Arabic Activities in Cairo
There’s a wide program of leisure and social activities to give the students the opportunity to discuss and to learn more through lectures, trying the delights of Egyptian cookery (and learning the secrets) as well as visiting many tourist attractions with a professional guide. The leisure program is a valid complement to improve one’s Arabic language knowledge in Egypt, where Arabic is commonly spoken.
Do you want to discover the amazing city of Cairo? Do you want to explore its beautiful modern and ancient sights? Or do you want to learn Arabic in this amazing city? Better get yourself ready and be astonished by the amazing lifestyle in this wonderful City of Thousand Minarets!
To start off your adventure in Cairo, find out more about its ancient history by visiting its museums especially the Egyptian Museum where you can view vast collections of the vestiges of the country’s past. Thousands of statues, busts, sarcophagi, and other relics from ancient Egypt as old as five thousand years can be found in this spectacular museum! After looking at the various museum artifacts and mummies, visit some of the sites where they were excavated from! Go to Cairo’s suburb Giza and enjoy the sight of its famous monuments, the Great Pyramid of Khufu, the smaller pyramids of Menkaure and Khafre, and the enigmatic Great Sphinx! The pyramids served as the final resting places for the ancient pharaohs and the Sphinx is famed to be the guardian of these tombs.
If you want to know more of the religious side of Cairo’s culture, try exploring its Islamic, Christian and Jewish sights! You can take a trip to the Citadel and take a stroll around the marvelous fortress! Architecture in the Citadel is very ornate and it enhances the city’s skyline with its museums, fort and the smooth curves of its mosques. The Citadel was created by Saladin in 1176 and it has been expanded and modified by later sultans. The most notable structure within the Citadel is the Muhammad Ali Mosque which was created in 1830 by Muhammad Ali Pasha and it is the most recognizable Islamic monument in the city because of its location and its majestic domes and minarets. In Old Cairo, the Coptic Church Al Mu’allaqa or the Hanging Church, also known as the Church of the Virgin Mary, is believed to be the earliest known site of Christian worship in Egypt having been created in the third century though it has been almost entirely replaced through successive repairs. Old Cairo also has the Ben Ezra synagogue which is the major house of worship for the small Jewish population in Cairo.
When you want to have a full view of Cairo, go to one of its tall and modern buildings such as the one-hundred-eighty-seven-meter-high Cairo Tower and have a magnificent view of the pyramids and the Citadel while dining at its revolving restaurant! Cairo comes alive at night so that is the best moment to go shopping for wares at its markets or have a taste of Middle Eastern cuisine at its cafés! You can also dine on a floating restaurant on the Nile or watch Oriental dancers or cabarets in classy hotels. If you want to view contemporary art, go the impressive Cairo Opera House where several galleries can be found in its complex such as the Museum of Modern Art in Cairo, together with concert halls and some restaurants. If you do not know how to ask for this delicious food try to learn a bit of the Arabic language. The most crucial experience at night time is the Sound and Light show at the Pyramids where a dramatic combination of light and music recount the story of Egypt.
Go and pack your bags for Cairo and have an experience that will surely be timeless!
