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Cairo Half Day Tours visit Islamic Cairo & ancient mosques

Recommended by 94% of travelers

Badge of Excellence

Cairo, Egypt

3 to 5 hours (approx.)
Pickup offered
Group discounts
Mobile ticket
Offered in: English

Overview

They don’t call Cairo the “City of 1,000 Minarets” for nothing. Experience the majestic Islamic architecture of this ancient Muslim city with a local guide to unpick their rich history. Explore the Citadel, the Alabaster Mosque, the Al-Rifa’i Mosque, the Sultan Hassan Mosque, and more.

Perfect for travelers who are intersted in architecture and culture
See Islamic Cairo’s finest Muslim architecture with a local guide
A private tour gives you extra flexibility
Take it easy with door-to-door round-trip transfers

What's Included

All transfers by a private air-conditioned vehicle
Hotel pickup and drop-off
Guide on site ( If Option Selected )
Entry Fees ( If Option Selected )
Lunch at local restaurants(Local Egyptian Food) ( If Option Selected )
Bottle of water

Tipping
Personal Items

Meeting and Pickup

Pickup points

Select a pickup point

Pickup details

As per requested time our tour guide will be waiting inside the lobby of your hotel and he will be holding a sign showing our company name Emo Tours

Operating hours
.9:00 am

Itinerary

Saladin Citadel

1 hour • Admission Ticket Not Included

Al Rifai Mosque

1 hour • Admission Ticket Not Included

Al-Azhar Mosque

30 minutes • Admission Ticket Not Included

Mosque-Madrasa of Sultan Hassan

30 minutes • Admission Ticket Not Included

Khan Al-Khalili Bazaar

1 hour • Admission Ticket Free

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Not wheelchair accessible
Near public transportation
Infant seats available
Not recommended for travelers with back problems

Not recommended for pregnant travelers
No heart problems or other serious medical conditions
Most travelers can participate
This is a private tour/activity. Only your group will participate

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Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

Traveler Photos

Gallery picture 1 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 2 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 3 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 4 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 5 (from a traveler's review)

Featured review

Hoppysmith

Excellent experience with very knowledgeable tour guide. Both tour guide and driver excellent. highly recomend

Reviews

4.8

based on 51 reviews

Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor

We perform checks on reviews

Cairo Citadel and Islámic Cairo

Thomas_C, Feb 2025

Pierre did a marvelous job of explaining history, customs and culture providing context on the Citadel and Mosques. Total eye opener and have me a better appreciatiin for the Rich Egyptian culture and stories history. Highly recommend this tour.

wonderful tour

Hoppysmith, Jan 2025

Excellent experience with very knowledgeable tour guide. Both tour guide and driver excellent. highly recomend

More beautiful than I could have imagined.

Colleen_M, Dec 2024

Mirna was a wonderful guide. Met us at the hotel and made sure we had the appropriate clothing and headscarves for our visit before leaving. She provided excellent information about each stop, and was accomodating of a bit of change in plans with my friend who was injured and could not walk for long distances. We were able to see all of the listed mosques and madrasa and some great views of Cairo from the Citadel. She even arranged for us to hear a Muslim prayer inside of one of the mosques and made sure we got great photos!

Really interesting to see these huge peaceful mosques and understand the history

Sharon_M, Nov 2024

Amazing tour with informative guide, Sayed Muhmoud. He also showed me the downtown area and bazaar and explained about the local Egyptian way of life

Amazing

Maryann_M, Oct 2024

I had an amazing experience going to the citadel, mosques even got henna done on my hands😂 I had one of the best guide Mira, with an infectious smile and attitude made the tour enjoyable and memorable. Totally recommend this

I would do it again and again

ZsofiaBeata_T, Dec 2023

Hebe was a great tour guide and a beautiful person inside and out. It was a Friday which is prayers day - I didn’t know that - so there were thousands of people mostly children. It was a very authentic experience that I very much enjoyed but if crowds make you uncomfortable, choose another day of the week. Otherwise it’s a must do, especially if you’re unfamiliar with the Islamic culture.

A fascinating day exploring

Kris_R, Oct 2023

Our tour guide was Deena. We did the Islamic tour of Cairo, visiting the Citadel and several mosques in the area. She was very passionate about Egyptian history and was very knowledgeable about the sites we saw. We learned a lot of new things from this tour. Our guide was also very accommodating to our schedule. We had a lot of fun.

Would definitely go again

Lisette_L, Jun 2023

This was a memorable trip. We traveled and toured Al-Rifa'i Mosque, Mosque-Madrasa of Sultan Hassan, Mosque of Muhammad Ali as well. Unfortunately our toddler and baby were passed out when we reached Amr ibn Al-A'as Mosque. So we didn’t get a chance to tour it. We took some great photos and history nonetheless. Our guide Marwa was very helpful with the kids while giving us a great tour.

