CAIRO was actually a really city. Noisy, crowded, cars beeping horns, narrow streets which criss-crossed and twisted. Islamic Cairo contains some of the world’s great mosques. We enjoyed the food. Walking inside a pyramid, 5000 year old tombs which tower over the Giza plains is special. And Alexandria, too, was relaxed, friendly, with some cool art deco style buildings by the sea.
A camel stands to attention at the pyramids of Giza. I think he has done that before.
Apartments line the cornice in Alexandria.
Ladies dodging puddles in Islamic Cairo backstreet.
Climbing the pyramids is actually not allowed, for obvious reasons.
Alexandria.
Entrance to the courtyard, Ibn Tulun mosque.
Probably the world's two most famous monuments.
Pyramid of Menkuare and those of his queens, pharoah of the 4th dynasty of the Old Kingdom, who died around 2500BC.
Four covered halls surround the courtyard of the Ibn Tulun mosque. The largest faces the direction of Mecca.
A horse crosses the ground by the Great Pyramid.
The calm, symetrical beauty of mosques contrasts with the crowded, bustling street of downtown Cairo.
Aqsunqur Mosque, 1347, in Islamic Cairo, underwent restoration from 1652-54 under Ottoman prince Ibrahim Agha al-Mustahfizan.
Minaret of the 878AD Mosque of Ibn Tulun, Cairo, Egypt, the oldest in the city in its original form.
Hookah pipes and shhesha cafes are part and parcel of Egyptian life.
Walking across the sands and away from the crowds, you can truly appreciate these great monuments.
A figure is shadow in Cairo's Ibn Tulun mosque.
Try to get there once in your lifetime.
Crowds search for a bargain in downtown Cairo.
Central Cairo has some attractive architecture.
After thousands of years, the poor Sphinx must now stare every day at a Pizza Hut.
The corner of a pyramid, with Giza behind and Cairo in the distance.
Much is said about Cairo traffic, but I didn't think it was as bad as people make out.