Travel: Labyrinthine magic

Al Ahram Weekly (Taher el-Barbary)

I've bookmarked this page so that I can print it off and take it with me next time I visit Cairo.

Cairo visitors, either natives or foreigners, may have the same feelings of bewilderment every time they try to go through the streets of Islamic Cairo on foot. You can just let your instincts lead you, particularly if you are deciding to have a package tour on one of Ramadan days. Or you can follow the path that we outline in this article. Of course, the choices are many; however, the authority of the occasion directs you wholeheartedly to Islamic Cairo. Your religious beliefs are entirely of no real significance, since you are now willing to be a victim of an accumulation of histories; the heritage of the human race during different eras. Muslim or not or how to start won't be the problem. The real problem is how to absorb the places, the buildings, the historic complexes and the variability of visions and the sights your eyes catch.

It's impossible to resist the idea of going round the area; even if you might have visited it several times before. There is always something new. I don't mean some new building or some new shop. The very thing I mean is that, the distinctive features of the place are always new to your eyes though they are deeply rooted in time.

THE STARTING POINT: You can enter Islamic Cairo from Ataba Square proceeding east on Gawhar Al-Qaed Street. On both sides of the street you will find several traces that indicate your advance towards an area of unprecedented feelings of history. Turn north on Al-Muiz Street. This street in the historic Gammaliya district in central Cairo seems to be the most appropriate starting point because you are going to find yourself directly in the din of the story. It's not fair to notice the narrowness of this street if compared to the more modern avenues, though it includes Cairo's greatest live museums of Islamic and mediaeval monuments. You can call it an open-air museum. The street is named after the Fatimid caliph le-Din Allah who conquered Cairo in 969 AD.