Cairo:
Cairo was a source of amazement to travelers
even at the time of the Mameluks. But the indomitable city of Cairo is
still in the eyes of the Egyptians “The Victorious”, “Mother of the
world” or simply “Misr”, the name for Egypt as a whole. As long as the
visitor is willing to lose his way then he too can discover the
sweetness of Cairo nights lit by green neon illuminated mosques, the
warmth of small, everyday cafes, the pleasure of strolling along narrow
streets and the smiling good humor of the city’s people.
City centre
On the east bank of the Nile, between Tahrir
and Ataba Squares and Ramesses Station lies the centre of modern-day
Cairo. Europeanised since the mid nineteenth century, this quarter was
built along the same lines as Haussmann’s Paris: the streets are broad
and meet at right angles and rococo apartment buildings with stucco
mouldings were considered the height of modernity. This area also
conceals some architectural gems dating from the early nineteenth
century.
Along Talaat Harb Street, Qasr el-Nil Street
and the Avenue of the 26 July, enormous painted posters advertise films
currently showing in the cinemas. On Thursday evenings, the citizens of
Cairo crowd the pavements of this window-shopper’s paradise. There are
fabric remnant shops, clothes and shoe shops as well as major department
stores, such as City Star, excellent pastry shops, fashionable fast-food
outlets and belly-dancing cabaret clubs. The crowds are a mix of
tourists and students from the American university.
On leaving the main thoroughfares and entering the amazing alleyways of
Khan El Khalili, the visitor can discover small restaurants and workaday
cafes where men in suits and ties come to smoke their nargileh and drink
their extra sweet tea away from the bustle.
Tahrir Square (Liberation Square) in the heart of the city represents
Cairo as a whole. An oriental-style building houses the American
University. An enormous, semi-circular building, the Mogamma, houses
several government departments. A visa extension might require a visit
to this building in which case a cold beer to follow on the terrace of
the Nile Hilton is sure to be appreciated.
Cairo’s underground – the fourth pyramid
Over a million passengers travel daily
between Choubra el-Kheima in the north and Helwan in the south on its
smoothly operating trains. A second line linking the two banks was
opened in 1998 and has been extended as far as Giza.
Experiencing life after sunset
In the heart of the Cairo night, dazzling
dancers in sequinned costumes take centre stage. What westerners call
belly dancing is here regarded as an institution. As such it has its
dancing masters, who take pupils from around the world, its stars, who
are seized on by luxury hotels and cinema directors, its couturiers, its
musicians, its very own street of cabaret clubs and even its sleazy
bars.
Islamic Quarters
Cairo, “City of a thousand minarets”, is not
considered by Muslims to be as holy a city as Mecca, Medina or
Jerusalem. Its streets and alleyways do however conceal treasures of
Islamic art, many of which, although crumbling, offer a dazzling sight
to anyone who knows how and where to look. Admission to Islamic
monuments is not free. Visitors should also be aware of the need to
dress appropriately – shorts and vest tops are not acceptable – and to
cover the head in all mosques.
Around Bab el-Futuh
In the Islamic quarters of Old Cairo there
are mosques, palaces, caravanserais and Koranic schools. In this area
little visited by tourists there is however evidence of life as it is
lived by the ordinary people of Cairo – the tradesmen, street sellers
and craftsmen.
The two monumental gateways, Bab el-Futuh (Gate of Conquests) and Bab
el-Nasr (Gate of Victory), mark the northern edge of Fatimid Cairo.
Between the two lie the remains of the fortified wall which once
encircled the city and which still gives the impression of
invulnerability. Beside the Gate of Victory stands the El-Hakim Mosque,
built during the first years following 1,000 AD. A place of worship for
a mainly Indian Shiite sect, it was extensively restored with concrete
and marble in 1980 losing much of its restrained beauty in the process.
Leading away from the front of the mosque is
Mouizz el-Din Allah Street, lined with magnificent Islamic monuments. On
Dahab Street, one of the first streets on the right, stands Beit el-Souhaymi,
former residence of a seventeenth-century El-Azhar sheik, which gives an
idea of the splendour of dignitaries’ houses in the Mameluk period.
Mouizz el-Din Allah Street leads to the El-Aqmar Mosque (1125) and the
fourteenth-century madrasa (mosque school) of Sultan Barkuk.
Misr el-Qadima, the Coptic Quarter
Situated on the east – and right – bank of
the Nile at the southern tip of Roda Island lies the oldest inhabited
section on this side of the river and home today to the Coptic
population. It is possible to get there by underground (train to Helwan
as far as Mari Girgis), or by riverboat leaving opposite the television
station to the north of Tahrir Square.
Descending the few steps leading to Misr el-Qadima and entering the
encircling walls dating from Roman Babylon, the visitor enters another
world, one of silence and contemplation. The narrow streets lead to the
Convent of St George, the churches of St Sergius and St Barbara and,
close to the Christian cemetery, the Ben Ezra Synagogue, recently
restored thanks to the determined efforts of the Jewish community.
