Cairo

Getting to Know Cairo

Cairo is the best of both worlds—a cosmopolitan city that simultaneously transports visitors to an ancient world that is still alive. Gleaming skyscrapers and modern nightclubs are juxtaposed against 13th-century villas and set against—of course—the backdrop of the pyramids. No visitor can leave the city without paying respects to the Sphinx, or taking a camel ride into the Giza sunset. Moving forward in time, the cluster of Christian churches in Coptic Cairo includes St. Sergius church, where legend has it that Jesus and the Holy Family stayed, while Islamic Cairo offers exquisitely restored mosques such as Ibn Tulun, circa 876-879, the oldest surviving mosque in the city. Return to the present in a short taxi ride to Zamalek. The upscale neighbourhood on Gezira Island is home to embassies, villas and chic shops, such as Khan al-Maghraby gallery on Mansour Mohamed Street or peruse the works of Nobel laureate Naguib Mahfouz at the Diwan Bookstore on 26th July Street. But even gentle Zamalek can be hectic: Set sail on a felucca (sailboat) at sunset, when the cool breeze comes off the Nile.