Reaching toward the sky, the iconic pyramids of Giza are perhaps the most famous structures in Egypt. Built some 4,500 years ago, the pyramids lie just outside Cairo on a plateau near the Nile River in Giza, which also houses the famed Sphinx. The pyramids are made of enormous stone bricks and once contained the mummified bodies of ancient kings, who were buried with their treasures as preparation for the hereafter.
Resting on Cairo's citadel overlooking the bustling Egyptian capital, the Mosque of Muhammad 'Ali Pasha was constructed between 1828 and 1848, according to ArchNet.org. The mosque has a central dome surrounded by four smaller ones and two minarets on each side, and its interior is brilliantly decorated with colorful mosaics and chandeliers dangling from the ceiling. An ablution fountain sits in the main courtyard, inviting worshippers to cleanse themselves before prayer.
Standing on the former site of the Lighthouse of Alexandria, the Citadel of Qaitbay was built after a series of earthquakes destroyed much of the area and its buildings. In roughly A.D. 1480, Sultan Al-Ashraf Qaitbay, a former slave, began rebuilding and fortified the citadel to protect Egypt from a Turkish invasion. The fortress, which also contains a mosque, fell into disrepair, but the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities repaired it in the 20th century.
Nestled in Coptic Cairo, the city's Christian quarter, the Hanging Church is dedicated to the Virgin Mary. Also known as the El Muallaqa, the church rests on a gate of the Babylon Fortress and is believed to have been constructed between A.D. 690 and 692 on top of an even older church. Some of the church's oldest artifacts now rest in Cairo's Coptic Museum, though the church still holds many icons, including one from the eighth century.
