Ramadan 2027 in Old Cairo

When is Ramadan 2027 in Egypt?

Astronomical forecasts put the first day of fasting on or around Monday 8 February 2027 and Eid al-Fitr on 9 or 10 March. Egypt confirms both only after the moon sighting.

The Islamic calendar is lunar, so Ramadan moves about 11 days earlier every year. In 2026 Egypt fasted from Thursday 19 February, and Eid al-Fitr began on Friday 20 March. For 2027, regional forecasts published in August to October 2026 converge on 8 February as the first day of Ramadan 1448. Some still allow for 9 February.

The official word comes from Dar al-Ifta, Egypt's fatwa authority, which holds its moon-sighting session on the evening of 29 Sha'ban and announces the result that night. If the crescent is seen, fasting starts the next morning. If not, a day later. Eid works the same way at the end of the month, which is why the government only fixes the public holiday a week or two before.

For travel planning: treat 7 to 9 February as the start window, and 9 to 13 March as the Eid window, when offices close for several days and many Cairenes travel.

Are Old Cairo's monuments open during Ramadan, and for how long?

Yes. Museums and sites stay open every day but close earlier, typically between 15:00 and 16:30, and ticket windows shut an hour before.

The Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities publishes Ramadan hours each year, a few days before the month starts. For Ramadan 2024, Egypt Independent reported the Citadel at 09:00 to 16:30, the Egyptian Museum at 09:00 to 16:00 and most other museums at 09:00 to 15:00. The ministry's own page for the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization lists Ramadan hours of 09:00 to 16:00, last ticket 15:00.

Prices don't change. The Citadel is still EGP 550 (about $11) and card only, Sultan Hassan and Al-Rifai EGP 220, the Al-Muizz unified ticket EGP 220. Coptic Cairo's churches and Ben Ezra stay free. Expect the 2027 schedule to look like the table below, and check the ministry's announcement in early February.

The practical fix is simple: start at 09:00 and do the ticketed sites first. A full Islamic Cairo day that runs until 17:00 in October has to finish by mid-afternoon in Ramadan.

Can tourists visit mosques in Old Cairo during Ramadan?

Yes, outside prayer times. Mornings are best. Evenings are for worship, with long taraweeh prayers after the night prayer.

The mosques you would visit anyway, Muhammad Ali, Sultan Hassan, Al-Rifai and Al-Azhar, stay open to visitors in Ramadan with the usual rules: shoulders and knees covered, women cover their hair, shoes off. Visits pause during each prayer, and Friday noon is off-limits as always. Our mosque dress code guide has the details.

After sunset, the picture changes. Al-Azhar and the Al-Hussein Mosque fill for the night prayer and taraweeh, and in the last ten nights the crowds spill into the squares. That is a sight worth watching from outside. Walking around inside with a camera at that hour is not. Al-Hussein itself is a shrine mainly for worshippers at any time of year; non-Muslim visitors usually stay in the square in front.

One more thing: your guide or driver may be fasting. No water, no food, no cigarette from dawn to sunset. A little patience in the afternoon goes a long way.

What are Ramadan nights like at Al-Hussein, Khan el-Khalili and Al-Muizz?

Busy and late. Streets empty during iftar at sunset, then fill again from about an hour later until well after midnight, with families, lanterns and cafés open into suhoor.

Sunset in Cairo falls at roughly 17:35 to 18:00 in February and early March. For half an hour around the call to prayer, the city sits down to eat and traffic all but disappears. Then everyone heads out. Al-Hussein Square, the lanes of Khan el-Khalili and Al-Muizz Street and the cafés around El Fishawy are at their liveliest in Ramadan, with fanous lanterns strung across the lanes and long queues for sweets like kunafa and qatayef.

Al-Muizz is pedestrian at its northern end and lit at night, so it is a good walk after dinner. Shops in the Khan keep late hours. Ramadan tents and hotel iftar buffets are another option if you want a sit-down meal with entertainment; prices vary a lot, so book through your hotel.

The downside: crowds. Watch your phone in the tightest lanes, and agree a meeting point if you are in a group. The hour before iftar is the worst of the day on the roads, so don't plan a cross-town drive between about 16:30 and sunset.

A felucca on the Nile, dinner and Khan el-Khalili after dark for one flat price per person, the same whatever your group size.

★ 4.8 · 4 to 5 hours · from $39 per person

Explore the night tour with dinner and a felucca → Tour details

Can you eat and drink in public during Ramadan in Cairo?

Non-Muslim visitors are not expected to fast, but eating, drinking or smoking openly in the street in daytime is impolite. Do it indoors.

Hotels, tourist restaurants and cafés in places like Zamalek keep serving through the day, some behind curtains. Many small local places in Islamic Cairo close until iftar, so a street-food lunch on Al-Muizz is harder to find. Carry a bottle of water and drink it discreetly in a car, a courtyard corner or a café.

Alcohol is the other change. Hotel bars generally keep serving foreign guests, while some bars and shops close for the month. Don't count on a beer with dinner in Old Cairo itself.

Dress the same as any other month for mosques. Elsewhere, slightly more covered is a good idea out of courtesy.

Which Old Cairo tours still run in Ramadan, and what about Eid al-Fitr?

Private day tours run as normal with earlier finishes. Night tours shift their timing around iftar. Eid adds crowds and a long public holiday, but sites stay open.

Private car tours such as the 4-hour Coptic Cairo, Citadel and Khan tour work well in Ramadan if you start early: four hours from 09:00 lands you back before the shorter closing times bite. Lunch options become less certain, because many local restaurants open only at sunset; ask the operator what they do in Ramadan if lunch is part of your option. Remember the from-prices on private tours are per person in a larger group on the cheapest option: a couple or solo traveller pays more per head, so enter your party size on Viator to see yours.

The night tour with dinner and a felucca is the one to check. Its sunset felucca and dinner fall right at iftar, so the operator may change the order or the start time. It is $39 per person, entrances and dinner included, drinks and tips not. A guest summed up a regular evening this way: "The experience exceeded expectations, from the pick up to the dinner and market treats." (Mark, Oct 2026). Another guest on a private Citadel day wrote that they "were able to visit on Friday, holy day for both religions and the end of Ramadan" (Joseph, Mar 2026).

Eid al-Fitr is three days of family outings. Parks, the Nile corniche and the Khan get crowded, and the Citadel sees many Egyptian visitors. Museums usually open during Eid. Book drivers and guides early for the holiday days, and expect slow roads on Eid evenings.

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