t e n a l 109 P y l e n Park o L

Al-Azhar © Cairo Islamic Egyptian Museum Umm ad-Dunya – the Mother of the POPULATION: MORE THAN 20 MILLION 20 MILLION MORE THAN POPULATION: Pyramids of Giza  Egyptian Egyptian ( p183 ) ahwa ( p170 ) ( p141 ) with its splendid ) with its splendid p141 ( Al-Azhar Park sunset view (water pipe) pipe) the bubble of the sheesha (water known as coffeehouse, at an Egyptian an his cohorts in the mazelike Museum ) – or just get lost p128 ( ) p157 in the narrow alleys ( ( p144 ) and cross an ) and cross an p144 Pyramids of Giza ( to-do list off your life item

of Escape the city noise in the greenery Relax to the click of backgammon and and to Tutankhamun your regards Give medieval of the great Visit your head back and gape at the Tip TELEPHONE CODE: 02 02 TELEPHONE CODE:

     HIGHLIGHTS HIGHLIGHTS

So blow your nose, crack a joketo look through the dirt and learn to see the city’s true But it’s a small price to pay to visit the city Cairenes call to visit the city Cairenes But it’s a small price to pay One taxi ride can span millennia, from the resplendent mosques and mausoleums built at millennia, from the resplendent One taxi ride can span

 colours. If you love Cairo, it will love you back. it will love Cairo, If you love colours. dusty when the spring khamsin blows in. of beige sand, and the sand is a social equaliser as well: everyone, no matter how rich, gets how rich, no matter as well: everyone, of beige sand, and the sand is a social equaliser the western edge of the city. The architectural jumble is smoothed over by an even coating by an even jumble is smoothed over architectural edge of the city. The the western the smog. the smog. pharaohs, as the Pyramids of Giza hulk on years – then all the way back to the days of the before your eyes each time you venture across a street. And your snot will run black from across a street. your eyes each time you venture before Nasser blocks of the on the ’), to the brutal concrete ‘Paris earned the city the nickname like a ghost town. You will be hounded by papyrus sellers at every turn. Your life will flash turn. Your life like at every by papyrus sellers town. You will be hounded a ghost (which palaces and grand avenues to the 19th-century empire, the pinnacle of the Islamic Let’s address the drawbacks first. The crowds on a Cairo footpath make Manhattan look Cairo on a crowds drawbacks first. The the address Let’s and humour. city’s spirit up with their uncommon graciousness weight and lifting the of 20 million people simultaneously crushing the city’s infrastructure under their collective under their collective crushing the city’s infrastructure of 20 million people simultaneously Cairo a battle against the desertproduct inhabitants waging of its 20 million (mostly), and winning World. This city has an energy, palpable even at three in the morning, like no other. It’s the in the morning, like no other. at three palpable even city has an energy, World. This CAIRO for 900years, untilthemid-19th century, But atheartitremained city amedieval filled withgrandfunerarymonuments. totheeast Island,whilethe desert Rhoda west totheportof Bulaqandsouthonto central Cairo wasaswampy plainsubject to central Cairo appearance. city’s than anyonesince theFatimids toalter the 16-year reign (1863–79), Ismaildidmore decided itwastimeforchange. Duringhis when Ismail,grandsonof Mohammed , the Motherof the World. Thiswasthecitythatcalled fickle sultans. ofcapital great wealth,ruledbycrueland dynasties,becamea and, undersubsequent them long inpower,buttheircitysurvived oughfares. The Fatimids were nottoremain straddle twoof mainthor- IslamicCairo’s Zuweilastill al-Futuh andBab an-Nasr, Bab Islamic study,andthethree great gates of Bab and university isstillEgypt’s maincentre of era remain today:thegreat Al-Azhar Europeans corrupted to Cairo. city victorious’,thepronunciationof which Al-Madinacendant; thusarose al-Qahira,‘the (Al-Qahir, ‘theVictorious’)wasintheas- whentheplanetMarsprobably onpurpose, about buildinga new city. andinsteadTunisia, theyspurnedFustat set the Fatimids marched infrommodern-day storeys Yet high. inthe10thcentury,when dens, street andbuildingsupto14 lighting by 10th-centurytravellers tell of publicgar- Descriptionslefton theheavy Niletraffic. ’s very rich soilandthetaxes imposed hugenearby. ’s wealthwasdrawnfrom thecityofIslam inAD642,established Fustat al-As, thegeneral whoconquered Egypt for which whileAmribn theycalledBabylon, Romans builtafortress attheportof On, centre atOn(modern-dayHeliopolis). The that. There ancientreligious was animportant furtherbackthan but thecity’shistorygoes were laidinAD969bytheFatimid dynasty, 20km southeastof the Giza Plateau. ofthe wasMemphis, At thetimePyramidswereotherwise. built, ence of thePyramidsleadsmanytobelieve isnota Cairo Pharaonic thepres- city,though 110 HISTORY Cairo finallyburst itswalls,spreadingCairo Many imposingbuildingsfromtheFatimid Construction beganonthenewcapital, Before the 1860sthefutureBefore site of modern The core foundationsof thecityof Cairo AR • Hsoy CAIRO ••History is thecentre. Thenoisy, busyDowntownarea, Midan Tahrir asitmayatfirst seem. as difficult sprawlisnot Finding yourwayaroundCairo’s ORIENTATION themremainssustain to be seen. andtheeconomycanWhether thedesert andothers areCairo thenewEgyptian dream. 6thof OctoberCity,New year: every desert malls andmegastores, springupfromthe blocks andfullsatellite cities,complete with Luxe gated communities,sprawlinghousing Hills ontheeastandth decades, growthhascrept beyondMuqattam ately newsuburbs.Inmore needed recent populated west bankof theNilefordesper- urban planners concreted over thesparsely were overcrowded. Inthe1960sand1970s, maintenance fell bythewaysideasapartments ofat theexpense Ismail’svision.Building –although of hasgrownspectacularly Cairo besidetheold style Cairo Islamic city. todesignandbuildanewEuropean- and Italy France Ismail invited architects fromBelgium, former marsh becameonevastbuildingsite as afresh.be donebystarting For10years the city of Thiscouldonly Europeanstanding. was determined toremake intoa hiscapital French-educated Ismailcametopower,he the annualfloodingof theNile. Whenthe feature on manytouristagendas. Wellbeyond the small,walled enclave of a CopticCairo, Buriedinhere andArabBabylon Fustat. is thesite termed of OldCairo, loosely Roman a successionof ramshackle neighbourhoods Then you’re outof and into centralCairo of GardenCityare primeembassyterritory. inhabited byboththelivingand the dead. now vastnecropolises Southern Cemeteries, university. Furthereast are theNorthern and andAl-Azhar al-Khalili Khan Mosqueand today. Atitscentre isthegreat bazaarof heartofmedieval thecity,stillbeatingstrong where takes over. Islamic Cairo This isthe Cairo. modern-day urbs such asShubra, perhaps the truesoulof are middle- andworking-class teeming sub- northernmost extent of Downtown.Beyond of marksthe thecity’smaintrainstation, Midan Talaat location Harb. MidanRamses, tions are, liesnortheastof Tahrir, centred on where most cheap op- eatingandsleeping Since therevolution of 1952thepopulation South of MidanTahrir, the tree-lined streets Downtown’s eastern edge isMidanAtaba, e Pyramidsonthewest. lonelyplanet.com