1) Millennia-old monuments sit along the fertile Nile River Valley, including Giza's colossal Pyramids and Great Sphinx as well as Luxor's hieroglyph-lined Karnak Temple and Valley of the Kings tombs. 2) A heady mix of incense and antiquity lingers in the narrow lanes of Old Cairo, home to Cairo’s Coptic Christian community, who comprise almost 11% of the population in Egypt. 3) Old Cairo, on the east bank of the Nile, is today the centre of the Coptic Orthodox Church, which traces its founding to Saint Mark the Evangelist, who introduced Christianity to Egypt in the 1st century AD. 4) Coptic Cairo is a must-visit during Christmas, with churches that are nearly 1,600 years old and interesting museums. 5) Traditionally, the Copts go back to Biblical times, when Mary and Joseph fled to Egypt along with the Infant Jesus, and lived there for a few months.