LynAlden on Nostr: Good evening. Although the region itself was inhabited for a long time by Egyptians, ...

Good evening.

Although the region itself was inhabited for a long time by Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, and more, what we generally think of as “Cairo” is considered to have been founded by the Fatimids in the 10th century.

When it was founded, they built stone walls and gates, and a number of mosques. Cairo has expanded to become one of the biggest cities in the world since then, but this smaller area of “Old Cairo” still stands within the city, and you’ll find among the densest collections of medieval Islamic architecture within a couple kilometer area.

Driving up to it is surreal, because on one side of the street there’s a thousand year old fortress wall, and on the other side of the street there are decades-old buildings with brutalist architecture.

Inside of the walls there are markets, restaurants, hotels, etc. The marketplace/streets are quite loud and hectic and messy, and yet some of the restaurants and hotels are absolutely amazing.

So like you park, get hounded by an informal-looking guy for parking money (sometimes they are legit and sometimes not), walk through the thousand year old gate, there’s tons of music and street food and aggressive merchants, stray cats and dogs, you might have to dodge the random motorcycle or get pooped on by a pigeon (happened to me), a man in a Sufi-style dress is whirling around, there’s a sickly-thin toothless man asking for money as a group of teenagers race by, etc. But then right amid that there will be a beautiful entrance to a luxury boutique Ottoman-style hotel with professional staff, intricate handmade furniture and an amazing Egyptian restaurant on the roof that overlooks the area. A sea of contrasts.

As you walk along the cobblestone roads of this old portion of Cairo, you pass by various buildings that range from the 10th century to the 19th century and were built under four different dynasties (Fatimids, Ayyubids, Mamluks, and Ottomans). Then there are also some more recent brutalist buildings. It’s all woven together, so for example there will be an 800-year old stone archway with an active cafe under it. There will be a merchant selling cheap metal pyramid trinkets made in China underneath an intricate wooden 500-year old medieval window.

Anyway, some friends and I went there for the second time yesterday to eat at that rooftop restaurant. Some pics.