Cairo, Egypt’s capital city, and the outlying city of Giza are known as hubs of vibrant Egyptian culture. Today, we feature a selection of images from the Associated Press photo archive of both cities through the years.
Click on any image to launch the Cairo and Giza: Then and Now gallery.
In this Friday, Dec. 28, 2012 photo, Muslims arrive to attend the Friday prayer at Al-Azhar mosque in Cairo, Egypt. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)
The ten-centuries-old mosque of Al-Azhar gleaming lights during Ramadan nights in Cairo, Egypt on March 1, 1963. The dome and minaret mosque and at least five thousand other illuminated during Ramadan nights. (AP Photo/Mahmoud)
Journalists visit the Sphinx, with the body of a lion and a human head, on a media tour following the completion of restoration work in preparation for the reopening of the courtyard around its base, in front of the Khafra pyramid, Giza, near Cairo, Egypt, Sunday, Nov. 9, 2014. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)
The Lion’s body of the sphinx is firm, but the human face of the majestic monument is showing the effects of 5,000 years of howling sandstorms, scorching desert days and chilling nights in Giza, Egypt on Dec. 5, 1978. (AP Photo)
Egyptian children play on a slide set up next to a tent outside Rabaah al-Adawiya mosque, where supporter of Egypt’s ousted President Mohammed Morsi have installed a camp and held daily rallies at Nasr City, in Cairo, Egypt, Saturday, Aug. 10, 2013. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)
Young Egyptian children play during a mid-day break, on the ground of the new school at Egypt’s new farm project in El Tahrir province, Cairo on May 14, 1956. A nurse and teacher supervise the play. (AP Photo/Jim Pringle)
In this Saturday, Sept. 7, 2013 photo, the Giza Pyramids stand out from the desert on the horizon, near Cairo, Egypt. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis)
The pyramids of Egypt are contrasted against the pyramidal tents of an army camp set up near Mena House to provide quarters for military police and other military personnel necessary at the Cairo Conference in Nov. 1943. (AP Photo)
Egyptian farmer, Sayyed Abdel Nabi, 50, poses for a picture, as other Egyptian farmers harvest wheat on a farm, not pictured, in Qalubiyah, North Cairo, Egypt, Monday, May 13, 2013. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Two farmers who have been under the new training system, attending to wheat growing in the former Western Desert in Cairo, Egypt on March 26, 1956. (AP Photo/Jim Pringle)
Mustafa Mohamed, 5, reaches to trim a horse at his father’s makeshift animal barber shop in Cairo, Egypt, March 8, 2014. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)
A patrol of Spahis, famous French Colonial cavalrymen, gallop their mounts down the side of a dune in the Egyptian desert, Jan. 3, 1941. (AP Photo)
Egyptian women chant a day before Moulid, which commemorates the birth of Prophet Muhammed, the central figure of the Islamic religion, at a mosque in Cairo, Egypt, Friday, Jan. 2, 2015. (AP Photo/Nariman El-Mofty)
Lights inside the Mohammed Ali Mosque inside the Citadel in Cairo, Egypt in 1977. (AP Photo/Horst Faas)
In this Thursday, Jan. 3, 2013 photo, Egyptian artisan, Mohammed Karam, 55 works on an oud at his workshop on Mohammed Ali street, a street modeled after Parisí boulevards, home to musicians, belly-dancers and instrument makers, in downtown Cairo, Egypt. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)
Potters at work in factories at South of Cairo, Egypt on March 14, 1981. (AP Photo/Bill Foley)
A tourist poses for a photographer, unseen, at the historical site of the Giza Pyramids, near Cairo, Egypt, Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2013. (AP Photo/Jon Gambrell)
In this March 25, 1956 photo, Ferial, a belly dancer, performs at the Abdin Casino in Cairo, Egypt. (AP Photo)
Egyptians walk in Al Muezz street in Al Azhar mosque area, in Cairo, Egypt, Tuesday, Dec. 7, 2010. (AP Photo/ Khalil Hamra)
A street scene in Cairo, Egypt, in 1935. (AP Photo/Begy)
See collections of Cairo & Giza through the years.
Lead Photo Caption: Egyptian camel drivers wait for tourists at the historical site of the Giza Pyramids, near Cairo, Egypt, Saturday, Jan. 28, 2012. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen)
Spotlight is the blog of AP Images, the world’s largest collection of historical and contemporary photos. AP Images provides instant access to AP’s iconic photos and adds new content every minute of every day from every corner of the world, making it an essential source of photos and graphics for professional image buyers and commercial customers. Whether your needs are for editorial, commercial, or personal use, AP Images has the content and the expert sales team to fulfill your image requirements. Visit apimages.com to learn more.
Written content on this site is not created by the editorial department of AP, unless otherwise noted.
AP Images Blog 