Cairo Citadel opens another wing to the public to attract more visitors

CAIRO (Reuters) – Cairo’s Citadel, one of the Egyptian capital’s most prominent sites, opened another wing containing two semi-circular towers to the public on Sunday in a bid to expand the country’s tourist attractions.

One of the largest medieval citadels in the world, the Citadel of Cairo dates back to around 1176 AD when its construction began under the Muslim military commander Salah al-Din al-Ayyubi, who later conquered Jerusalem from the Crusaders in 1187 AD .

The citadel, also known as the Saladin Citadel and overlooking Cairo, was the base of Egypt’s government for more than 700 years.

The newly opened section was until recently used as a private event venue and army and police barracks.

It includes the Ramla and Haddad (Blacksmith) towers, which were built in the decades after Salah al-Din’s death by his successors Sultan al-Adil al-Ayyubi and Sultan al-Nasir Saladin al-Ayyubi.

Tourism Minister Ahmed Eissa said opening the additional section to the public is part of a broader plan to improve tourism in Egypt that will be formally announced next month.

“Travel agencies have told me that a tour of the citadel does not last more than an hour. In the coming months, we plan to increase the time for visitors to visit the citadel from one hour to at least three hours,” he said. From reporters.

“This is the first effort we are making to relaunch Cairo as a new cultural product, which we will call ‘Cairo City Break,’ details of which will be released in the coming months,” Aissa said.

(Reporting by Syed Sheesha; Writing by Patrick Ver; Editing by Susan Fenton)

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