03Cities and regions

The capital

Cairo

Egypt's capital and largest city is home to more than 9.8 million people, and Greater Cairo to over 22 million. Founded in 969 as the Fatimid capital, it earned the name 'city of a thousand minarets' for the sheer amount of Islamic architecture it holds. Its historic heart, on the World Heritage List since 1979, is one of the largest and densest collections of historic buildings in the Islamic world: hundreds of mosques, madrasas, fountains, caravanserais and mansions. Start on al-Muizz Street, the spine of the old walled city, which runs for about a kilometre between the gates of Bab al-Futuh and Bab Zuweila, lined with Mamluk façades in the Bayn al-Qasrayn stretch. At its northern end lies the Khan el-Khalili bazaar with its workshops. Further south stands the Mosque of Ibn Tulun, the oldest well-preserved mosque in Egypt, with a vast courtyard and a minaret wrapped in an outside spiral stair, then the massive stone bulk of the Sultan Hasan complex, and above them both the Citadel on the Mokattam hills. Give old Cairo at least two days, and walk al-Muizz Street slowly, stopping at the madrasas and fountains on both sides.

over 9.8 million

City population

0

Cairo founded

1979

Historic Cairo on the World Heritage List

about 1 km

Length of al-Muizz Street