Day Tour to the Nilometer and Manial Palace (Private Tour)

The first monument to visit is the Nilometer. It’s situated in the Southern tip of Roda Island. It is one of the oldest existent structures which dates back to the period just after the Arab conquest of Egypt. Its importance goes back to a time when measuring the rise of the waters of the Nile was closely related to the levying of taxes on agricultural lands. Taxes were levied only when the waters of the Nile had risen to a certain designated level, which would irrigate the land during flood season.

Then moving on to visit the remarkable Manial Palace of Prince Mohamed Ali Pasha “King Farouk’s uncle”. He had it designed in a style integrating European Art Nouveau and Rococo with many traditional Islamic architectural styles including Ottoman, Moorish, and Persian, creating inspired combinations in spatial design, architectural and interior decorations, and sumptuous materials. The residence compound, composed of five separate and distinctively styled buildings, is surrounded by gardens planted with rare tropical plants collected by the prince on his travels along a small branch of the Nile.

Then, end the tour with a visit to the City of Dead or Cairo cemetery which contains a vast area of tombs and mausoleums, some of them are dating back to the Islamic Conquest of Egypt in 642 AD. Many people take this area as their permanent home because of the country’s chronic housing crisis shortage. We can see how the people live there.

Then head to the river to board a felucca, a traditional sailboat used on the Nile and other Mediterranean regions. As you float along the river, you’ll have lunch on board. After this trip, you will be transferred to your hotel.