Egypt Guide
Cairo
Islamic Cairo
Islamic Cairo sustains fantasy and confounds certainty. Few foreigners enter its maw without equal measures of excitement and trepidation. Streets are narrow and congested, slimy underfoot with donkey shit and burst water mains, overhung with latticed balconies. Mosques, bazaars and medieval lanes abound; the smell of sheeshas and frying offal wafts through alleys where muezzins wail "Allahu akbar!" (God is most great) and beggars entreat "Ya mohannin, ya rabb" (O awakener of pity, O master) – as integral to street life as the artisans and hawkers. The sights, sounds, smells and surprises draw you back time after time, and getting lost or dispensing a little baksheesh is a small price to pay for the experience.
You can happily spend days, even weeks, exploring the area without running out of things to see. The best way to explore Islamic Cairo is by walking. Basically, you decide on a starting point that's readily accessible from downtown Cairo, and then follow an itinerary on foot from there. The most obvious starting points are Khan el-Khalili, the Bab Zwayla and the Citadel. The tourist office can put you in touch with authorized guides, and unofficial ones may accost you on the street.
The buildings you will most want to visit are mosques, madrassas (theological schools) and wikalas (caravanserais). On occasion, former private mansions are also open to the public. Most mosques and religious buildings don't charge admission, but unscrupulous custodians and other opportunists may try to charge you. If this happens, demand an official ticket – if they have none, the charge is spurious and you should refuse to pay it. Of course, custodians generally expect baksheesh. Opening hours are roughly 9am to 7pm daily, though places may well open up later, depending on when the guardian turns up, and they may close an hour or two earlier in winter. During Ramadan, you will not be able to visit after about 4pm. You will also not be welcome during prayer times and the Friday noon assembly, which lasts over an hour but should be finished by 2.30pm, and a couple of mosques are permanently closed to non-Muslims.