Cairo Outskirts, Egypt

Step Pyramid and funerary complex of Djoser
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cour_du_Heb_Sed.jpg
Author: Neithsabes


Cairo Outskirts is a large expanse of desert land surrounding the capital of Egypt. Within this area, you can find the monuments from Egypt's Old Kingdom, predating the pyramids of Giza. In Memphis, for example, are ruins of a city that was already an important commercial center four thousand years before Cairo appeared on the map.

In the outskirts of Cairo are tombs and what can be described as trial pyramids, prototypes to what was later to be erected in the Giza Plateau. It is also here that you can view the earliest examples of hieroglyphs and visit some of the deepest burial chambers in Egypt.

Statue of Ramses II, Memphis Museum
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:MemphisMuseumEgypt_RamsesIIStatue_2007feb1-9_byDanielCsorfoly.JPG
Author: Daniel Csörföly


Located in Wadi Natrun, between the Nile Delta and Cairo, are monastic retreats of early Christians. This was their refuge against persecution under the Romans, and here the early Christians founded a number of monasteries which can still be visited today. Wadi Natrun was also an important place to the ancient Egyptians, for an entirely different reason. It was a major producer of natron, the salt they used for their mummification process.

Although within the outskirts of Cairo is the verdant city of Faiym, a major producer of fruits, flowers and vegetables in the country. It too holds a number of ancient ruins and archaeological sites.

The outskirts of Cairo offers a refreshing break from the city. On this page, I will share with you the places worth checking out.

Early Christian monastery at Wadi Natrun, Egypt
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Frescos_from_the_Wadi_Natrun_monastery3.jpg
Author: Isabelle+Stéphane Gallay

Sights on the outskirts of Cairo

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Dear visitor, thank you so much for reading this page. My name is Timothy Tye and my hobby is to find out about places, write about them and share the information with you on this website. I have been writing this site since 5 January 2003. Originally (from 2003 until 2009, the site was called AsiaExplorers. I changed the name to Penang Travel Tips in 2009, even though I describe more than just Penang but everywhere I go (I often need to tell people that "Penang Travel Tips" is not just information about Penang, but information written in Penang), especially places in Malaysia and Singapore, and in all the years since 2003, I have described over 20,000 places.

While I try my best to provide you information as accurate as I can get it to be, I do apologize for any errors and for outdated information which I am unaware. Nevertheless, I hope that what I have described here will be useful to you.