| 1 day |
Medieval Cairo |
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Rendezvous in hotel and taxi to Baab el Futuh |
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View the Fatimid walls of Cairo |
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View the Mosque of Hakim, the principal congrefational mosque of the Fatimids, a Shia’ dynasty that founded Cairo in 969 and ruled it for 200 years |
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View the mosque of El Aqmar, a small Fatimid mosque with an intimate space and typical decoration from the 11th C. |
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View the mausoleum of Sultan al-Saalih, last of the dynasty of Saladin, the Ayyubids, who brought Sunni orthodoxy back to Cairo. |
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Enter the mosque of Qala’un and admire the brooding power of the richly decorated tomb. Qala’un belonged to the Mamluks, a military slave class that took power from the Ayyubids. |
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View the adjacent madarasas and tombs of the Mamluk Sultans, Nasr and Barquq |
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Walk through the Khan el Khalili |
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Visit the mosque of El Azhar, the central institution of Sunni orthodoxy |
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Catch a taxi to El Azhar Park |
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Take lunch overlooking the lake and the minarets of the Citadel |
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Walk into the Darb el Ahmar |
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Walk to the mosque of Ibn Tulun, the first governor to wrest independence from the Caliphate in Damascus. |
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Admire the courtyard and columned prayer hall, climb the minaret and walk the upper terrace of the mosque |
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Return to hotel at sundown |
