Islamic Cairo

A look around

What you’ll be living next to. Swipe through.

1/4

Where it sits

The circle is Islamic Cairo and roughly a 10-minute walk around it.

How far is everything?

From the middle of this area to the city's headline sights — pick your own on the city page and these become your list.

• The Egyptian Museum (Tahrir)8 min taxi2.7 km
• A felucca on the Nile10 min taxi3.5 km
• The Cairo Tower11 min taxi3.6 km
• A Nile dinner cruise13 min taxi4.3 km
• Coptic Cairo & the Hanging Church17 min taxi5.6 km
• The Pyramids of Giza & the Sphinx43 min taxi14.5 km
• A camel ride at the pyramids45 min taxi14.9 km
• The Grand Egyptian Museum45 min taxi15.0 km

On your doorstep

What you’re living next to if you stay here.

• 3.The Citadel & Mosque of Muhammad Ali — The great medieval fortress on a hill over the city, crowned by the soaring domes and slender minarets of the alabaster Mosque of Muhammad Ali — grand within and out, with a sweeping view over a sea of minarets to the pyramids on a clear day. The landmark of Islamic Cairo; combine it with the museums inside the walls.
• 4.Khan el-Khalili bazaar — A dazzling, centuries-old medieval bazaar — a labyrinth of lantern-lit alleys selling spices, brass, silver, perfumes, textiles and trinkets, threaded with ancient coffeehouses. Overwhelming and touristy but magical; haggle hard, get lost, and pause for a mint tea and shisha at the legendary El Fishawy café, going for 250 years.
• 6.Al-Muizz Street & the mosques — The medieval main street of Islamic Cairo — an open-air museum of some of the finest Islamic architecture in the world, a dense concentration of exquisite mosques, madrasas and merchant houses, beautifully restored and floodlit at night. Wander it slowly, climb a minaret for the view, and step into the serene, cool courtyards.
• 11.Al-Azhar & the park — The thousand-year-old Al-Azhar, one of Islam's oldest and most important mosques and universities, its serene courtyard a haven of calm — and nearby, the beautiful Al-Azhar Park, a green oasis reclaimed from a rubbish dump, with lawns, fountains and a superb view over the medieval city and its minarets. A lovely pairing of faith and green space.