Islamic Cairo

Islamic Cairo isn't any more religious than other parts of Cairo, rather it's the part of Cairo that was developed in the Islamic period, which is to say later than the Pharaonic, Greek, Roman or Byzantine periods and earlier than the colonial or modern periods.

Most of these are of the Citadel, which was the Capitol of Egypt from somewhere in the 1200s to around 1850. The big dramatic building is the mosque that Muhammad Ali built. Muhammad Ali ruled Egypt from 1805 to 1848, and is sometimes called the father of modern Egypt. And sometimes not.

The columns inside are covered in alabaster, but the insides are something more sturdy, limestone perhaps.

This is a view of Muhammad Ali's tomb through the latticework.

The mosque is still used for prayer. For the big Friday prayer they kick out the tourists, but other days tourists and worshippers fit together. Probably a lot of people are both. The vast majority of the toursists at the Citadel were Egyptians.


Yes, I have grown a moustache.

There are great views over downtown Cairo from the Citadel grounds.


On our way to Khan al-Khalili, the main marketplace, we passed this typical bread delivery guy making his way delicately across an intersection.At the entrances to the Khan they've installed these new-fangled Italian rising bollards. The keep the cars out of the pedestrian zone, and fall for emergencies.