Al-Muizz Street Walking Tour

Bab al-Futuh is identified by its two massive, semi-circular stone towers that flank a deep, recessed central arch. Completed in ten eighty-seven, the gate served as the northern entrance to the Fatimid capital. Its design, ordered by the…

The Al-Hakim Mosque is defined by two solitary, square stone bastions that shield its original, ornate minarets. Constructed between nine ninety and one thousand thirteen, the building began under Caliph al-Aziz and was finished by his…

Bayt al-Suhaymi is a sprawling, multifaceted residence defined by its intricate wooden screens, known as mashrabiya, which cover its facades and overlook a central, open-air courtyard. Originally constructed in sixteen forty-eight by…

The Al-Aqmar Mosque is distinguished by its intricate stone façade, which is covered in carved medallions, geometric patterns, and Kufic inscriptions. Completed in eleven twenty-five, the building was commissioned by the Fatimid vizier…

The Sabil-Kuttab of Abdel Rahman Katkhuda occupies a triangular plot of land at a prominent street intersection, forcing the thoroughfare to split around it. Built in seventeen forty-four, this two-story structure features three…

Beshtak Palace stands on Muizz Street, easily recognized by its long facade punctuated by rows of windows protected by mashrabiya, the intricate wooden latticework screens that are hallmarks of medieval Cairo’s domestic design. Built…

The Madrasa-Khanqah of Sultan Barquq is identifiable by its monumental entrance portal, which is deeply recessed and capped with a high cluster of stone stalactites. Located on Al-Muizz Street in the historic Bayn al-Qasrayn district, this…

The Qalawun Complex is defined by a long, sixty-seven-meter façade on al-Muizz Street, built of ashlar blocks featuring varying sizes of pointed-arched panels that enclose its windows. Commissioned by Sultan al-Mansur Qalawun, this site…

Khan el-Khalili is a dense, sprawling maze of narrow alleys in historic Cairo, distinguished by the traditional mashrabiya wooden screens and stone archways that shade its pathways. Established in thirteen eighty-two during the Mamluk era,…

The Wikala of al-Ghuri is defined by its massive stone portal, which features a tri-lobed arch and complex, geometric muqarnas carving that rises four stories high. Built in fifteen oh four and fifteen oh five by the Mamluk Sultan Qansuh…

The Mosque of Sultan al-Muayyad Shaykh is instantly recognizable by the two tall, slender minarets that rise directly from the top of the ancient stone gatehouse of Bab Zuweila. Built between fourteen fifteen and fourteen twenty-one, this…