Good Day Travelers!
After my last post about the Muhammad Ali Mosque I want to share something a bit different today - I'm going to take you guys on a virtual tour into the nature and we will together explore the massive Al-Azhar Park with it's incredible variety of plants, trees, insects and birds.
When I first saw this beautiful area It honestly felt like as if the Al-Azhar Park is the heart of Cairo as its trees may at least filter some of the quite dusty air of the city. If you are a "walk enjoyer" this may be the best place to do your exercise as the city usually doesn't offer that many safe/secured walkways. You will learn that this is a perfect place to relax your soul and rest your mind.
Location, Tickets and Rules
To start first I want to give you a quick overview about all details you should know before you visit the park.
Ticket prices
Sat-Thu: 35LE (1.2$) for Adults and 25LE (0.80$) for Children
Fridays: 40LE (1.3$) for Adults and 30LE (1$) for Children
The opening times are daily from 9AM - 10PM
Rules
- Don't walk climb on trees
- No balls or bikes
- No Alcoholic beverages
- No swimming in the lake
- No pets
- No fireworks
I think the rules are pretty standard and not to strict except that you can't walk your dog in the park in case you have one.
Location
The Al-Azhar Park is located in the Old Town district of the city. It's actually just a few mins away from the Ali Muhammad (Al-Azhar) Mosque and if you are in Cairo in the winter time you definitely could combine both places for visit.
Al-Azhar Park
The park was designed by the French Architect Jacques Greber and funded by the Aga Khan Trust Foundation and the Government of Cairo for an estimated price of around 30 Million USD. The project started in 1992 and the park was opened to the public in 2005. The reason why they need 13 years to complete the park was that they had to remove over 80.000 Truckloads of soil during the time to even out the entire area. I only can imagine what an crazy big building project this must have been!
Let's start the walk and talk more about the history and interesting facts about the park.
With a total of over 2 Million plants/trees you get a slight idea on how massive this park is. Beside the beautiful walk ways there are also a lot of playgrounds for children, little grass areas where you can enjoy a small picknick with your friends or family or just simply explore it as a solo traveler such as me. It's crazy how different breathing feels in this park compared to any other place of this massive city.
On the images above you can see a small collection of the many different plants around the park which I photographed. The park is not only known for plants but also for a big variety of insects and birds which also like to enjoy the park. One Fun-Fact is, that this land was actually used as a garbage depot in the past! Seeing now how this land became alive again is something pretty beautiful to think about.
When you "hike" up on one of the many hills around the park, you have actually a pretty nice view on the old town district of the city. It's super fascinating how this green Oasis pops up in the middle of the city. Talking about the close distance to the Al-Azhar Mosque, which you can actually see pretty well from the park, is the fact, that the park was named after the Mosque. So there are a lot of Al-Azhar Monuments.
As a quick tipp - Don't avoid walking up these little stairs or hills as each of them will give you a different view around the city. It's also a great way to take pictures from different angles and just create nice layouts and frames.
As you can tell, there was this one beaaaaautyful red tree which really caught my attention. I probably haven't seen a more beautiful looking tree in my life and I was looking at it quite a while before I took some pictures. There was also sitting a couple below on a bench which seemed to enjoy this beautiful colored tree just as much as I did. Maybe anyone can tell me the name of this tree? I'm really curious about it! :))
Right behind the beautiful red tree there is a way up to the highest point of the park. (Don't worry, it's not a hard hike :D) - You will probably need 5 mins to be on top of the area and the views are even more stunning compared to the other hills. From this point you really get a 360° view around the entire city and you can see pretty much every building from the Old Town
On the very end of the North-Side of the park you will find the so called Hill-Top Restaurant which gives you an amazing panoramic view around the city. The restaurant itself serves oriental meals and is one of 2 restaurants in the park (The second one is at the lake). As this place looked a bit to fancy for my budged I can't tell much about the prices but being in Egypt it might have actually been reasonable.
Do I recommend a visit to the Al-Azhar Park
I mean, you can probably tell by my images and texts that I absolutely recommend a visit to the Al-Azhar park. Just everything from the air, cleanness, silence and beauty of this park makes the mind feel super relaxed. If you have a bit spare time in Cairo it's a clear must do and you should put it on your list.
If you walk around without any rush you can easily spend 3-4 hours at the park without feeling bored. It's a great half-day activity and depending on the month you visit Cairo you should consider to walk either in the morning or late afternoon/evening around the park to avoid the strong sun during the day.
As always, I hope you guys enjoyed this little virtual tour with me :))
Best,
Chris