Cairo is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in Africa, with a population of 10 million. It is estimated that the population of Greater Cairo is nearly 25 million.
The city sits on the legendary Nile River, not too from the Sinai Peninsula that lies across the Suez Canal. It is just two and a half hours away by train from Alexandria, which sits on the Mediterranean Sea. Cairo is often called the gift of the Nile, since without that river, it would not survive.
The Great Pyramids of Giza are its most famous attraction. It attracts tourists from all corners of the globe. And then many of them head off to Luxor to visit the Valley of the Kings and the Valley of the Queens. Some venture off even further to the Aswan Dam in the south, which is a four-hour drive from Sudan’s northern border. Relatively few venture into Cairo.
Maybe they are not aware of the multiple attractions that exist in Cairo. Or maybe they are concerned about the traffic congestion they will encounter, the animal herds they will see roaming around, or the filth in the streets. As a British writer who lived in Cairo for years put it: Cairo specialises in a state of total pandemonium, throwing every visitor into panic by a great deal of noise and screaming. I must admit when I lived in Cairo for three weeks many Novembers ago, I was also thrown into a state of panic at times.
Cairo’s skyline is defined by its mosques, featuring four distinct architectural styles ranging from the Fatimid era to the Ottoman period, earning it the nickname "the city of a thousand minarets"
But none of this chaos is unique to Cairo. It is encountered in most large cities in the Global South, including Karachi. But unlike those cities, Cairo has a low crime rate and its hospitality is legendary.
I experienced Egyptian hospitality firsthand during my visit. One of my Egyptian friends, an energy expert who I had met in San Francisco the year prior, kindly offered to pick me up from my hotel one evening, and to take me to another energy expert’s place for dinner. I was staying at the Marriott on Gezira Island, located next to the Nile River. He arrived at the hotel just as dusk fell. We walked a short distance across a bridge and took a mini-van which took us to a bus stop. From there, we boarded a bus to our destination. When he got off the bus, we crossed a major roadway and walked over to the friend’s house.
Yes, the traffic jams were intense, and it was hard to cross the road on foot. At one point, while walking through a neighbourhood, we encountered a pack of dogs, but a young man was keeping them in check with a stick. But the host served an incredible meal and all of us had a wonderful conversation. Afterwards, he drove me back to my hotel in his VW.
And in the following days I ventured into old Cairo with local guides. The tour afforded me an up-close view of the incredible treasures that the city’s nine epochs have left behind: Pharaonic, Greek, Roman, Persian, Byzantine, Ayyubid, Fatimid, Mamluk, and Ottoman. I have the good fortune of touring three dozen countries in six continents over the years. But none of the cities in these countries come close to Cairo in their wealth of historical treasures.
Egyptian history goes back millennia, longer than that of most cities in the world. The area around present-day Cairo had long been a focal point of ancient Egypt due to its strategic location at the junction of the Nile Valley and the Nile Delta regions (roughly Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt), which also placed it at the crossing of major routes between North Africa and the Levant. Memphis, the capital of Egypt during the Old Kingdom of the Pharaohs and a major city up until the Ptolemaic period, was located a short distance south west of present-day Cairo. The Ptolemaic dynasty was founded in 305 BC by the Macedonian Greek general Ptolemy, a companion of Alexander the Great. Egypt was governed by the Ptolemaic dynasty until the death of Cleopatra VII in 30 BC.
On the orders of Omar b. al- Khattab, the second of the Khula-e-Rashidun, Amr b. al-As attacked Egypt in 639. By 642, he had defeated the Byzantine armies and conquered all of Egypt. Alexandria had served as the capital of Egypt, going back to the reign of Alexander the Great in 332 BC.
Today, Cairo’s skyline is dominated by minarets, and some call it the city with a thousand minarets. In fact, the actual number is even higher if the minarets of the small mosques are counted. Cairo’s minarets fall into four styles, depending on who governed Egypt: Fatimid (969-1171), Mamluk (1250-1517), Ottoman (1517-1867) and Modern/Eclectic (1867 onwards).
Amr b. al-As created a new capital city, al-Fustat (the tent or the camp), not too far from Cairo’s current location. But it was not until 969 that al-Qāhirah, the Victorious, later known as Cairo was created. Al-Qahirah was the name given by the Fatimid Caliph al-Muizz following the establishment of the city as the capital of the Fatimid dynasty.
The oldest mosque in Cairo is the Amr b. al-As Mosque. It’s located in the Fustat neighborhood of old Cairo. It was the first mosque built in Egypt. For 600 years, the mosque was also an important centre of Islamic learning until it was replaced by al-Muizz’s al Azhar Mosque. I visited the Arm b. al-As mosque in the morning, before the congregational prayers. However, worshippers were offering their salutations at the grave of Amr b. al-As. I joined them.
