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More about Cairo
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Al-Azhar Mosque
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Al-Azhar
is today the most important religious university in the Muslim world, with
as much as 90,000 students. It is perhaps the oldest university in the whole
world. The architecture is stunning, the size of the roofed hall is quite
impressive.
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Al-Azhar has preserved its old system of education: Free boarding is offered and education is done with students gathering around a teacher, honorably referred to as shaykh, while sitting in circles. It is the students who choose which teacher's lesson they want to attend — it is not organized as structured courses. |
Ibn Tulun Mosque
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The
mosque of Ibn Tulun is not only the oldest surviving mosque structure of
Cairo, it is also unique and one of the city's most distinct ones.
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The mosque was conscioulsy
patterned on, and built to rival, the congregational mosque of the caliphal
capital of Samarra.
This can be seen both in the huge, open court yard as well as the spiral
minaret.
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Hanging Church
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The Hanging Church in old Cairo is so called because its nave used to
suspend over the road beneath.
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Khan El-Khalili
| An ancient shopping area, The suq (which is the Arabic name for bazar, or market) dates back to 1382, when Emir Djaharks el-Khalili built a big caravanserai (or khan) right here. A caravanseri was a sort of hotel for traders, and usually the focal point for economic activity for any surrounding area. This caravanserai is still there, you just ask for the narrow street of Sikka Khan el-Khalili and Badestan.
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While all of Khan el-Khalili is an attraction, there are some local sights. The most treasured for visitors is Fishawi's cafe, which you can count on being open when you get there: It has been continuously open, day and night, for more than 200 years. Its interior is charming, claustrophobic but with mirrors almost everywhere.
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