The monument itself is not so great. The place is notable for the killing and the grave of the Egyptian president Anwar as-Sadat. Partly of Sudanese origin and visibly darker than an usual Egyptian, As-Sadat was one of the leading Free Officers. Vice-president at the time of the death of the famout Nasser (Gamal 'Abd an-Nasir) president, As-Sadat succeeded him. He was the author of the October War in 1973, during which Egypt and Syria attacked Israel, which occupied Sinai and Golan since 1967. With some military success, Egypt scored a political one, as Israel backed a bit from the banks of the Suez Channel. Therefore it was a war that could be claimed as won by Egypt, and that was a major success. Sadat turned Egypt from an alliance with USSR to an alliance with USA. He also visited Israel and signed a peace treaty with Israel, while not forgetting the Palestinian issue. But that made him a target of severe criticism and lead to a long isolation of Egypt in the Arab world. He was assassinated during a military parade in 1981. The memorial and the tomb are located far from the Cairo centre, so it's only for the fans of the Arab history.

We only got to stop here briefly before we were asked to move on, but a very poignant memorial and well guarded.