The mosque of Ibn Tulun, with a unique spiral minaret, is one of the oldest and biggest in Cairo. It was built between 876-879. Its architecture evokes the design of the gigantic mosque of Samarra in Mesopotamia, whose spiralling ramp was inspired by ancient Mesopotamian ziggurats. I saw it and was stunned by its uniqueness.
A major event in Egyptian history was the arrival of Salahuddin Ayyubi, who arrived in 1176. During his reign, the eponymous Citadel was created. It dominated the eastern side of Cairo for nine centuries.
It was the seat of government in Egypt and the residence of its rulers for nearly 700 years from the 13th century until the construction of Abdeen Palace in the 19th century. Its location on a promontory of the Mokattam hills in the centre of Cairo gives it a commanding view of the city and it dominates Cairo’s skyline. When it was constructed, it was among the most impressive and ambitious military fortification projects of its time. It is now a preserved historic site, including mosques and museums. I had a chance to tour them and was very impressed.
Centuries later, it would be the place of residence of Mohamed Ali Pasha, an Ottoman commander, who governed Egypt from 1805 to 1848. The towering Muhammad Ali Mosque is in Salahuddin’s Citadel. It was commissioned by an Ottoman ruler and built between 1832 and 1857. Overlooking the city, it is one of the most visible mosques and landmarks in the skyline of Cairo. Unlike the traditional Cairene architecture that preceded it, the mosque was built in an entirely Ottoman and European-influenced style, further setting it apart from other monuments. It is sometimes called the Alabaster Mosque due to the prominent use of that material on its walls. The mosque which is known for its two towering minarets. His tomb is at the right side of the entrance to the mosque. It is three-tiered and is made of white marble. I also toured this mosque and took in the view of the city that it offers.
Another architectural legacy of Salahuddin is the Cairo Citadel Aqueduct, a medieval aqueduct system. While it was first conceived and built during Salahuddin’s reign, the Ayyubid period, it was later reworked by several Mamluk sultans to expand the provision of water to the citadel. It is dysfunctional today. But much of the aqueduct structure, including its water intake tower, still stands. I got a glimpse of the aqueduct from the taxi as we drove underneath it. It was impressive, even centuries later.
The mosque of Sultan Hassan is one of the most monumental mosques in Cairo. It was completed in 1363. In fact, it is considered one of the greatest works of Islamic architecture.
North of the Muhammad Ali Mosque is the Al Rifai Mosque, which was constructed between 1869 and 1912. In the mosque are the remains of King Farouk, the last Egyptian monarch, who was buried there in1965. The mosque also houses the remains of the Shah of Iran, the last Iranian monarch. He was buried there in 1980 because the new Iranian government refused to accept his body. Apparently, his grave is not a major tourist attraction.
When I asked a taxi driver to take me there, he said no one goes to see it. Are you sure you want to see it? I said yes. On the drive to the mosque, we went past the tomb of Anwar Sadat, which is in a pyramid-shaped monument to the unknown soldier.
Cairo is also home to Al Azhar University, which is highly regarded throughout the Islamic world as a centre of learning. I visited it when the prayer service was about to begin and joined the congregation. It was a unique experience.
Of course, I did the obligatory cruise of the Nile. And I visited the Khan el-Kahleli market. It is one of the world’s great bazaars. Everything is available here, from carpets and gold jewelry to clothing to souvenirs to food. It is also where the world famous El Fishawy coffee and tea house is located. Bohemian, intellectual, and foreign cultures comingle.
On another day, I took a taxi to the ancient town of Sakkara, which is located 20 miles south of Cairo. It contains the oldest pyramid in human history, built in 2730 BC. It features a unique design with steps on all sides of the pyramids. It also features a sphynx, which is located just our miles south.
On the same trip, I also visited Memphis, whose history goes back five millennia. It is located just a few miles south of Sakkara. Memphis was established by Menes, founder of the first dynasty, who is credited with uniting upper and lower Egypt. It is the very first capital in world history. Few of the ancient monuments have survived. One of them is a sphynx.
A statue of Ramses II, who ruled during Dynasty XIX, lies on the ground, felled by an earthquake. As I stood there, the haunting verses of Percy Bysshe Shelling’s poem, Ozymandias, rang in my ears:
My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings;
Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!"
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.
There is so much to see in Cairo, and in the adjacent lands. History comes alive with almost every step you take. Then came the day when I had to fly home. At the airport, when I was being screened prior to boarding my flight, the inspector saw the prefix Dr. next to my name on the boarding card. He asked me if I could advise him on the drops he was taking for his eye problem. I disappointed him by saying that I was only a Doctor of Economics, not of medicine. We exchanged pleasantries and I boarded my flight home, with a heavy heart.
I returned home in total awe of Cairo’s architecture, its place in history, its cuisine and most importantly, its humanity.