Splendid mosques and imposing buildings still loom over narrow, crowded streets and bustling squares; the sweet, pungent aromas of turmeric, basil and cumin drift from open barrels, mix with the offensive odors of livestock, and grab at your nose like invisible fingers; and people go about their daily business as they have done, it seems, forever. This could medieval Cairo of Ibn Tulun or Salah El Din, except that the age-old aromas now mingle with petrol fumes as donkeys and camels compete with cars for space; and an awful lot of poverty offsets the grandeur of the architecture throughout what was once the intellectual and cultural center of the Arab world.

Sultan Hassan Mosque

The mosque was built between 1356 and 1363 AD, during the time of Mameluke rule, with stones that historians believe were taken from one of the Great Pyramids of Giza. Originally the mosque was a madrasa, or theological school, and each of the four liwan, or vaulted halls, surrounding the central court served as classrooms for each main school of Sunni Islam. The interior is typically devoid of decoration to make it easier for worshippers to concentrate on prayers. Hundreds of chains which once held oil lamps still hang from the ceiling of each liwan.

Al Rifai Mosque

Just across the Mosque of Sultan Hassan is this 19th century imitation of a Mameluke-style mosque. The Princess Duwager Khushyar, mother of the Khedive Ismail, had the mosque built in 1869 to serve as a tomb for herself, her descendents and future khedives. Members of the modern Egypt’s royal Family, including King Farouk, are buried here - as is the Shah of Iran, whose casket was paraded through the streets of Cairo from Abdin Palace to the mosque in 1980, with President Sadat, the Shah’s family and Richard Nixon leading the cortege.

Ibn Tulun Mosque

This is one of the largest mosques in the world. Ibn Tulun was sent to rule Cairo in the 9th century by the Abbasid Caliph of Baghdad. He had the mosque built in 876, with an inner courtyard enough for most of his army and their horses. The 13th century fountain in the center continues to provide water for washing before prayers. After wandering around the massive courtyard, you should climb the spiral minaret. The views of Cairo from the top are magnificent and in the morning you can usually see the Great Pyramids at Giza.

Islamic Art Museum

Which the treasures of the Pharaohs being the main objective of the most tourists to Cairo, this museum, which has one of the world’s finest collections of Islamic art, is rarely crowded.

Some exhibits are arranged chronologically to show the influence of various eras, such as the Fatimid, Ayyubid or Mameluke periods, on Islamic art in Egypt; other are in special displays dealing with a particular subject. The latter include collections of textiles, glassware, calligraphy, tapestries and pottery from through the Islamic world. The intricate woodwork in the collection of mashrabiyya window screens is the best you will see in Egypt. There is also one room of inlaid metalwork, another with a collection of magnificent Oriental carpets, a wonderful exhibit of medieval weapons and suits of armor and a collection of superb illuminated books and ancient Qur’anic manuscripts.

Memphis, one the glorious Old Kingdom capital of Egypt, has almost completely vanished. It is believed that the city was founded around 3100 BC, probably by King Menes, when Upper and Lower Egypt were first united. It had many splendid palaces and gardens, and was one of the most renowned and populous cities of the ancient world. Like most Egyptians cities with any degrees of importance, Memphis also had it own deity, the all-powerful creator-god Ptah, who formed the world with words from his tongue and heart.

Even as late as the 5th century BC, long after Thebes had taken over as capital of Egypt, Memphis was described by the Greek historian Herodotus as a ‘prosperous city and cosmopolitan center’. Its enduring importance, even then, was reflected in the size of its cemetery of the west bank of the Nile, an area replete with royal pyramids, private tombs and sacred animal necropolises. This city of the dead, centered at Saqqara, covers 30 km along the edge of the desert, Dahshur to Giza.

Today there are few signs of the grandeur of Memphis: in fact, it’s extremely difficult to imagine that a city once stood where there is now only a small museum and some statues in a garden. The museum contains a colossal limestone statue of Ramses II, similar to the one which stands at the center of Midan Ramses in Cairo.

In the Garden there are more statues of Ramses II, an eight tone alabaster sphinx, the sarcophagus of Amenhotep and the alabaster beds on which the sacred Apis bulls were mummified before being placed in the Separeum at Saqqara.