Too often, Egypt is reduced to its pharaonic and modern history. If you ask the average American what they know about Egypt, they'll probably mention the pyramids and maybe the Suez Canal if they're geographically inclined. Not many people realize that Egypt, and Cairo specifically, has much more to offer.
Cairo was originally founded by a ruling family called the Fatimids, who came from North Africa. They founded the city in honor of their conquest of Egypt, in the shadow of older cities like Fustat and Memphis. Before modern artillery, cities had walls to defend them from invaders, and Cairo's old wall is what differentiates it from the rest of the bustling metropolis. The walls have various gates that allowed people to enter the city safely, and a few of these gates remain today. Bab Al Futuh is the most well-preserved among them. Crossing the gate to get to historic Cairo is what we did to get a taste of Egypt's Islamic monuments.
Gates are often a supernatural symbol of passage, change, and new stages. The gates of Cairo symbolize a passage to a bygone age of caliphs, sultans, and crusades. Entering Bab Al Futuh, you'll find the cobbled street of Al-Muizz li-Din Allah al-Fatimi. While the street would be much better if it was just for pedestrians and no rickshaws or motorcycles were allowed, the street is still a layered experience thanks to the many souvenir shops, antique stores, mosques, and cafes it houses. You'll be greeted with the aromas of spiced coffee, the meows of cats, and the glimmer of sunshine on the cobblestone streets.
Mosques you've never heard of and never thought to look up end up being architectural masterpieces with intricate arabesque designs and Andalusian overlays. One of the first landmarks you'll see is the beginning of Mosky Street, a street-sized open-air mall that sells everything anyone could ever want (though not at the highest quality). Further along the street, you'll find Yehia El Khawanky, a hookah store that has been in business since 1890! Right in front of it, you'll find the mosque of the Sultan Al Zahir Barquq and the Qalawun complex right next to each other.
Both are massive mosques with impressive domes and even more impressive architecture. In Islam, depicting people in paintings and statues is seen by some as forbidden, so instead of building statues and colossi, medieval Muslims relied on patterns and colors to make their architecture stand out. That's why so many mosques around the world have intricate designs that don't depict anything in particular.
Just after the Qalawun complex, you'll come across Cairo's most famous landmark, Khan Al Khalili. The market is renowned for its souvenirs, artisans, and cafes, including El Fishawy Cafe, a cafe that Nobel Laureate Naguib Mahfouz would often write in. After Khan Al Khalili, we took a detour to the east to see two of Cairo's most historic mosques: the Hussein Mosque and Al Azhar Mosque. Shia and Sunni Islam have some of their holiest sites right in front of each other. The Hussein Mosque is a holy site in a few sects of Shia Islam as some believe that the head of the prophet's grandson Hussein ibn Ali lies beneath it, where a mausoleum now stands. Many pilgrims come to pay their respects to the mausoleum and to the belongings of the prophet. The mosque is one of the very few examples of Gothic architecture in the Middle East and is a reminder that Cairo was originally an Ismaili Shia city.
Right in front of it is the legendary Al Azhar Mosque and parts of its university. The mosque was built along with Cairo and houses Egypt's oldest university. The unique architecture of the mosque is what sets it apart from the Mamluk architecture that surrounds it. The mosque was named after the Fatimids' most revered figure: Fatima Al Zahra, with Al Azhar being a superlative of her epithet. Today, it still houses the three old faculties of Al Azhar: Arabic, Fiqh, and Sharia law
To the east of Al Azhar, you'll find the Ghuri complex, a complex that was built by Qunsuh Al Ghuri, the second-to-last Mamluk Sultan who was killed by the Ottoman Sultan Selim the Grim. The complex consists of a caravansary, a mosque, and a madrasa, and they are among the best-preserved buildings from that time. A little after the complex, we come to the end of our little sojourn at Bab Zuweila, where the last Mamluk Sultan was famously hanged by the Ottoman Sultan (who became caliph) Selim the Grim. If you're really looking for more, the Museum of Islamic Art is only a 15-minute walk away!
From its founding, Cairo has always been one of the world's most important cities and under the reigns of the Mamluks and Fatimids, it became a massive center for trade, religion, education, and manufacturing. Its unique architecture may not seem as timeless as the pyramids, but they offer a window to a different era of Egyptian history, where most of the world was still stuck in the Dark Ages, but Egypt was a beacon of progress.