The churches – apart from the more modern Church of St George and
“Hanging Church” – are scarcely distinguishable from neighbouring houses
sharing the same stone, the same architecture and the same absence of
external religious imagery. Read more
Cries of the street sellers
Visitors may not realise it but the cries of
the street sellers encapsulate the poetry and humour of the Egyptian
people. The following are examples: boasting of the grapes’ sweetness,
the seller cries, “Drowsing through the climbing vine, bees hint at the
promise of sun-kissed wine!” Somewhat prone to exaggeration, sugar cane
sellers shout, “Seven-metre cane, oh sugar cane”, when sugar cane never
reaches more than five metres in length. “An empty bean pot means you’ve
missed the lot”, the ful (brown bean stew) seller quite sensibly points
out when keen to sell off the contents of his stew pot as quickly as
possible.
On the right, the Qalaun Mausoleum, built between 1284 and 1293,
comprises a madrasa (mosque and school), hospital and tomb. Inside, the
tranquil silence which persists today seems intensified by the
stained-glass windows.
Khan el-Khalili Bazaars
The bazaar is the domain of shopkeepers and
tourists. Jewellery, items made from copper, marquetry boxes, imitations
of pharaonic objects, semi-precious stones, rugs, blown-glass dishes and
other souvenirs are bought and sold in the shops grouped by trades along
the narrow streets. It is a place to meander, bargain and lose one’s
way…but not miss out on a cup of tea or karkade at the bazaar’s famous
Café Fishawy. Just a few years ago, Naguib Mahfouz himself used to come
and sit beneath the huge, ageing and discoloured mirrors of the café.
Vendors beckon shoppers to their stores..their
cries drowned by the call to prayers sounding from the
nearby El Hussein/Husayn
Mosque.. the colorful alley-ways of Khan Al Khalili…all create a unique
religious and commercial experience not found in many Middle Eastern
bazaars. Located in the heart of Fatimid Cairo, Khan El Khalili is a
lively, shoppers' paradise, as walking through its winding , narrow
streets unveils an endless variety of original Egyptian treasures, as
well as their junk replicas, where in all cases "bargaining" is the
bazaar's spoken language
Historical Origin at a
glance
Al Khan is a two to three storey commercial building used as a housing
and storage facility by merchants, usually built around a courtyard.
Historically, Khan Al Khalili was a collection of small and large
extensive khans, built by Amir Jarkas Khalili in 1382, setting a market
tradition that established Cairo as an active international trade center
Hunt, Bargain and buy
Be prepared to be tempted by all kinds of merchandise as you stroll down
the historical alley ways of Al Khan: antiques, brass and copperware,
carpets, lamps, perfumes, papyrus, gold and silver jewellery, inlaid
ivory boxes , to mention but a few of the items on display . However,
you'll find that the prices tend to vary widely, and so, the wise
shopping equation would be: "wander+ compare+bargain= best buy"
If you want to stretch your imagination and create: Khan Al Khalili is
the place to be, as executing your own designs of jewellery , brass
lamps, carpets, or even personalizing brass name plates , and cartouches
is possible in almost any shop you enter. Usually personalizing at item
takes 24 hours, where you are either called to pick up your souvenir the
next day, or you are provided with door to door shipping
Recommended personalized souvenir:
For a special gift or souvenir, visit the bookbinder in the street behind
Al Azhar
Mosque, and
purchase a quality leather diary or photo album with your initials
engraved in gold to eternalize the memory of your visit to Cairo
City of the Dead
The City of the Dead, without question one
of the world’s largest necropolises, covers several square kilometres at
the foot of Moqattam cliff. It contains the plain stone tombs of
ordinary people and grandiose mausoleums which are the resting places of
emirs and sultans, some dating from the fifteenth century. The living
inhabit small, two or three-roomed houses built during the nineteenth
century for the purpose of watching over the dead in accordance with a
ritual dating back to the pharaohs. When finding accommodation in Cairo
became a challenge, the poorest people headed for these “villas” which
had the great advantage of offering space and quiet.
Anyone keen on Mameluk architecture will want to visit the two
mausoleums of Qaitbay and Barkuk in the northern part of the necropolis
(El-Khalifa).
The Islands of Gezira and Roda
A lush, green oasis sheltered from the manic
pace of the rest of the capital, the island of Gezira in the middle of
the Nile is home to the residential quarter of Zamalek as well as to
sports clubs, the new opera house and the Cairo Tower which at 185 m
tall dominates the city. Site of numerous embassies and chosen for its
tranquillity by many foreign residents, Zamalek seems to live at its own
pace. When tired of traffic jams and crowds in the popular quarters, the
visitor can come here to stroll peacefully along shady streets bordered
by villas with an old-fashioned charm. The island of Roda shelters the
Manyal Palace, former residence of the son of the Khedive Tewfiq,
Mohamed Ali, and today transformed into a museum. Nestling on the banks
of the Nile and protected by a rampart made to look like fortifications,
the former royal residence is surrounded by a magnificent garden full of
rich vegetation.
West Bank
Administratively separate from the east bank
– on crossing the Nile, the visitor leaves Cairo and enters the
governorship of Giza – the west bank of the Nile also has a distinctive
population and appearance. Modern and straight avenues stretch away for
kilometre after kilometre. Here and there a park planted with lumbering
eucalyptus, small village square or beautiful restored villa reminds the
visitor that a certain level of the middle class built residences here
in what was the heart of the countryside just a few decades ago.
The
Egyptian Museum (Cairo Museum)
Saqqara
Step Pyramid of Djoser
Great
Pyramids and Sphinx
Old Coptic
Cairo
Islamic Cairo
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