few kilometres from the Giza pyramids, more than 4,500 years old, the Arabs founded Fustat in 641, and in 969 the Fatimid dynasty laid out al-Qahira, “the victorious”. Mamluks and Ottomans filled the city with mosques, madrasas and caravanserais, now a World Heritage Site.
In the 19th century, Khedive Ismail built a European-style downtown inspired by Paris. Modern Cairo, one of Africa’s largest cities, mixes Coptic quarters, cafés where people play backgammon, feluccas on the Nile and new museums.