Current time in Cairo

Egypt abolished daylight saving time in 2011 during the Arab Spring. In the middle of a revolution, changing the clocks seemed like a low priority. They never brought it back.

The Pyramids of Giza at sunrise are one of the most photographed golden hour subjects on Earth — the ancient limestone glows bright orange against the desert sky. They've been doing this for 4,500 years.

Ancient Egyptians were obsessed with solar time — the Great Pyramid is aligned to true north and the sunrise positions on solstices. Cairo has been tracking the sun since before time zones were invented.

Cairo gets over 3,500 hours of sunshine per year — one of the sunniest cities on Earth. Golden hour in Cairo happens in spectacular clarity because there are almost never clouds.

The Islamic calendar is lunar — based on moon sightings, not the sun. Cairo's religious life runs on lunar time while its business life runs on solar time. Two different time systems, one city.

The Suez Canal — 120 km north of Cairo — operates 24 hours a day. Ships from every time zone pass through, making Egypt a literal crossroads of global time zones every single day.