or the restaurant “360 degrees” where you can have a meal while enjoying the view of the Cairo city.

However, there is no denying that the view is fabulous, encapsulating the city of Cairo, as it were. The mosques, the skyscrapers, the twinkling lights of the plush hotels, the green open spaces, are all laid out in front of your eyes. The River Nile, snaking its way towards the Mediterranean sea, seems to almost divide the city into two. Visiting at twilight lends a surreal charm to the view with the pyramids in the distance silhouetted against the setting sun, the lights coming on in the dark grey and brown buildings characterstic of the Cairo city and of course, the River Nile flowing placidly. For the view, you could definitely give it a try!

Coptic Cairo

Coptic Cairo is a part of Old Cairo and is home to a number of Coptic churches. It is an important destination for the 12 million Coptic Christians in Cairo.

Early in the 2nd century, the Romans established a fortress here that was known as the Babylon fortress. The fortress had 5 layers of stone and then 3 layers of brick One of the major attractions of Coptic Cairo, the Hanging Church is built on one part of the fortress of Babylon and hence gets its name. This church has no domes and is rectangular in shape. Its inverted ceiling, made of wood, is representative of Noah’s Ark. As part of the “architectural re-cycling”, a number of marble columns from old Roman churches can be found in the Hanging church. Many of the wooden panels in the church are inlaid with ivory and ebony, without the use of adhesive, leaving just enough space to allow for expansion. Though in earlier times, the churches had frescoes on walls; the Hanging church has wood icons as they are portable and could be rescued in times of attack. In the year 451 A.D, the Church of Egypt split from the Church of Rome because of dogmatic differences. During mass, in Coptic churches, men sit on the left aisle and the women on the right aisle.

The Hanging Church suffered destruction in the 9th century and has been restored since then a number of times. At some places, Arabic writing can be found on its walls; this was added post the decree which necessitated that all writing must be bi-lingual. Egypt was the first country to accept the infant Jesus after his flight from Herod. The palm trees that provided the dates to the Holy Family when they were in hiding is to be found in the forecourt of the Hanging Church.

The newly renovated Coptic Museum has some wonderful displays relating to Coptic Christianity in Egypt. The displays have been arranged chronologically and it is easy to see how the early Coptic art and artifacts were influenced by the Greek and Roman myths. Thereafter as the understanding pertaining to Christianity grew, a mix of the Roman and Christian art can be found. For example, there is a figure of a saint dressed in Roman clothes. The Pharonic art potrayed the figures sideways whereas the figures under Coptic art gave a frontal view. The most amazing display of mashrebeya can be found in the Coptic museum and the lavishly painted wooden ceilings are originals taken from homes of the wealthy Coptics in Egypt. Texts from the Nag Hammadi Codex are on display here.


The Hall of the Churches of Old Cairo has many beautiful displays taken from old churches. Candlesticks and bible cases made of metal and inlaid with coloured glass, some beautiful wooden frescoes from old churches and even a door from St Barbara Church (6th century) can be found. You cannot carry your camera inside the museum

Other interesting churches to visit in the Coptic area are the St Sergius Church and the Ben Ezra synagogue.