The Cairo Tower (Arabic: برج القاهرة) is a free-standing concrete TV tower in Cairo, Egypt. It stands in Zamalek district on Gezira Island in the River Nile, in the city centre. At 187 metres, it is 43 metres higher than the Great Pyramid of Giza, which stands some 15 km to the southwest.
The Cairo Tower was built from 1956 to 1961, reportedly to convince a sceptical world the nation had the capability to construct the Aswan Dam. Its partially open lattice-work design is intended to evoke a lotus plant. The tower is crowned by an observation deck and a restaurant.