Okay tour of mosques in Cairo

Mohammed_N, Jan 2023

We saw all the amazing sites in Islamic Cairo, but did not have a very good experience with the tour guide. His English was quite poor and so he didn't do a good job of explaining what we were seeing and their history. When I asked him questions, he often responded with "I don't know". I ended up reading the Lonely Planet guide at each stop rather than listening to him. I wish he had given us more time to properly see everything, rather than rushing us, especially at Khan el Khalili. I would have also preferred he let us eat lunch privately as a family. Overall, this tour is good to transport you from site-to-site with an Arabic-speaker, but don't expect to learn new things about the sites you are seeing.

Travelling back in time

Zakira_M, Jan 2023

The guide Muhsin was amazing His knowledge was deep and he spoke good English I would certainly recommend him

Fabulous tour - Sam was great!

Emily_G, Dec 2022

Sam was an incredible tour guide! Super knowledgeable about all sites. We were on a shorter timeline, so he kindly accommodated - picked us up at our hotel at 8:30am and dropped us back off by 12:30pm (12:20pm). He was very kind. Would definitely recommend!!

Interesting sites, great guide

Paul_S, Nov 2022

The guide we had, Reina, was excellent. We visited several mosques, and she was very informative about all. We went to the market. My wife and I were interested in some specific items (masks for me), and she helped us find the perfect ones. She also treated us to an authentic Egyptian meal. If you are in Cairo, you should definitely take this tour.

Just horrible!

Heba_S, Nov 2022

The tour guide assigned to us from Emo Tours was terrible! His name was Mohammed. It was a six hour tour that was only three hours due to his lack of guidance. We only saw the Salah El-Din Castle and Al Rifai Mosque. We were not taken to the other two mosques on the Viator itinerary. When walking us around the mosques, he was on his phone the whole time and only wanted to take photos of proof that he took us to a mosque for his reviews. He took us to Khan Al-Khalili but he made it a bad experience telling us everything there is fake and “made in China”. He kept telling us that he can take us to places off the itinerary. He only showed us the first two mosques in 15 minutes. He was not helpful and completely neglecting during the tour. On the ride back, he put his AirPods in and listened to music and bragged about his wife being a doctor and then begged for a tip because he has two kids. He was not being engaging as our tour guide. I would not recommend him to help other tourists as this was a bad experience. I reached out to Emo Tours and they refuse to give me back a refund for basically a 15 minute tour. Very poor customer service! But expected! Choose another tour agency!!

Memorable, highly recommended!

Wafa_E, Aug 2022

Khaled our tour guide made the journey memorable. He is extremely knowledgeable and accommodating. Highly recommended. Shout out also to Mena our driver who made driving through bustling Cairo a smooth and enjoyable journey

Informative and a Must Do!

Renier_S, May 2022

Passionate Team Leader/Guide Ahmed Khattab ensured we were well informed, even drawing in other's to listen to he's entertaining and detailed description and background knowledge of the temples. Delightful excursion and well recommended - a must do!

Great part day tour.

Michael, Jan 2022

This a great part day tour that works well if you have part of day available while in Cairo. Taking a tour was easy way to see these sites that may otherwise be difficult to see.

Thank you Essam!

Max_M, Mar 2020

Essam (3ssam) was an incredible guide for our half day tour around a total of 4 of the most amazing mosques we've seen in old Cairo and the Citadel. We learned a huge amount from Essam and he was very good at setting the scene and then re-iterating what we'd learned for everything to set in. Essam also taught us a great deal about Islamic beliefs and culture which was a huge bonus, answering every question with a great deal of depth, wisdom and enthusiasm. Thank you so much for an amazing, fast paced, and exciting afternoon! We'll be back some day to see you again! Additional things we loved: - Essam handled tips and bribes (sometimes to enter closed areas!) and we settled up with him at the end - Made sure we were comfortable in the car and the temperature was right - Snacks waiting for us in the car - Helped us practice our Arabic (Sabba al Ful!) - Took great photos of us and showed us top spots - Bought us Tea and sat with us in a local cafe after the trip and waited with us for an Uber to take us to the airport, making sure we got into the car safely. - Really cared and took an interest in us

Request Tito for your guide on this...

Steven_D, Jun 2018

Request Tito for your guide on this trip. As a former English teacher he is quite fluent in English and was able to provide presentation in a conversational style that was quite engaging. We were able to see all of the sites listed on this tour at a nice pace. He was quite knowledgeable regarding these sites and frequently checked with me regarding any special interests I would have on this topic. Prompt, courteous, knowledgeable, and engaging.

シタデルも回れて効率が良いですよ

Misao, Nov 2024

距離感が最高で、必要なことを必要なときに説明してくれる女性のガイドさん（名前を忘れてしまったけど）で、とても居心地が良かったです。 كان لدي إحساس كبير بالمسافة، وكانت هناك مرشدة نسائية (نسيت اسمها) شرحت لي ما أحتاجه عندما كنت بحاجة إليه، وشعرت براحة شديدة.

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