Cairo Tower

The tower went up between 1956 and 1961 on Gezira island, 187 metres of reinforced concrete built as an open lattice meant to suggest a lotus stalk, with a flared head holding an observation deck and a revolving restaurant. For 37 years it was the tallest structure in Egypt. The view is the reason to go: the Nile directly below with its bridges and feluccas, downtown and the medieval city to the east with the Citadel on its ridge, Zamalek's trees below, and on a clear day the Giza pyramids sitting on the desert edge to the south-west. The lattice casts a moving pattern of shadow on the deck through the day. Lift queues can be long and the ticket price for foreign visitors is several times the local rate.

History

The tower was built from 1956 to 1961 to designs by the Egyptian architect Naoum Shebib, inspired by ancient Egyptian architecture, its partly open lattice meant to evoke a lotus plant, crowned by a circular observation deck and a revolving restaurant. At 187 m it was the tallest structure in Africa until 1962, in North Africa until 1982 and in Egypt for 37 years, until a power line crossing over the Suez Canal surpassed it in 1998. Between 2006 and 2009 it underwent a restoration costing £E15 million, which repaired the concrete, added new floors at the base, an emergency staircase and a lift, and installed LED lighting (Wikipedia, Cairo Tower).

The main sights

• The 360-degree deck - Nile, downtown, Citadel and the desert edge.
• The concrete lattice - an open lotus-stalk shell casting patterned shade.
• The Nile bridges from above - the shape of the island and its channels.
• Giza on a clear day - the pyramids visible to the south-west when haze allows.

When to go

October to April, and late afternoon into sunset for the light, though that is also the longest queue. Winter mornings after rain give the clearest air for seeing the pyramids. Two hours including waiting.

Good to know

Haze and dust hide the pyramids on most days, so do not plan around that view. Lift queues of an hour are common at sunset and the deck gets crowded. The revolving restaurant is expensive and the food is ordinary. Foreign ticket prices are far above local ones.

Nearby

Zamalek and the Opera House are on the same island; downtown is across the bridge.

Key facts